I am having trouble with my Geraniums. What am I doing wrong? About mid season the leaves start looking wilted and turn yellow. Am I not watering enough or too much?
Hardiness Zone: 6a
Peg from Springboro, OH
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I don't know where you live, I'm in Calif, but for the most part, geraniums prefer drier soil. Yellow leaves usually mean too much water. If you have more of a clay soil, like I do, you should mulch it, add sharp sand, anything to open up the soil so it drains better. I have this recipe for fertilizing geraniums, which I read in a Jerry Baker plant book; in a watering can or bucket, put in 3/8tsp instant tea, 1-1/2tsp baby shampoo or liquid dish soap, 1-12oz regular beer & 1-1/2gal water, mix well. Then take 1 or 2 handfuls of epsom salts around each bush, depending on size & trowel it into the soil & water it in with the beer mix. This will do 1 to 1-1/2 good size bushes. Do this like 2x a year & they will bloom like mad. It is good for all acid loving plants. Other plants like fuchias use less of course, they are more delicate.
My geranium is very small, lives indoor and is potted in a clay pot. Will your recipe adapt to these growing conditions?
Have had quite a few geraniums over the years and yellow leaves are usually a sign of over watering. You need to make sure the pot has good drainage, water well and then let the soil be dry (but not too dry) before watering again. Hope this helps :-)
Sounds like too much water. They do not like their roots to sit in water. Make sure you use planters with holes in the bottom or put rocks/broken pottery in the bottom before adding soild.
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I purchased my geraniums several weeks ago and could not plant them because of all the rain. Finally I planted them this week because the leaves were turning yellow and the buds looked awful. Will they survive or should I pull them all up and start over? I picked all the yellow leaves and drooping flowers off.
By Peggy Clark
If the weather warms up they should perk up. Don't overwater them, they don't mind being dry for awhile. Once they get going, don't forget to fertilize regularly, especially if they are in containers. Geraniums need cool nights to form buds and they like warm days.