Growing Tips for Plants that Repel Mosquitoes

Grow a natural mosquito repellent plants in containers and prevent bites.  The citronella mosquito plant is a genetically engineered geranium hybrid. The entire plant repels mosquitoes with its citronella lemony scent.  

 

amazon Citronella Mosquito Plant 

Buy the plant from your local nursery of find it online at amazon.com.    I purchased my plants from amazon and planted a few geraniums in containers and one in the ground by my back garden.

The foliage of the plant is eye appealing and the scent of the leaves is that of a lemon.  I recommend that you grow a few plants in containers and set them close to your outdoor living space. 

Growing tips:

Choose a plant container that has drainage holes.  Fill the containers with miracle grow to 8 inches set the plant in the pot and then fill the rest of the container with soil.  Water after you plant and set in a sunny to part sun area.  It is best to keep the soil evenly moist but not wet.  Wet roots will cause the plant to die.

Tips

The mosquito plant will put out many leaves and these leaves emit the oil and the fragrance that repels the mosquitoes.  This is a natural method for repelling mosquitoes.

Another way to prevent repel mosquito’s is to break off a leaf, give it a good shake so the oil is realized and then rub the leaves onto your exposed skin. 

If you are like me and are mosquito magnet, then I would recommend that you plant more than one  plant. Put a few plants in containers close to your patio, deck and along your garden path.  

This geranium will repel mosquitoes up to 25 feet.  

Grow the citronella mosquito plant outdoors during the summer season.  You will need to bring it indoors before there is a fall frost.  You can put it in your greenhouse or bring the plant inside your home and set it next to a southern exposed window.  The lemon scent will add a lovely fragrance to your home. 

View this YouTube video to learn about other flowers that repel mosquitoes.

Growing Shasta Daisies: Planting, Care, and Garden Design

Shasta daisies have a way of stealing the spotlight without even trying. Their clean white petals and golden centers light up borders, prairie plantings, and cutting gardens all summer long. They’re reliable, easy to grow, and look just as charming in a mason jar bouquet as they do swaying in a breeze. If you want a perennial that returns year after year with cheerful blooms, Shasta daisies deserve a place in your garden.

What Are Shasta Daisies?

Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum × superbum, formerly Chrysanthemum maximum) are hardy perennials that form bushy clumps of foliage and send up strong stems topped with classic daisy flowers. Mature plants can reach about three feet tall and bloom from mid-summer into early fall, depending on your climate. They work beautifully in border gardens, prairie-style plantings, and cutting gardens.

• Bloom color: White petals with a golden-yellow center
• Height: Up to ~3 feet
• Bloom time: Summer (July–September)
• USDA zones: 5–9

Where to Plant Shasta Daisies

For healthy plants and lots of blooms, location is key. Shasta daisies look best when they’re given the conditions they prefer.

• Sunlight: Full sun is ideal (at least 6 hours daily). In areas with extremely hot summers (upper 90s), they appreciate part shade during the hottest part of the day.
• Soil: Moderately fertile, well-drained soil. If your soil is poor or heavy, amend it with compost or a quality potting mix.
• Placement: Plant them where you can admire them from a window, along a path, or in a mixed perennial border.

How to Plant Shasta Daisies

Planting from Seed

1. Start indoors (optional): Sow seeds indoors about 10–12 weeks before your last spring frost. Cover lightly (about 1/16 inch deep) with seed-starting mix.
2. Keep evenly moist: Do not let the soil dry out. Germination usually occurs in 21–30 days.
3. Transplant outdoors: Once seedlings are sturdy and danger of frost has passed, harden them off and plant them in the garden, spacing about 16 inches apart.

Direct Sowing Outdoors

1. Wait for warm soil: Sow seeds outdoors when the soil warms to around 70°F.
2. Prepare the bed: Loosen or till the soil and rake it smooth.
3. Sow seeds: Plant seeds 1/16 inch deep and space them about 16 inches apart for good air flow.
4. Water gently: Keep the soil evenly moist until seedlings are established.

Planting Nursery-Grown Daisies

1. Dig the hole: Make it slightly wider than the root ball.
2. Set the plant: Place the plant so the crown is level with the soil surface.
3. Backfill and water: Firm the soil around the roots and water thoroughly.
4. Space plants: Allow 16–24 inches between plants so clumps can fill in.

Watering, Mulching, and Fertilizing

Watering

• New plants: Keep soil evenly moist but not soggy until plants are established.
• Established plants: Water deeply when the top inch of soil is dry. In very hot weather, morning watering (and a light late-afternoon watering if needed) helps prevent stress.

Mulching

Apply a light layer of organic mulch around the plants to help retain moisture and keep roots cool. Keep mulch a bit away from the crown to prevent rot.

Fertilizing

Shasta daisies don’t need heavy feeding, but a little fertilizer can boost bloom production.

• Fertilize monthly during the growing season with a balanced flower fertilizer or bloom booster.
• Liquid fertilizers that attach to the end of your hose work well because they deliver nutrients directly to the roots.
• Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers that encourage foliage at the expense of flowers.

Ongoing Care: Deadheading, Pruning, and Dividing

Deadheading

Remove spent flowers regularly to extend the bloom season and keep plants looking tidy. Cut the stem back to a set of healthy leaves.

Pruning for Winter

In fall, after a hard frost or when plants begin to decline, cut stems back to a few inches above the ground. This tidies the garden and prepares the plants for winter. In milder climates, you can leave some foliage for winter interest and cut back in early spring.

Dividing Older Clumps

Every few years, Shasta daisies can become crowded and bloom less in the center. Dividing refreshes the plant and gives you more clumps to spread around.

1. When: Early spring or early fall.
2. How: Dig up the clump, divide it into smaller sections with a sharp spade or knife, and replant divisions at the same depth.
3. Water well: Keep soil moist until divisions are established.

Design Ideas and Companion Plants

Shasta daisies mix beautifully with other sun-loving perennials and annuals. They add brightness and contrast to colorful plantings and make excellent cut flowers.

• Great companions: Coneflowers, zinnias, black-eyed Susan, bee balm, Russian sage, salvias, and ornamental grasses.
• Garden uses: Borders, cottage gardens, prairie plantings, mass plantings, and cutting gardens.

Quick Reference: Shasta Daisies at a Glance

• Botanical name: Leucanthemum × superbum
• Common name: Shasta daisy
• USDA zones: 5–9
• Light: Full sun; part shade in extreme heat
• Soil: Well-drained, moderately fertile
• Bloom time: Summer into early fall

Recycle Coffee for Fertilizer

Pour a cup of coffee for yourself, then recycle the coffee grounds to use as fertilizer for your yard. The  coffee grounds will enrich your lawn and garden soil with phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, copper and calcium. Your acid loving plants will be healthy with vibrant blooms and your lawn will be lush and green.

Storing Recycled Coffee Grounds

Accumulate coffee for fertilizer by saving spent coffee grounds.  The best way to save the coffee is to turn the grounds from coffee filter over onto a paper towel and  air dry. When the coffee grounds are dry; put the grounds into an air tight container and store in a cool dry place. 

Fertilize with Coffee
Nourish your acid loving flowers with coffee grounds by scooping handfuls of the dry coffee and then spreading the coffee grounds around your acid loving plants, flowering shrubs and evergreens.  


Water after you fertilize with coffee as the water will help in breaking down the nutrients so that they get to the plants roots. 

Amend garden soil with Coffee
Get a new garden bed ready by amending the soil with the recycled coffee grounds. 

Ready the gardens by removing the grass; weeds, rock and other debris then use your tiller to break up eight inches of the top soil.  Work the clumps out of the soil until it is a fine texture then amend with the coffee grounds.  

Water the new garden bed lightly. The water will allow the nutrients found in coffee to slowly release into the soil. 

Feed your Lawn with Coffee

Another way to recycle coffee is to fertilize your lawn.  Add dry coffee grounds to your broadcaster and spread the coffee evenly on your lawn, then water the grass.  Your grass will green up fast and will grow in as a lush lawn.

List of Acid Loving Plants and Shrubs
 Amaryllis, aster, azalea, bleeding heart, blueberry, camellia dogwood, evergreens, fern, fir, gardenia, holly, huckleberry hydrangea, lily of the valley, lupine, magnolia, marigold, roses, rhododendrons, strawberries

Other Uses for Coffee
Repel ants, slugs, snails, grubs, cats and dogs from your flower beds with spent coffee grounds.

Dilute any leftover coffee in the pot with water and feed your acid loving houseplants with the watered down coffee.  

Recycle coffee by adding to your compost.
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