Scented Geranium Care

Pelargoniums (Scented Geraniums) are a tender perennial with a high concentration of essential oils in their cell structure.  If you live in a warm climate such as southern California, you can grow these fragrant plants outside in a pot or planted in the garden year round. In the right climate they can grow as high as 10 feet.  In areas where winters are cold, you must protect your scented geraniums from frost. Bring them indoors for the winter. 

Scented geraniums do best in bright light and will need ample direct winter sun when grown on a windowsill. In the garden, a few hours of direct sun will be enough. They will also do well in bright dappled light all day. Avoid overheated sunny spots because thier soil is a bit sandy and can dry out during a hot day.  These plants actually prefer daytime temperatures around 70 degrees.

Scented Geraniums will flower, but they are small, discrete and pretty, but not the reason you grow these plants.

The soil for scented geraniums should be well drained.  I make a mixture of 2 parts potting soil to one part sand to improve the drainage.  You do not need to worry about soil richness, as you do not want to grow your scented geraniums in excessively rich soil as this can cause the leaves to have less fragrance. The pH should be neutral to slightly acid, about 6.0 is fine.

I repot my geraniums in the spring.  It is part of my ritual getting ready to move the plants back outdoors.  This replacing of the soil usually replenishes the nutrients they need.  If you do not do this, you can fertilize your scented geranium using a 10-10-10 fertilizer.

Scented geraniums generally grow pest-free.  If you see aphids, white-fly or other pests, treat them with insecticidal soap.  I wash the tops and bottoms of the leaves in fall when I bring them inside to avoid any issues indoors.

Propagation

In 2023 I decided to try a couple of different techniques to get new plants from my scented geraniums.  I winter the plants indoors over winter and they become very tall and leggy due to lack of light.  This year, rather than cutting off the tops of the branches and rooting those cuttings I let the plants grow then took them outside and trimmed them back.

Several plants had long woody stems which had lost most of there leaves over the winter.  If I cut these, the plants would have no leaves left, so I decided to try another technique or two to get new growth.

For the Grey Lady Plymouth, a lemon-scented variegated germanium with a light yellow edge on the leaf, both plants had made long stems with almost no leaves around the base.  For one I repotted it with a single stem to see if new leaves would form on the stem.

layered plant stem covered with soil

Another one I look the long stem in one pot and crossed it into another pot and slit the underside and covered the stem with soil to allow it to root while still connected to a mother plant.  Later I cut it from mother plant and now I have two! (This technique is called layering when you do it in the ground.

Cuttings

I take cuttings from my plants twice a year.  In the fall when I bring them indoors for winter and in the Spring when I take them back outside for the season. I try to do this with my scented geraniums, so I bring in a smaller plant in the fall.  They grow and get very leggy in a window for the winter so a smaller plant will be less mess. In the spring those that grew well in the winter are ready for a trim, so I get many cuttings from the plants who are ready to explode once the weather gets warm.

I root the cuttings several different ways.  Sometimes I root them in sand.  Sometimes in seed starter and sometimes in water.  In the water I use the vase method and the hydroponic method.

A canning jar, a special tray and a handful of clay pebbles and I can root a number of cuttings.

Technique

To propagate a scented geranium it is best to work from a cutting so that you get the hybrid and scent you enjoyed with the original plant.  

Simply cut a stem just above the leaf nodule.  

Take off all the excess leaves.

You can start the cutting in warm damp sand or in a glass of water. 

 

Once it develops roots you can replant it.  

The soil for scented geraniums should be well drained.  I make a mixture of 2 parts potting soil to one part sand to improve the drainage.  

Nicely growing rutted cutting.

Geraniums florishing in the summer!

Mojito Mint - Herb of the Week

The Mojito, a traditional Cuban cocktail said to be the favorite of the writer Ernest Hemingway,  is made with rum, powdered sugar, lime juice, club soda and a mint unique to Cuba.  Since the true mojito mint is difficult to get “up north,” spearmint is usually substituted.  However I recommend that you grow a plant of Mojito Mint and enjoy its unique minty flavors.

Mojito mint and lemon verbena

True mojito mint known as Mentha x villosa is very different from other mints.  And worthy of being considered for an Herb of the Week

Mojito Mint’s scent and flavor are agreeably mild and warm, not pungent or overly sweet like some mints.  Like all mints it is easy to grow and will provide more than enough fresh sprigs for your mojitos. While recipes call for any available variety of Spearmint, the real mojito can only be made with the true Mojito Mint.

This culinary herb, a native to Cuba, was previously impossible to get in North America but thanks to Toronto mojito enthusiast Catherine Nasmith who visited Cuba in 2006, we now have the authentic plant from Cuba. Not just great in beverages, Mojito Mint also makes a great seasoning for meats and confections.

To Grow

Hardy in zones 5 through 9 it likes partial sun rather than full sun as it will react badly in full sun and high temperaturtes.  It requires normal water and should not be overwatered. The plant will not set seed accurately so it is best not to grow this plant from seed.  Instead gather it by root division, cutting or from a nursery plant.   They do very well in containers.  I grew it in a pot on the porch so I could make a Mojito anytime I wanted!

To Propogate from a stem cutting

This is good with many plants, like rosemary, scented geraniums, any variegated plant or hybrid variation, like Mojito mint.

You will need a mother plant, a sharp knife or scissors, plastic zip seal bags, Hormone rooting powder, growing medium, pots, a dibble (I just use a blunt pencil)

Collect only a small amount of material at a time and be sure to keep it in the zip seal bag to avoid moisture loss.  Choose a sturdy, non-flowering stem with lots of leaves. Cut a section just below the leaf joint and remove all but the top two of three leaves.  Fill a pot with moist growing medium.  Insert the blunt-end of a pencil into the edge of the pot and create a circle of holes. (Do not plant too close together or put one in the direct center of the pot.)  Dip the cuttings into hormone rooting powder, tapping off excess.  Place the cutting into the holes created with the dibble.  No need to fill the holes back in because when you water it the soil fills in itself. Be sure to water the pot lightly.  Cover with a plastic dome, or seal into a gallon sized zip seal bag.  You need to maintain maximum humidity. It will take 2 to 4 weeks for softwood cuttings like mint to root.  Once they are rooted transplant to individual pots.  Be sure to harden them off before moving outdoors.

I do this in the fall to make smaller plants to bring in side, so think about doing it now so the plants will be hardy by the time frost arrives.

If you just want to get a nursery plant, they are generally available from Richter’s Herbs at www.richters.com

To Use

Mojito Mint can be dried and used as a tea.  It has a rich flavor that is perfect with heartier herbs like rosemary and sage.  Mojito is a great herb to use to make scented oil for salves and is a nice ingredient in mint jelly.  You can also make a marinade for chicken or pork with it.  And of course it is the main ingredient in a Mojito Rum Drink.

Cuban Mojito recipethe original authentic recipe from Havana Cuba

1 teaspoon powdered sugar
Juice from 1 lime (2 ounces)
4 mint leaves
1 sprig of mint
Havana Club white Rum (2 ounces)
2 ounces club soda

There are countless recipes for the Mojito (pronounced moh-HEE-toh), but this version is for the one Hemingway himself enjoyed at the Mojito's place of birth: La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana, Cuba. If you are throwing a Cuban theme party (Havana night themed party), definitely plan on serving mojitos.

Place the mint leaves into a long mojito glass (often called a "collins" glass) and squeeze the juice from a cut lime over it. You'll want about two ounces of lime juice, so it may not require all of the juice from a single lime.

Add the powdered sugar, then gently smash the mint into the lime juice and sugar with a muddler (a long wooden device with a nobby end, though you can also use the back of a fork or spoon if one isn't available). Add ice (preferably crushed) then add the rum and stir, and top off with the club soda (you can also stir the club soda in as per your taste). Garnish with a mint sprig.

The Nojito

Here is a non-alcoholic recipe from recipezaar.com.

crushed ice

8 mint leaves

3 ounces lime juice

1-1/2 ounces sugar syrup

2 ounces club soda

garnish with mint

Fill a pint glass 1/3 full with ice, add mint leaves, lime juice

and sugar syrup. Lightly mash the leaves in the liquid using a

blunt instrument, taking care not to tear the leaves. Fill the

glass with more ice, add club soda, and garnish with mint.

Mojito Marinated Chicken

3/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup light rum (2 tablespoons)

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint (finely)

6 tbls. Mojito mint syrup

1 tbls. vegetable oil

1 tbls. kosher salt (coarse)

6 chicken breast halves (with skin and bones about 5 pounds)

3 limes (quartered lengthwise)

1 sprig fresh mint

Directions:

Whisk lime juice, 1/2 cup rum, and next 4 ingredients in bowl. Place chicken in resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over; seal bag. Turn bag to distribute marinade. Chill 4 hours, turning bag twice. Place lime quarters in shallow bowl. Pour remaining 2 tablespoons rum over, tossing to coat. Let stand at room temperature. Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Grill chicken until cooked through, about 15 minutes per side. Transfer to platter. Grill limes until soft and slightly charred, about 5 minutes. Garnish platter with mint sprigs. Squeeze grilled limes over chicken and serve.

Mint Syrup

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

8 mint leaves

Directions

Combine water and sugar in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling and the sugar has dissolved (creating simple syrup), remove from heat. Rip the mint leaves into small pieces and combine with the hot simple syrup immediately after removing the pot from the heat. Allow the mixture to cool until the pot is cool to the touch. Now, it will be ready to add to a drink or recipe! Refrigerate the left-overs.

Garden Work Checklist - Spring Care for Hardy Herbs

Last weekend I was out working in the garden, removing the winter from the garden. 

The following is a checklist of things I was doing that are perfect Spring care for hardy herbs --

·         Clean winter debris such as wind blown branches, over winter mulch, etc. from the beds.

·         Cut back the stems of those plants that grow from vigorous underground roots (like Silver King Artemisia, bergamot, mints, rue, tansy, tarragon and yarrow) the dead stems can be broken or cut off, if done gently enough so as to protect the underground growth.  To do best, hold the bottom of the stem securely at the soil while breaking or cutting off the top.

·         Trim lavender, southernwoods, and upright thyme for good grooming.  Don’t pull them out, no matter how dead they look.  New growth will soon pop out of most of the branches.  You can cut out the deadwood later when it becomes obvious.

·         Divide your perennials to give you filler for new spaces or starts for new gardens.  Plants like mint, sage, hyssop, thyme, oregano, chives, lemon balm and tarragon can all be root divided and moved to new locations.  This is especially good if they are older than 4 years.  Fresh soil and environment with give them a new vigor and enrich their flavor.

·         Pull roots of any wandering herbs that may have strayed out of bounds (this will happen with runner herbs like mint).

·         If you have new beds you plan to use or spaces you are expanding into, now is a good time to turn over that soil and perhaps work in some compost.  Do not overwork the soil or do this if the soil is very wet from recent rains.  You do not want to compact the soil

Dividing Herbs

One of the simplest and best propagation methods is dividing an existing plant. You know what you have, don’t have to worry you got the right variety and you know it’s growing habit and flavor.  Dividing exisitng plants requires some elbow grease, but is not that difficult.  Just follow these steps:

1. First you want to use a shovel or garden fork to dig up a section of the roots of an established plant.  Don’t dig it entirely out.  If it is growing too far to the left and crowding another plant, start there.




courtesy of J Crowlie


2. Cut and remove the plant and the root and shake off the excess soil and separate the plant into clumps of about a fist size.
3. Choose where you want the new plants to reside and dig holes about twice the size of the root clumps you will be planting.
4. Replant the new divisions into the holes into which you have placed 2 to 4 inches of compost in the bottom.  Press soil around the plant firmly so that it will not fall over, but not so tightly that you press out the air or the water from the soil. 
5. Water well and let thrive.

For more details and a chart for when to divide certain plants, check out this link to the Clemson Cooperative Extension

~Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh (2011)

Sage - Herb-of-the-Week

Wednesday is sometimes referred to as hump day. This always seemed a bad label for Wednesday, so to rejuvenate the hump day idea, I thought it might be nice to give something detailed and interesting to get you thinking creatively.  So while coasting down the hump into the weekend I hope I am giving you either a new herb to put on your list or something new to do with an herb you already know.

I have christened Wednesday Herb-of-the-Week day. Every other Wednesday I will feature a blog on a special herb and detail it uses, growing habit and include recipes not only for food.

This week’s herb is: SAGE

Sage in my first garden

The genus Salvia contains a staggering range of species suitable for every garden use under the sun—and in the shade. But for cooking, none can rival Common Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis) and its cultivars. Sage has long been valued for its contributions to the cook’s palette of flavors. Its robust piney aroma and earthy flavor complement many ingredients. Sage is also an attractive garden plant, particularly in its fancy-leaved forms. Plus, it prospers under a wide range of conditions and adds a striking bold texture to mixed plantings.

S. officinalis varies widely in the size and shape of its leaves. Sharp-eyed herbalists have spotted numerous selections with unusual leaves, taken cuttings and propagated the resulting plants so that we can all enjoy them. There are a wide variety of colors, shapes and even dwarf versions of Sage all residing under the same general name Salvia Officinalis. Most commonly available in garden centers beyond Garden Sage is ‘Berggarten’ a vigorous clone with large, broad leaves and a strong flavor. It’s probably the most productive variety for home herb gardens. Dwarf forms of S. officinalis circulate under a variety of names, including Dwarf, Nana and Minima. In general, these plants will reach 8 to 12 inches in height and width, making them significantly smaller than the traditional species. Use them in containers or in-ground plantings where space is tight.

Purple basil with purple sage

Numerous forms have been selected for colored foliage. ‘Icterina’ has strong golden-green variegation surrounding a cucumber-green splash. It’s hearty and vigorous in growth. ‘Purpurea’ is another strong grower, this time with dark leaves that have a dusky sheen of purple, green and indigo. ‘Tricolor’ is the more common multicolored form, with splashes of lilac, cream and green. It’s slow-growing and resents crowding, wet and cold.

Salvia officinalis is admirably ornamental in its typical grey-green form. It can be trained into sculpted mounds for a controlled appearance, or left to sprawl in irregular clumps. The leaves have a lightly pebbled surface, which makes them look fuzzy. This soft texture combined with a muted flower color (pastel shades of blue and lilac-pink) gives the plants a soft appearance. Garden visitors will want to stroke them. If they do, they’ll be pleased at the plants’ robust fragrance. Although they flower in late July into August, the foliage is usually more desirable so flower stalks can be pinched off.

Varieties with unusual leaf sizes, shapes and colors have even more garden potential. ‘Berggarten’ and ‘Mammoth’, with their broader leaves, have a blockier presence and make a great foil to frilly-leaved companions. The dwarf forms’ tighter growth habit makes them well-suited to plantings in which forms must be strongly defined, such as parterres and knot gardens.

Fresh sage is deep, robust and earthy, much different from the stronger dried version many are used to from poultry seasoning.  Fresh sage also has a lively zing that you won’t find in any powder. This lively—almost lemony—flavor component is most obvious in spring, while the leaves are still very young.  You can strengthen this taste by combining sage with mint. You can also keep sage from becoming drab by combining it with lemon.

As summer approaches and sage’s flavor becomes more robust, try combining it with a multitude of different herbs. Its earthiness adds depth to herbal blends. Autumn cooking is highly supportive of sage. Its haunting aroma can perfume rich meats and carb-rich dishes. Use it to flavor slow-braised pork or starchy cubes of roasted squash. And in herb breads it is especially good.

Sage can easily become overwhelming, so start with a small amount and slowly increase the quantity to taste. The leaves can be rough and chewy, particularly later in the year, so mince them finely. If you want the flavor of sage without its presence in the final result, add sprigs of it to whatever you’re cooking and remove them before serving. To calm jittery nerves, make a decoction with the dried herb, strain and drink.

Salvia officinalis is an easygoing plant with few demands. But, if you want it to thrive, give it what it needs:  At least six hours of full sun per day;  Soil that is well-drained, but not constantly dry. That’s it.  If you want to ruin a sage, give it an over-rich soil, you’ll have lush growth at the expense of flavor.

Typical green-leaved S. officinalis is winter-hardy in Zones 5 to 9. The colored-leaf forms are weaker. Even under the best of conditions, they’re not reliably winter-hardy in areas north of Zone 7. Treat them as annuals and be happily surprised if they return for an encore performance. Don’t mulch them with anything moist and composty—they’ll rot. Also, make sure that they’re not crowded—most (particularly ‘Tricolor’) need impeccable air circulation and resent being jostled by their neighbors.

Sage is evergreen in most of its hardiness range, although its leaves will be damaged by extended periods of extreme cold. Wait until hard frosts pass in spring before trimming your sage. Most salvias—including S. officinalis—can be severely damaged by late frosts if they’re cut back early and start into growth while it’s still cold.

Once the weather warms in spring, sages will put forth a new crop of leaves. These will have the best flavor of the entire year. Their flavor intensifies until flowering starts, usually in late spring. After flowering, sage’s leaves toughen. To stimulate new growth, cut the plant back by one-third. Fertilize lightly with an organic fertilizer, such as fish emulsion, after pruning.

Sage has numerous medicinal benefits. The oils and tannins in Sage have astringent, antiseptic, and irritant properties. It is therefore an important herb in medications for mouth sores, mouth ulcers, and sore throat medications. As with many of the other herbs, Sage can also be tried in a tea for digestive problems and flatulence.

It can be grown from seed, but the easiest way to increase your stock is by taking cuttings. Cuttings are the only way to maintain specific clones (you won’t get variegated seedlings from seeds taken from a variegated plant). Since sage plants often become woody and start to die out in spots as they age, it’s a good idea to take cuttings and start new plants every two or three years—especially because young plants are more vigorous and produce better yields than older plants.


Recipes

SAGE and SWEET VIOLET OINTMENT
Good for chapped lips, cold sores and chapped skin.

• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage leaves
• 2 tbsp sweet violets
• 4 tbsp sweet almond oil

Combine ingredients in a small stoppered bottle. Leave in a warm place for 1 month, shaking daily. Strain into a bowl and add 4 tbsp each of almond oil and melted beeswax which have been melted together in the top of a double boiler. Beat until cold. Store in an airtight jar in a cool place.

Sage Cheese Spread

• 1 cup dry cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated and at room temperature
• 4 tsp. chopped fresh sage (or 2 tsp. dry)
• 1 tsp. prepared mustard

Mix all ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. Store in crock in refrigerator at least 24 hours before using. You can place this in small crocks and give as a favor to guests to take home as well.

Sage and Tarragon Chicken Salad
This is another terrific sandwich spread to serve on top of the whole wheat herb bread.

• One (10 ounce) can Chicken breast meat
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup finely diced celery hearts
• 2 teaspoons fresh sage - chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves - chopped fine
• salt & pepper - optional

Drain the liquid from the can of chicken breast. Flake with a fork and add to a medium size bowl. Add the mayonnaise, celery hearts, sage and tarragon and mix well. Add salt and pepper if desired.

If you love sage try the Seasonings of the Backyard Patch where the dried flavor of sage is at its best!