Yeah, once you go past a point, the plant seems to go into dormancy with the leaves dying off. Think about the people who overwinter pelargoniums bareroot.

sedumzz said: Anyone know what's wrong? Maybe it is too close to the grow lights.



May need more water. Prune those leaves off though. When did you last fertilize?

• South African Geranium (Pelargonium sidoides)
• Uploaded by sedumzz

LorettaNJ said: Yeah, once you go past a point, the plant seems to go into dormancy with the leaves dying off. Think about the people who overwinter pelargoniums bareroot.

True! If you want to overwinter and let them go dormant. Some people can keep them as houseplants through the winter though!

That's what I'm doing, keeping my geraniums as house plants on the indoor windowsill.

Took a little walk in the garden this morning, first one in days after lots of cold and rain and no energy from a Covid recovery. All the pelargoniums fared well with lots of new growth on some. I will gradually be trimming them up to tidy them, adding compost and maybe try rooting some of the trimmings. My geraniums too are all putting on great growth, the self seeders have done their thing and are popping up everywhere.


Older photo from 2015


and my Mom's garden in 2017

Sue! So sorry you had to tangle with covid.
Hopefully walking through the garden brings you the strength for full recovery.

I see my wintering-over windowsill geraniums are forming blooms. They know Spring is near. (Even though we are getting 12" of snow this evening.)

Picked up a couple of new pels:
Aristo Black Beauty


Tango Strawberry Ice



And a few I've had for years are now blooming.

Classic Lavender


Aztec

I didn't like Geraniums as a kid. My grandpa had them everywhere and he never cleaned spiderwebs from them so I imagined tarantulas living in them...over active imagination as a kid

This year though, I can't get enough of them. I have 2 from cuttings a friend gave me and I bought 2 more on my own. In love with them!

Problem is, my gas station down the street has them at the end of the gas pumps. I have to fight the urge to dead head them, and snag a little cutting for myself LOL! I might have to ask if I can clean them up for the owner in exchange for a cutting

I have a lot of pelargoniums too, they are so easy to propagate. (true geraniums are a different genus😁)
These were before they peaked and before I did some cleanup trimming.

They look great, Sue. Do you follow a fertilizer routine?

Not really, when I remember to add some slow release I do. This year in early spring I added a layer of PayDirt as a mulch and whenever I do that to any plant, in a pot or in ground, they really respond well.

I never heard of that product. Is it a compost?

Click the blue word PayDirt in my post, takes you to the website. It's a soil builder and top dressing. I'm sure there are many brands with similar ingredients.

I just found it in my area, Salem OR at Terra Gardens and Bark. From Sue's link you can download the MSDS with the ingredients (but not the proportions). I'll check it out but not before the summer heat waves are done with.

My Mom was the one that discovered it a few years ago, she always has the best looking daylilies, roses, potted plants, pretty much anything she grows and I always comment how good everything looks. She mentioned what she's been adding, a bit of it to planting holes and also as mulch. I tried one bag at first, top dressed a few roses and potted plants and I could really tell the difference. Now I wait until the local nursery has a sale, buy 3 get one free, and I stock up.

Looks like it has good stuff.

Those are very nice! I like scented pelargoniums. What turns me off the most towards most Pelargoniums are the weird scent a lot of them have (Which is why I like the scented ones). I love Geraniums, they are wonderful plants to pillow and cushion over a path, the beautiful blooms swaying every so slightly in the breeze.

I agree, many of the pels, not including the scented varieties, have that funky smell but the blooms more than make up for it. They just don't get used for indoor bouquets.
Best geranium in my opinion is Rozanne.

I was obsessed with finding this color, and I stopped dead in my tracks when I finally saw it my Summerwinds garden center. This color is happiness to me.
Dynamo Orange

It looks like the traditional color. Is it hard to find now?