Jackie Zykan Maître Liquoriste + Perfumer + Herbalist

By: Jackie Zykan

There I stood, once again in the makeshift aisle of plants temporarily occupying a portion of a garden center parking lot. I felt half inspired, half ashamed, hearing my son’s voice in my head over and over “more plants, mom?!”. I performed my usual mental dance of adding up the cost of any particular garden plant with the cost of just buying what it produces.

Apparently this mental wrestling match seems to be my favorite pastime between the spring and autumn equinoxes given the frequency of its occurrence. I calculate yields and compare plant prices versus starting from seed, considering spacing allocations and even weighing in travel and time away from the care and feeding of the garden to thoroughly consider the commitment. But on this particular day a new contender stepped into the ring that got me thinking. 

A CITRONELLA SCENTED RABBIT HOLE

As I turned the corner, there she was. A medium sized Citronella plant with a price tag mirrored that of one bottle of high end clean-ingredients-only bug spray. My brain lit up like a Christmas tree as I investigated every potential pathway to achieve the same result : to not get eaten alive by mosquitoes this summer. 

Seeing this plant also made me wonder how many folks have purchased one, or many, and surrounded their outdoor spaces with them in hopes to achieve the same. I pictured citronella candles on tables, tiki torches, sprays both clean and carcinogenic, coils of incense, and bracelets. An entire slice of the summer commerce pie devoted to citronella. And here she was, just hanging out on a temporary shelf in a parking lot. The claim of providing mosquito repellent is not her fault. That’s just the residue of collective association with her name and that function, and of course, see also marketing. The citronella plant merely grows when she has water and sun. She doesn’t have an agenda, she isn’t promising anything. But the reason she fetches the price she does is that assumption of duty we put on her. My mind got curious about how many patios have been adorned with her in droves, and still required secondary, even tertiary repellent products to seal the deal. I’m not sure how many folks reading this have ever distilled an essential oil, or extracted any active compounds from plants (call me - we’re the same kind of nerd). All things considered, let’s just say this would in fact not be a plant I would recommend to grow-your-own-bug-spray given the alternatives available. 

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE

I will happily fall on the sword for the sake of giving the fine people of Kentucky the truth behind that citronella plant. At the very least, it’ll save you the price tag, as well as prevent feelings of disappointment when the poor plant doesn’t show up to work, so to say. The plant you are likely to find at a garden center is Pelargonium citrosum, an aromatic geranium by classification. Known as the citronella plant. Also known as the mosquito plant. With maturity, the above ground parts of these beauties produce multiple functional compounds which are off putting to mosquitoes. This is true. The primary workhorses are citronellal, geraniol, and citronellol. Other ingredients found in smaller concentrations include limonene (think “citrus”) and eugenol (think “clove”). This is true. However, the reason you’re likely to require back up measures of insect repellent is simply that the concentration of these compounds is so significantly low compared to the predominant plant cultivated for “citronella oil” used in commercial sprays, candles, torch fuel, etc. Cymbopogon, a cousin to lemongrass and native to Asia, is a far cry from the potted plant on your patio. Another reason your makeshift backyard moat of citronella plants didn’t perform well is the leaves need to be crushed to access the oil, just like slapping the mint sprig on a julep. 

HOW MANY PLANTS WOULD IT TAKE…

I fully encourage exploring plant forward home remedies, but someone needs to be transparent with you before you go out and buy a still. Aromatic plants have varying levels of yield when it comes to essential oil extraction. Even if you’re not looking to distill, knowing the oil content in various botanicals is equally beneficial when it comes to planning infusions, tinctures, teas, etc. Sticking with the mosquito plant subject, the oil content of these plants can support a 0.2-0.3% yield. This translates to distilling roughly one thousand leaves to end up with (hopefully) 1 ml of essential oil. On the other hand, the commercially utilized lemongrass relative yields upwards of 2%. This may still seem minuscule, but tuck it in your pocket as a reference the next time you find yourself scoffing at the price of essential oil. It takes a lot of plants. Tons. Literally. 

HOW DOES CITRONELLA WORK ANYWAY?

Citronella’s aromatic intensity serves as a deterrent simply by overwhelming the senses of the little beasts so that they are “repelled”. In this circumstance, you are the prey, and the goal is to become undetectable by the mosquito. Think of it as aromatic camouflage. Without being able to sense your breath and sweat, the mosquito doesn’t see you as a potential food source. With this in mind, the mosquito doesn’t see the geranium plant as prey either. Nor the candles, tiki torches, etc. But unless you have the aromatic compound on your body, you are fair game. 

A KENTUCKY PERFUMER’S MOSQUITO REPELLENT RECIPE

Little by little we are untangling the knot and understanding how to work with citronella to safely, naturally, and effectively prevent being consumed this summer- both by marketing and blood thirsty bugs! But just like the garnish on my old fashioned… let there be a twist! You see, the aromatic compounds we are working with are volatile, meaning they are lightweight and vaporize quickly. In order to “make them stick”, we need a base note to anchor them. And my personal favorite, as well as the foundational note source in my perfume line (ODUOAK)… drum roll please…. bourbon. 

Ingredients 

A glass spray bottle 

Bourbon 

Citronella essential oil 

Directions: fill your spray bottle of choice with bourbon, add 6 drops of citronella oil per ounce, shake, and spray as needed. I know it can be tempting, but please refrain from consuming, as citronella oil is not for culinary use.