geraniums ( not hardy ) looking peaky ,should I feed ?

[gingeroots]

I have a very large pot in a sheltered position near my front door . It has had geraniums in it for about 3 years . They retained some flowers over winter .

They are still going strong but some leaves are yellowing at the edges and developing blackish splotches .

Anyone know why or how I can help them ? Could they need feeding ? If so what ? I have Baby Bio and Tomato Feed .

Anyone ?Shall I go with tomato food ?

Have you ever repotted them? If not you could take them out, get rid of th e old compost and replace with fresh. Then feed regularly whilst they are flowering. Take off the yellow leaves.

thanks ,I repotted last autumn and I remove any leaves that look yellow .

what would be the most approriate feed ?

I would use the tomato feed.

That's great ,thank you so much .

They love tomato feed.

Is it possible they have just reached the end of their lifespan and it's time to buy new ones? Aldi have big individual ones this week - red, white or pink.

They might be getting that way .They were my mum's ,so I'm a bit sentimental .

I sympathise gingeroots - this year my Dad's geraniums have failed and I assume come to the end of their life 3 years after he has gone - I kept them for sentimental reasons and they thrived until this year - so I understand your sentiment about not wanting to simply replace.

Get some cuttings, geraniums grow like weed, you'll have new plants in a couple of weeks.

Thanks Quartz ,that's kind of you .

That's a good idea Chardonnay .I'd not thought of it as I'm not experienced and have never taken a cutting .

I'll have a google and a go . Nothing to loose !

Easy.
Break of the end bit of a branch with a few leaves and stick in a pot.

That's it.

Really ? Wow !

Don't you suspend it in a glass of water for a bit until it grows roots, then stick it in a pot?

No, no need.

I do it with hardy geraniums too, esp macrorhizum.

Hardy geraniums are brilliant. I have pulled them out like weeds, then potted them up and they've grown. I don't think this is recommended though!

I love them, grow everywhere, easy to propagate.

I stuck 6 cuttings in the borders on Saturday. I'll let you know how many have survived next week.

Please do. Had you potted them up for a few weeks first?

No, I had a big plant with lots of runners, so it's very much like root cuttings.

Stuck them in the borders, they look quite perky.

But are they pelargoniums or geraniums? If they're pelargoniums they won't be too happy in the garden.

I understand the sentimental attachment. Not Geraniums, but I have Christmas Cacti that are the great great grandcacti of the ones belonging to my lovely late FIL who died 25 years ago .

The ones in the borders are Geranium Maccrorhizum. Bees adore them.

The ones in the pots are pelargonium.

Same procedure, break off a bit and stick it in.

The border ones are hardy and the potted ones need bringing in during the winter.

I know, I have nowhere to bring them in though, so they stay in their pots huddled together somewhere sheltered.

Yes that works for me too, I put some fleece round them and or raise them up out of the frost, if it gets really cold! Better than completely inside!