Plants That Repel Bugs

There is a citronella scented geranium that actually repels bugs. I don't have one but, for some reason bugs do not like geraniums in general. That's a good thing. I've been bringing in my scented geraniums and re-potting them after being outdoors for the summer. They will pretty up again in no time in a sunny window.

They do tend to suffer outside in the summer but that's where the most sun is and they like it hot and dry with lots of sunlight. What I cut off of them I can root in more pots and make more scented geraniums.

They also get long and gangly as the sun moves out of their reach so they need to be pruned. We've had a lot of rain the past two summers so they have not bloomed very well outdoors.

They usually put out flowers if they get enough sun. It's been dry for a few weeks now and all my geraniums are starting to bust out in late blooms. They are easy to propagate. You take cuttings and let them sit overnight to form a callus on the cut stem. Then you dip them into rooting hormone and put them into a damp peat and perlite mix. You don't have to water geraniums more than once a week after they get established.

The cuttings usually take root easily. That's all there is to it. New plants for free!