Hi Toni, I finally thought to ask over here, and then saw this was from you. :) Hi!
I'm a little down. There's some delayed damage from the hail... don't even ask about the begonias.
Never saw unhappy scenteds before, in 3 years.

The true rose, P. Graveolens, is effective for me on mealies, and has a lovely fragrance. Logee's and Wellsweep Farm have that one, and WSF has Mabel Grey. She's a fuss. but what a great fragrance!

.Some pests like scenteds, white fly and aphids. So be a little careful.

Florey, I'm terribly sorry about your plants. How much hail did you guys get? days?
Were your plants in pots or the ground? You had begonias out there,too? Can any be salvaged? Oh Florey, I'm really sorry, and the price of plants are so high..especially begonias..

Well now..this aphid/whitefly gives me a different perspective on scented geraniums. I had one battle w/whitefly a couple yrs ago, and it took a while to rid them..Then again, mealie are a lot worse..so I'll have to think about buying one..Thanks for your help, and again sorry about your plants..hope you can save them..hugs, Toni
BTW, what is WSF>

Hi Toni, Thank you so much, that means a lot. It was the size of marbles, go figure. Tall skinny stuff fared the worst, ragweed got hit hard too. Everything is in pots. All is going to make it, but 5 B.canes, the basket of tea rose, and the solandra are in 'hospital' spots.
Looks like the scenteds are ok too, got most of the leaf damage off yesterday. We've been getting a lot of rain, so I just finally moved them right up next to the house, in a rain shadow. One's leaves had pits and yellow spots, I finally put my glasses on, for follow up detail work. it's looking more like damage than disease, I was worrying yesterday.
The white fly, If you don't have it, and you don't bring it in,... you dont have to worry. Tovah [ex wife] Martin says there are plants that whiteflies like more than scenteds. She's got 3 pages on scenteds in the Essence of Paradise. [Go straight to page 71, She has to get used to writing about fabulous scented tropicals , and so the language in the intro and chapter 1 is way overblown.] You may want to get this if you can, or your local library can get it on interlibray loan, It's a great reference.
Joy Logee Martin, named many of the scenteds back in the 30s, and did some hybridizing too. The 'old spice- Logeei' is one of hers. So yeah, Logee's has many, not all are listed. WSF- was a bad try at abreviating Wellsweep Farm, they have a HUGE listed selection. These are very magnetically distracting websites, so I need a personal restrainer handy. :]

The scenteds chased off all mealies, out of the house, including the clivia, and clivias are basically unsavable, if hit. So I was impressed.
Thanks again, florey

Florey...Can you cut back the geraniums/begonias and take cuttings? So, you have a hospital for plants? LOL..Cool.
Florey, I used to order from Logees a LOT back in the 90's, but they've changed..reduced pot sizes, and trippled costs, not to mention s&h..It's outrageous.
I'ver ordered from Accents Nursry quite a bit and so far happy w/what I receoved..In fact, waiting on an order as we speak..They've so many plants I love buying, but money is an issue right now..have to ce careful how much I spend.
Mealy is the worse insect that attacks our plants..They're almost impossible ridding..In fact, for some reason, I can't keep a simple Purple Passion w/o the poor thing catching mealy..
Thank God for sticky traps. My plants were infested w/white fly..I tried everything, but as a last resort, ordered the yellow sticky traps from GardensAlive. They worked like a charm..since then, no white fly..Have to be careful setting tropicals near a hardy hydranga growing out front..that guy is the source of this problem. In fact, when working around it, those darn whitefly are flying around it, and since I don't use chemical insecticdes, it takes work and effort.

I'll check out WSF, see what they have avaialbe. Just have to find their site..LOL..I wouldn't mind a couple scented geraniums anyway..lOL. I'd like the choolate, it sounds yummy..but I don't think that type would keep mealy away. Do you? Cintronella is sold here in IL, but I really dislike it's odor...smells too much like bug poison. But guess that's the point of this topic, keeping mealy away using scented geraniums.
Keep me posted on your plants..I really hope they make it..Is your 'hospital' indoors? What do you use to help them? Did u ever hear of Superthive? I love the stuff..been using about 20 yrs..you' be surprised how this stuff works..Keep me posted on your plants progress..Toni

Hi Toni, Go for one that's Fragrant ! not smelly. :)
Well, that 'hospital', is a less sunny rest, in a humid spot they'd like. It's a couple of cement blocks over the soil in pleasant, needle tree shade. You're right. It is probably time to fertilize. :] Thanks for the support, I've been dithering and fretting. I decided to wait to take cuttings, till there was a little top growth. They're sprouting now.

Scents to look for -rose [several] -citrus [ lime, lemon crispum, Robert's lemon rose...] -pine [pine, Dean's Delite is one]. The rose or pine, will have cut leaves.
The chocolate is big and gangly, and fuzzy. :> It would probably work, -only the strawberry one, didn't. The scent isn't that chocolaty [chocopine?]. Might plant one in the ground for the summer. [Thanks other thread!]
Quite a few plants are supposed to smell like chocolate.

Well-Sweep-Herb-Farm is in NJ. They have a list by botanical names. They even carry P. 'mabel grey' [finicky], heavenly scent! and effective.
On the supplier thing, most of the great greenhouses, are Mom and Pop places, facing rising costs, like heat, labor, and pressures to modernize, which unfortunately have to be passed on. Some are lucky enough to have had more than one generation. When there is a transition, figuring how to change to new ways can be painful. you've probably seen this yourself, a few times. I was lucky enough to have bought from, and received advice from, some of that older generation, new one too, they're really nice.
So Logee's is special to me. They started over a hundred years ago. Besides being local [~2 hrs] The greenhouse is a wonderful place to visit, I'll post a thread link below.
I feel I owe them a debt of gratitude for existing because it educated me on tropicals, especially fragrant ones. I was right there in florida, surrounded by the predictable, and didn't know how to find out about any interesting plants. The library had...There It Was: 'The Essence of Paradise'.........since then it's been No More Boring Plants! They do have a whole sunken solar green house with geraniums [pelargoniums] some with cool flowers.
Yeah, the pots are small, and i can't get many, but you see why I want to buy there. However, with this dreadful addiction, :) i am always interested in other places too.
Their's are usually a superior cultivar, especially with scenteds. They bred them, after all.
Pelly page:
http://www.logees.com/products.asp?dept=75
You can cut and paste this to the address row up top.

Mealies Grrr ! Saw your purple passion problem. Stick a pot of 'true rose' scented geranium [ pelargoneum graveolens] next to it. And/or a lemon crispum, or lime, you'll love me forever, lol! A few pots of different cool scents, can surround the problem. Give miss mealy fuzz, just a puff, of 10 %white vinegar and water spray [an inch or two in the bottom of the bottle]. Throw a leaf in the pot. HA ! Take that ! you mealies!
Don't forget the wall, window frame, and curtains- you can use straight alcohol spray. Or your own formula, made much stronger than plants like.
Hate those insecticides too.
I couldn't find superthrive around here. Finally went with the Dyna-gro. The plants jumped up! Those micronutrients really make a difference.

Except for Mabel, scenteds aren't fussy. Use hardly any fertilizer, thin it out, 4-6x a season [skip winter]. They are from clivia country, but sunnier.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures from Logee's [a visit] by GWEBers

Howdy,,,sounds like you're super impressed w/Logees..that's great..their gh is surely nice..some gorgeous plants for sure.
Like I said, I used to be a big customer of theirs starting in the mid-90's..some woman came in the plant shop I was working in, and brought in a catalog..I took the number then requested a catalog..I went crazy...wanted everything..LOL..they do sell some rarities..
Florey, I'll give a nursery, one, two, even three chances, but when plants start coming in dead, I can't deal with it..u know? And I agree about mom and pop stores..there were a few not far from my house I'd shop at..one called Bow..Oh I loved that place..they were in business forever..then, suddenly closed their doors, and reopened a much small store..it was nothing like the first..I think they finally shut that place down, too..
It used to be close to where I was living when we lived in the city..I'd walk directly to their nursery after getting my paycheck..LOL..Every Fri..this was a long time ago..back in the mid-70's..
Thanks for suggesting geraniums..I have 3 now..tell me, are fancy leaf geraniums the same as scented?
To be honest, since my Purple Passion, I haven't had any problems w/mealy, cross my fingers..LOL..but u never know when u bring in a new plant, what they carry..
I mix my own insecticides, home made stuff around the house for other bugs..like mites..
How many geraniums do u have? Which fragrances? I notice on accentsforhomeandgarden.com they even have a celery scent..LOL..too many to choose from..lol..
Have a great wkend, and thanks again, hugs, Toni

Fancy Leaved, are different from scenteds. They are fancier zonals, some are gorgeous. Below is a cool link to a place that has both. This place looks very promising, it has 'mabel gray'!

Scented geraniums vary in plants of the same name. If you want the very best scent, go to a top source.
The cut leaf ones, and those with not much in the flowers department, are usually the strongest scents, and work the best.
The soft fan shaped leaves, I haven't tried, except for the strawberry. They smell great though. The strawberry, didn't work.

If you're ordering from accent, these would work best against mealies:
The lime, the attar of roses, the robers lemon rose, The grey lady plymouth. If you like big, sprawly guys with fuzzy leaves, go for the mint and chocolate. [love the fuzzy leaves]

You could call or email them to see if they have others. Some times there are too few of some, to put online
Ask for the best, strongest, scent, and with a cut leaf.

Logees went through a tough time, a few years back, but things are great there now, except for price.

The local greenhouses are how I started with scenteds, It is so much fun choosing the scents in person.
But, other customers said to go get the good stuff, I was glad when I did.

I've got 'True rose'-P. graveolans, Mabel Gray [lost her, can't wait to replace], Dean's Delight[piney], robers lemon rose [& sport] [local, there may be a better one], lemon- ditto, attar of roses, orange, strawberry [gets leggy, with attention is suposed to make a good topiary, lots of cuttings], that's about it.

Here is a link that might be useful: goodwin creek gardens