A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Geranium trouble

I have had a large Geranium that I got this summer. it was outside and I brought it in as cold weather came, It has been on top of my refrigerator- and doing quite well, until a few weeks ago it was still producing flowers. I water when it gets dry. But it has developed a problem, the branches are mushy and appear to be filled with a dark goo when I examined it, the leaves are now dying. What could be causing this and what if anything could I do about this. This plant actually means a lot to me, and I would really like to save it if possible- or get a cutting if possble.

Bacterial leaf spot/blight causes spotting of the leaves, leaf drop and black rot of the stems. Botrytis blight is common during cool, moist weather. Oedema causes corky spots on the leaves and occurs when plants are over-watered. Reduce watering frequency, keep water off leaves, increase air circulation and make sure plants are in enough sun to reduce these problems. Keep plants cleaned of any dead, damaged, or yellowed leaves or flowers.

If I were you I would also break off some pieces of healthy plant at the joint and stick them in a different pot of potting soil... These pieces will root and give you more plants...Just in case you cannot save the plant that you love...You can at least have pieces of it...Geranium is EASY to root.

You might want to re-pot it so you can pull out the soil and see/and or smell if there is rot in the soil. If there is you need to add as much new soil as you can. It should come back Geranium is a very resilient plant.

There is a topic on here rooting Geranium <I think>> that may also be able to help you.

Oh and after you get it dried out..1 tablespoon of water mixed with a LITTLE miracle grow every other day should help it recover completely...If it does not die first..Do the Miracle grow therapy for a week then leave it dry out. Do not water it too much...

The water should be BARELY blue from the Miracle Grow.

I usually use a plastic container and pre mix the water and miracle grow..Then water the plant from that mixture...Make sure you put a air tight lid on the container so the water does not grow bacteria...Remember BARELY blue...

MORE <sorry> When re potting use a pot that breaths....Like a terra cotta pot. Not plastic...

Put some rocks in the bottom to help with drainage.

MORE....<<SIGH>>

Make sure the new pot is not more than 1 inch bigger <<width and depth>>than the original pot.

Thanks for the advice,I think some of the stems are still ok yet. So Maybe I can reroot those.

Try to repot the original plant too...No kidding, I have had them oozing that black stuff before and repotted them in new soil and they came back.
after you repot it find a nice sunny spot to put it. Sun is like therapy for them.