Kitchen Garden Forum

They've been on indoor window sills since last autumn surviving well, then about 3/4 weeks ago many of the leaves turned reddish/orange or dropped off. Could I have overwatered or underwatered, and do they stand any chance of regenerating themselves in this state if I plant them out?

Dear Primrose,
tip one out of it's pot and look for some small white grubs with brown heads. If you find some then all the plants will need re-potting after having all the soil shaken off. These are vine weevil grubs and the soil must go into a green bin or chicken run to get rid of them.
Regards Sally Wright.

That's really helpful Sally. When it stops pouring down with rain I'll go out and check them. How would the grubs have got there?. Do they just remain dormant in the compost in the pot and then suddenly start to hatch out?

Primrose wrote:do they stand any chance of regenerating themselves in this state if I plant them out?

Regarding the chance of regeneration, the answer is: highly likely, but with some help. If indeed the roots have gone, geraniums re-root readily. To help them on their way, though, don't plant them out yet. Instead, treat them as cuttings, in a close environment, in warmth and out of direct sun. In any case, you need to tip some out of their pots to see what's gone wrong at the roots. Potting into fresh compost usually does the trick.