Having too much moisture or overwatering is one of the most frequent reasons of yellowing leaves. Geraniums typically have yellow leaves at the bottom when they are overwatered. They could also get water patches that appear pale. If so, you should cease watering right away so that the plants can dry off. Remember that geraniums do not like excessive amounts of water and are drought-tolerant plants.
Geranium yellow leaves can also occur when the water or air are too cold. Since geraniums prefer warm climates, they struggle in cool climates. Geraniums with yellow leaves can be caused by prolonged cold weather, particularly cold, wet weather, or by cold snaps in the spring.
Additionally, a nutrient deficit could be the reason why the geranium leaves turn more yellow than green. Every third watering or once a month, geranium plants should be treated with a comprehensive, water-soluble fertilizer (ideally one with micronutrients). Geraniums’ yellow leaves can be avoided using fertilizer, and the plant will grow larger and produce more blooms as a result.
A geranium with yellow leaves sporadically indicates the presence of a disease. Verticillium, for instance, is a fungus that can result in stunted growth, withering, and brilliant yellow leaves.
What about the yellow-edged geranium leaves? Dehydration or a lack of water are frequently blamed for geranium leaves that have yellow margins or yellow tips. Geraniums require some water even though they can withstand drought. In these situations, you can use your fingers to feel the soil to gauge how dry the plants may be and water accordingly. Trimming the yellowing growth off might also be beneficial.
You can see that geraniums with yellow leaves often only require a little tender loving care in order to recover. Give a geranium what it needs and you will not see your geranium’s leaves turning yellow.
Should I trim the geraniums’ golden leaves?
A few geraniums from my garden were rescued and taken inside for the winter. The leaves are already turning yellow and falling off the plant in large amounts. They slip off the moment I touch them. Why am I misusing this? Will I still have my plants?
In reality, the garden geranium is a pelargonium (Pelargoniumhortorum). It is a subtropical shrubby plant that has Southern African roots. I don’t think you need to be too concerned about losing your pelargonium altogether because generations of gardeners have been putting them indoors for the winter in colder climates and the majority manage to keep them living. Yellowing leaves are a very common occurrence, though.
In essence, the plant has to adjust to drastically changed growing conditions when it is initially brought indoors: a more constant temperature, reduced air humidity, and, crucially, a substantial reduction in light levels. It gets far less light within than it did outside, even at your brightest window. Add to that the fact that the number of daylight hours will be steadily decreasing throughout the fall. Your sun-loving pelargonium is now thriving in the plant equivalent of what may appear to be a bright, sunny windowsill to you.
When that happens, the majority of pelargoniums react by dropping their older, more suited leaves that were developed in full sun. Although new leaves that are more acclimated to reduced light levels partially replace them, leaf loss can still be fairly significant. Remove brown and yellowing leaves without hesitation, and your plant will immediately seem much better: possibly a little more open, but at least adequately green.
With pelargoniums overwintering, overwatering becomes a problem and can exacerbate leaf loss. They require less water since they get less light. They require less water than most other houseplants because they are already semi-succulents with thick stems that store moisture. You might want to skip your pelargoniums occasionally if you’re used to watering your plants on a regular basis, such as once per week. Touch the soil directly, and if it’s still wet—which it can be after just one week—wait until it’s dry before watering again. It’s tough to provide a set timetable because the frequency of watering depends on the environment. However, you might only need to water your plant every 10 days or so in a sunny location and every 2 or 3 weeks in a shadier one.
Giving them the greatest light possible can also help. The finest window is a sizable one facing south; east or west windows are also suitable. Put them under grow lights, either fluorescent or LED, and give them 16-hour days if you feel there isn’t enough light.
Pelargoniums can withstand a broad range of temperatures, from below zero to above 80 oF (28 oC), although they will require considerably less watering if you keep them cold, say around 60 oF (15 oC).
There’s no need to become fixated on it, but extremely dry air can also cause considerable leaf loss. Pelargoniums are OK with 40% humidity, which your home humidifier can easily handle, although other plants could like 70%. Misting the leaves is definitely not a good idea because it might cause disease issues and is a waste of time.
It’s usually better to avoid fertilizing in regular window light from October to late February. Fertilize sparingly when using lights. You can use any fertilizer.
With these simple procedures, you should be able to stop leaf loss and start enjoying your pelargoniums once more. This is especially true considering that they will bloom indoors even in the winter, albeit less profusely than they would outdoors in the summer.
How frequently do geraniums need to be watered?
Generally speaking, water geraniums 12 times a week. However, geranium watering requirements can vary based on the environment, the weather, and other significant considerations. A zonal geranium will require more watering in the late summer than a perennial geranium will in the winter. Place your finger in the soil to determine when geraniums need watering. This method is the simplest and least expensive. It’s time to water if the top 2 inches (5 cm) of soil are dry.
- When the top 2 inches (5 cm) of soil feel dry to the touch, water geraniums.
- If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, you can measure the amount of moisture with a moisture meter.
Utilizing a soil moisture meter is another way to monitor soil moisture levels. To determine when your container geraniums require additional water, use this moisture meter. Before watering, wait until the needle is in the top end of the “dry region. Until the needle reaches the top of the “wet region,” add water. Keep it out of the “wet region.”
Underwatering
Because geraniums are one of the few plants that can survive a heatwave, they are particularly drought tolerant, making it safer to submerge them. So, if you’re unclear whether to water or not, wait a day or two before checking the soil’s moisture content again by inserting your finger into it.
You’ll see that the only part of the geraniums that suffers from drought is the edges of the leaves, which turn yellow. Giving your plant water is much simpler than waiting for the soil to dry out. Furthermore, gnats can be a problem if there is too much water.
Proper Watering of Geraniums
Water 1 of the topsoils from underneath when it seems dry to the touch. To nourish the plant, you should moisten the root ball. Long-term wetness of the leaves might result in Bacterial Leaf Spot (see below), which manifests as yellow spots on the leaves.
Cold Snaps
Geranium leaves can become yellow during cold spells. especially when there is a prolonged period of chilly and rainy weather. Even a slight freeze can have devastating effects on geraniums.
In the early spring, outdoor plants are more vulnerable to frost damage. Keep up with the weather forecasts at this time of year, and you should have plenty of time to protect your fragile plants like geraniums from a frost.
Watering your plants is the easiest thing to do when a frigid night is predicted. It may seem counterintuitive, but the one time to purposefully overwater geraniums is when frost is expected because water acts as an insulator, strengthening the foliage.
Even when the temperature drops, heated moisture will continue to evaporate, providing the plants with additional heat.
Micronutrient Deficiency
During the growing season, geraniums require fertilization at least twice a month or every two weeks. The best fertilizer is a balanced 20-20-20 water-soluble product like Jack’s Classic (Amazon).
Magnesium is one of the essential secondary minerals that all plants, including geraniums, require since it has a direct impact on the chlorophyll molecule, which is responsible for the green color on plant foliage.
Geranium leaves can become yellow from a lack of magnesium. Sulfur, zinc, and iron deficits can also cause the yellowing of geranium leaves.
To find out if your fertilizer contains magnesium, check the label. If not, you can add some Epsom salts to it as a supplement because that salt’s chemical name is magnesium sulfate heptahydrate. You can also take a relaxing Epsom salt bath. Good for your plants and you.
Testing your soil using a soil test kit is the simplest approach to determine whether your plants are short in important nutrients. Preferably one that measures the amount of soluble salts in your growing medium and provides you with a pH reading and Electrical Conductivity (EC) reading.
According to Michigan State University’s recommendations, EC readings should be between 1.0 and 2.0, with pH readings varied depending on the type of geranium:
- pH 6.0 to 8.0 for Zonal Geraniums
- Ivy and Regal Geraniums’ pH:
Bacterial Blight
This is most noticeable on the underside of the leaves that look like V-shaped lesions and yellow/brownish water spots.
Wilting and yellow spots are the results of bacterial blight, which begins at the base of the plant. It can eventually cause stem rot as it advances and eventually harm the entire plant.
It spreads quickly as well, so if you think your geranium has the disease, isolate it from the rest of your plants and completely sterilize any instruments you’ve used on it to avoid cross-contamination.
Bacterial Leaf Spot
This resembles blight but does not cause withering. Only yellow leaf dots will be seen. The leaves being wet for too long is a known culprit, therefore water geraniums from below and avoid wetting the leaves.
An additional contributing factor is high humidity. However, because it can spread like bacterial blight, it is preferable to remove the plant and sanitize your instruments.
Southern Bacterial Wilt
The signs of Southern Bacterial Wilt are similar to those of Blight, with the exception that it always begins at the soil line and moves upward, discoloring the plant as it does so.
Blight will cause the plant’s lower portions to yellow and wilt, but Southern Bacterial Blight always causes these symptoms to move upward from the soil line.
Viral Infections
About 15 viruses are known to harm geraniums and cause the leaves to yellow. Geranium viruses can take up to three weeks to manifest any symptoms of an infection, making them difficult for producers.
By now, it has probably spread to neighbouring plants through splashing water or insects like aphids and thrips.
A geranium with a viral infection can still live, but the blooms won’t be as colorful and the leaves may become yellow. Early indicators of a viral infection can be difficult to spot, but they include smaller flowers, poor roots, and limited development.
Herbicide Injuries
Herbicides can be used to control weeds, but accidents can still occur. It’s safer to weed manually and frequently when you’re around geraniums. While not all herbicides will kill geraniums, they will cause the leaves to bleach.
Use mulch to reduce weeds around your plants instead of herbicides, which could accidentally harm your geraniums. This is a safer alternative to weeding.
Will geranium leaves that are yellow turn green once more?
Yellow leaves are beautiful in the autumn on trees like gingko and quaking aspens. However, if you notice a large number of them on your fern, green-leafed pothos, or other indoor plants, it can be a concerning sight. However, it’s not always a terrible thing.
All year long, tropical plants maintain their leaves. But the life cycle of houseplant leaves exists (like all living things). Each leaf ages, gets yellow, and eventually dies. It’s not a problem if one or two leaves are yellow. However, if several leaves start to turn yellow, it’s time to intervene.
The most frequent causes of yellowing leaves are inconsistent watering (either too much or too little) or improper illumination (too much, too little). You must determine the cause of the issue in order to prevent other leaves from becoming yellow. Learn more about additional reasons why leaves could yellow.
Usually, when a leaf on a houseplant turns yellow, it is about to die. A leaf’s green tint is caused by chlorophyll. The plant abandons the leaf after it stops producing chlorophyll and starts utilizing any remaining nutrients in the leaf. Because of this, you usually can’t convert a leaf back to green once it turns yellow. (However, in instances of nutrient deficits, yellow leaf color occasionally becomes green again with therapy.)
There are numerous types of plants that naturally produce leaves with splashes and streaks of yellow. Variegation is what we refer to as when this occurs in healthy plants. When plants are exposed to more light, variegation may appear brighter.
Conclusion: It’s not necessary to panic if a few leaves turn yellow. The yellow leaf is like a warning light, therefore you should pay attention to it. It might be a normal shedding process or it might be an indication that something is wrong.