Geranium conundrum

[Shobo9]

I have this geranium who has been doing great all winter since bringing it inside in early fall. I was gone for the weekend but when I left it was all green, with no blooms. The plant did bloom throughout the winter. But now it looks like this. Yellow and orange leaves and some spots. It does have new growth and the leaves and stems are wet. Meaning they don’t fall off and I really need to clip them. It’s been in the same place the whole time. And has been in the same pot. Thoughts on what could be going on and how to restore the plant. Thanks! Also I’m new to plants so explanations at the novice level would be great.

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

This Pelargonium x hortorum cv. grown in a container, will want full sun, well-drained soil, moderate irrigation, and occasional application of a complete, liquid fertilizer. Double-check the soil, roots, and container to be sure that the drainage is good and the soil is not overly wet. In warm weather this plant may be 'summered outdoors' Remove any dead or dying leaves and stems

Stork-bills (Pelargonium x hortorum cv.) is a hybrid of species native to South Africa in the Geranium Family (Geraniaceae).
It is also commonly known as Garden-geranium, but Pelargonium is distinct from the 'true' Geraniums or Crane-bills of the genus Geranium.

 

[Shobo9]

Thanks marck. So the soil and container are well draining. I water it about every 1.5 weeks. Letting the soil dry before watering. It is in a west facing, no shade, window and has been since mid-sept after bringing it inside. I’ve had the plant since mid-may. I’ve never repotted it and I’ve never given it fertilizer.

 

[Marck]

Don't overwater but conversely, don't go so long before irrigating that the soil becomes overly dry and the plant drought-stressed. Also begin a fertilizing regiment with a complete liquid fertilizer.

With time, Pelargonium shrubs will become woody and bare at the base. Take a few cuttings so you'll have young plants to replace this one if it declines.

 

[Herbie]

Hi , and welcome . Looking at your pics l would say that your pelargonium is ready to be prepared for the season ! . I would remove all the leaves , apart from any tiny new ones and then cut back all the stems by at least a half. The lower you go the more bushy the growth will be. I like to then lift the plant and shake off most of the old , exhausted compost and re pot in fresh multipurpose compost . Water and place it in good light and new leaves will quickly appear.

 

[Shobo9]

Hi , and welcome . Looking at your pics l would say that your pelargonium is ready to be prepared for the season ! . I would remove all the leaves , apart from any tiny new ones and then cut back all the stems by at least a half. The lower you go the more bushy the growth will be. I like to then lift the plant and shake off most of the old , exhausted compost and re pot in fresh multipurpose compost . Water and place it in good light and new leaves will quickly appear.

Thank you. That is helpful. I did a small pruning of this one in the fall. So that makes sense a more drastic prune would be good. I was afraid. The one part that’s hard to see in the pictures is new growth down low with better leaves. Here’s an updated picture after I took all the ‘bad’ leaves off. The sparse side has flower buds. But is sparse. So a cut back makes sense.