Know The Benefits Of Geranium Flowers, Mosquito Repellent Plants And Processed Into Essential Oil

Illustration of ornamental geranium plant (Unsplash/Zoo Monkey)

JAKARTA – The hobby of caring for various types of plants is quite popular lately. Starting from ornamental plants leaves, flowers, tabulampot, to bonsai. Because there are so many types of plants to choose from, one alternative is flowers with a mountain of benefits such as geraniums.

Geranium is a type of plant that there are about 300 species. Characteristics of ornamental plants Geranium grows bushes from the Geraniaceae family, most of which are in their natural habitat in South Africa. Various colors of Geranium are usually treated as ornamental plants, including white, pink, purple, and red.

Geranium cultivation can be done in two ways, namely cuttings and seed germination. But most are propagated by stem cuttings because it is simpler and does not wait a long time.

Even more fun, Geraniums can flower in the middle of summer. Even spring and autumn are not reluctant to bloom.

Geranium flower is also known as Tapak Dara. Grows up to 4 meters high depending on the variety. No need to worry if you live in a hot area. Because Geranium plants can survive even with full sun exposure and dry soil.

Illustration of a geranium flower (Instagram/@mrpelargonium)

So, what are the benefits of these beautiful and colorful flowers? Here's the list.

Benefits of the geranium plant Mosquito repellent

A beautiful house decorated with geraniums can be far from the attack of naughty mosquitoes. Like lavender plants, geraniums also emit a citrus scent that mosquitoes don't like.

You can put it indoors or outdoors. Just make sure it's exposed to enough light to optimize the photosynthesis process.

Brewed as tisane

Tea other than Camelia sinensis leaves and made from flowers, roots, tubers, and bark is called tisane. Geranium flowers can be brewed as a tisane and have a calming effect.

Processed into essential oils

Essential oils or essential oils are used for body and room fragrances. The resulting effect is the same as the previous benefits of geraniums, namely making it quieter, repelling mosquitoes, and cleaning the air in the room.

From these benefits, which type of geranium do you want to grow at home?

Types of ornamental geraniums

Reported by Berkebun, Wednesday, August 11, there are two very different types of geraniums, namely geraniums from the family Geraniaceae and Pelargonium. The difference can be seen from the leaves and flower shape.

Pelargonium sp. been studied by the German Research Center for Environmental Health in Munich. This geranium plant is indicated as an alternative treatment for HIV.

In the study found that the extract of the geranium plant has the ability to inactivate HIV-1 and prevent the virus from entering the cells of the human body.

The most common geranium plants have simple leaf shapes. It is round in shape with scalloped edges. While Pelargonium sp. round leaf, slightly split. Both types of geranium plants have green leaves and have the same striking flower color.

Geranium color illustration (Instagram/@el_ena2302)

Geranium plants, it turns out that there are also several types that are protected. But the popular ones cultivated include Geranium disectum, Geranium lucidum, Geranium molle, Geranium pyrenaicum, Geranium purpureum, Geranium sanguineum, and Geranium sylvaticum.

To care for various types of geraniums, here's how.

How to grow geraniums

As explained above, there are two ways to plant geraniums. Namely by cuttings and seeds. Even simpler, you can buy it in the market place with a price range of Rp. 14,000 – Rp. 100,000 which are differentiated by variety, size, and quality.

As for how to care for it, it's quite easy. Simply put in the sun, water 3 to 4 times a week, fertilize every 2-3 months, and make sure the pot has good drainage.