Sunny days and warm evenings are tantalizingly close! As is the lure of watching the sunset while sitting outside on your deck or patio. Double your appreciation – and comfort – by integrating plants into your garden design that are natural mosquito repellants.
Here is a selection of effective plants, to be integrated into your planters and placed all around your patio and under the windows.
Lemon-scented plants
Plants that give off a citrus scent are widely used as natural repellents. They disrupt the olfactory system of mosquitoes, deterring them from approaching.
- Cymbopogon citratus (Lemongrass): The most well-known is, of course, lemongrass, used for essential oils.
- Culture: Lemongrass prefers well-drained soil and a full sun location. It can be grown in the ground or in pots.
- Maintenance: Water regularly but allow the soil surface to dry between waterings. Fertilize once a month during the growing season. Prune the stems regularly to encourage new leaf growth. Bring the pots indoors in winter if you live in a cold region.
- Thymus citriodorus (Lemon thyme): Lemon thyme is very pretty and multiplies easily.
- Culture: Place it in the sun, in well-drained soil. It can be grown in the ground or in pots.
- Maintenance: Water moderately. It tolerates drought once established. Prune after flowering to encourage new growth.
- Lippia citriodora (Lemon verbena): Easy to grow, lemon verbena can be planted in pots or in the ground.
- Culture: Place it in the sun and harvest the whole plant at flowering. It prefers soil rich in organic matter and well drained.
- Maintenance: Water regularly, especially during periods of active growth. Prune regularly to promote bushy growth.
Pelargonium
Pelargonium is a genus of plants that include more than 250 species - all prolific bloomers with magnificent colours, and all with a lemony fragrance that mosquitos dislike! You've got lots of choice, so fill your patio planters with a dazzling display, and don't forget to place a few containers beside the patio doors.
- Culture: Grow them in planters on the patio or in pots near the entrance. A sunny location and well-drained soil are essential for their growth.
- Maintenance: Water regularly, but allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings. Remove faded flowers to encourage new blooms.
Peppermint
Peppermint, Mentha × piperita, is very effective at repelling a variety of insects, including mosquitoes, wasps, ants, spiders, and flies.
- Culture: Invasive, it is better to grow it in a pot. It prefers a sunny location, rich, moist, and rather cool soil.
- Maintenance: Water regularly to keep the soil moist and fertilize monthly during the growing season. Prune often to control its growth and encourage new leaf production.
Lemon eucalyptus
Lemon eucalyptus, Corymbia citriodora, is an annual aromatic plant that is easily grown in pots or in flower beds. Its foliage will add an exotic touch to your landscaping.
- Culture: It prefers well-drained soil and a full sun location. Grow it as a houseplant during the winter, in a bright and cool place.
- Maintenance: Water moderately and make sure the soil is not too wet. Prune lightly to maintain a compact shape.
Calendula flowers
Commonly known as marigolds, these buttons of colour are troopers when it comes to pest control. Regular deadheading will produce blooms all summer long. Great as companion plants in the vegetable garden, they excel at repelling aphids.
- Culture: Place it near all varieties of cabbage, tomatoes, and lettuce. It is easily grown in pots or in the ground as soon as there is no longer a risk of frost, in well-drained soil and in full sun.
- Maintenance: Water regularly and make sure the soil is moist but not soggy. Remove faded flowers to encourage new blooms.
Lavender
As much as lavender attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies, its unique fragrance repels mosquitos and wasps. Gorgeous blooms make this an ornamental plant that can take pride of place in flowerbeds and borders.
- Culture: It likes poor and even rocky soil, well-drained, and especially located in full sun.
- Maintenance: Water moderately and make sure the soil is well-drained. Prune after flowering to maintain a compact shape and encourage new blooms.
Lemon basil
Although all basil plants are mosquito repellants, lemon basil, Ocimum basilicum var. citriodorum, is the most effective.
- Culture: This aromatic herb likes rich soil in partial shade. It is very easy to grow in pots on the patio.
- Maintenance: Water regularly to keep the soil moist. Pinch the flowers to encourage the growth of new leaves and prevent the plant from becoming woody.
To maximize the effects:
- Integrate repellant plants into your flower beds.
- Place plants around your patio or deck so that the fragrance of your lemon-scented plants will be carried in the breeze.
- Set container arrangements strategically next to entry doors to prevent undesirable bugs from getting into the house.
- Mix and match your repellant plants to cover as many bug and parasite varieties as possible.
