diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/validation/validation.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/validation/validation.go
index 81dc867796d..3ae4462155e 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/validation/validation.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/apis/kubeadm/validation/validation.go
@@ -568,6 +568,8 @@ func isAllowedFlag(flagName string) bool {
 		kubeadmcmdoptions.KubeconfigDir,
 		kubeadmcmdoptions.UploadCerts,
 		kubeadmcmdoptions.Patches,
+		// TODO: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubeadm/issues/2046 remove in 1.23
+		kubeadmcmdoptions.ExperimentalPatches,
 		"print-join-command", "rootfs", "v", "log-file")
 	if allowedFlags.Has(flagName) {
 		return true
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/constant.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/constant.go
index 7d157f719b3..dba685a7c62 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/constant.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/constant.go
@@ -144,5 +144,9 @@ const (
 	EtcdUpgrade = "etcd-upgrade"
 
 	// Patches flag sets the folder where kubeadm component patches are stored
-	Patches = "experimental-patches"
+	Patches = "patches"
+
+	// ExperimentalPatches (DEPRECATED) is the same as Patches
+	// TODO: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubeadm/issues/2046 remove in 1.23
+	ExperimentalPatches = "experimental-patches"
 )
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/generic.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/generic.go
index fc9630dbc76..5adad595444 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/generic.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/options/generic.go
@@ -91,12 +91,16 @@ func AddKubeadmOtherFlags(flagSet *pflag.FlagSet, rootfsPath *string) {
 
 // AddPatchesFlag adds the --patches flag to the given flagset
 func AddPatchesFlag(fs *pflag.FlagSet, patchesDir *string) {
-	fs.StringVar(patchesDir, Patches, *patchesDir, `Path to a directory that contains files named `+
-		`"target[suffix][+patchtype].extension". For example, `+
-		`"kube-apiserver0+merge.yaml" or just "etcd.json". `+
-		`"patchtype" can be one of "strategic", "merge" or "json" and they match the patch formats `+
-		`supported by kubectl. The default "patchtype" is "strategic". "extension" must be either `+
-		`"json" or "yaml". "suffix" is an optional string that can be used to determine `+
-		`which patches are applied first alpha-numerically.`,
-	)
+	const usage = `Path to a directory that contains files named ` +
+		`"target[suffix][+patchtype].extension". For example, ` +
+		`"kube-apiserver0+merge.yaml" or just "etcd.json". ` +
+		`"target" can be one of "kube-apiserver", "kube-controller-manager", "kube-scheduler", "etcd". ` +
+		`"patchtype" can be one of "strategic", "merge" or "json" and they match the patch formats ` +
+		`supported by kubectl. The default "patchtype" is "strategic". "extension" must be either ` +
+		`"json" or "yaml". "suffix" is an optional string that can be used to determine ` +
+		`which patches are applied first alpha-numerically.`
+	fs.StringVar(patchesDir, Patches, *patchesDir, usage)
+	// TODO: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubeadm/issues/2046 remove in 1.23
+	fs.StringVar(patchesDir, ExperimentalPatches, *patchesDir, usage)
+	fs.MarkDeprecated(ExperimentalPatches, "This flag will be removed in a future version. Please use '--patches' instead.")
 }
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/controlplane.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/controlplane.go
index e69194e60d1..8a76e9586a7 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/controlplane.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/init/controlplane.go
@@ -101,6 +101,8 @@ func getControlPlanePhaseFlags(name string) []string {
 		options.KubernetesVersion,
 		options.ImageRepository,
 		options.Patches,
+		// TODO: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubeadm/issues/2046 remove in 1.23
+		options.ExperimentalPatches,
 		options.DryRun,
 	}
 	if name == "all" || name == kubeadmconstants.KubeAPIServer {
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplanejoin.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplanejoin.go
index 4d3c476c0cd..a20b7b8da18 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplanejoin.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplanejoin.go
@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ func getControlPlaneJoinPhaseFlags(name string) []string {
 	}
 	if name == "etcd" || name == "all" {
 		flags = append(flags, options.Patches)
+		// TODO: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubeadm/issues/2046 remove in 1.23
+		flags = append(flags, options.ExperimentalPatches)
 	}
 	if name != "mark-control-plane" {
 		flags = append(flags, options.APIServerAdvertiseAddress)
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplaneprepare.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplaneprepare.go
index 3bc2b4e011c..cdeee455adf 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplaneprepare.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/join/controlplaneprepare.go
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ func getControlPlanePreparePhaseFlags(name string) []string {
 			options.TokenStr,
 			options.CertificateKey,
 			options.Patches,
+			// TODO: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubeadm/issues/2046 remove in 1.23
+			options.ExperimentalPatches,
 		}
 	case "download-certs":
 		flags = []string{
@@ -124,6 +126,8 @@ func getControlPlanePreparePhaseFlags(name string) []string {
 			options.CfgPath,
 			options.ControlPlane,
 			options.Patches,
+			// TODO: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubeadm/issues/2046 remove in 1.23
+			options.ExperimentalPatches,
 		}
 	default:
 		flags = []string{}
diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/controlplane.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/controlplane.go
index 1f83a155ed9..701794e5a61 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/controlplane.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/upgrade/node/controlplane.go
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ func NewControlPlane() workflow.Phase {
 			options.CertificateRenewal,
 			options.EtcdUpgrade,
 			options.Patches,
+			// TODO: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubeadm/issues/2046 remove in 1.23
+			options.ExperimentalPatches,
 		},
 	}
 	return phase