Geranium leaves curling upward - Ask Extension
My geranium has nice looking leaves, but they are curling upwards. They stay curled no matter day or night - hot or cool. I do not see any bugs on the...
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Geranium leaves curling upward #794940
Asked June 08, 2022, 4:01 PM EDT
My geranium has nice looking leaves, but they are curling upwards. They stay curled no matter day or night - hot or cool. I do not see any bugs on the leaves at all. The plant is outside and on the west side of the house in a large pot. We monitor watering with a moisture meter so no under or over watering. It gets the hot afternoon sun for 7 or 8 hours. I put a geranium in this pot in that location every year and have not had any problems previously. As you can see in the photo it is in a deep liner inside that large 3 ft tall black pot. It has been fertilized with a granular feed for flowing plants. Any thoughts on what might be the matter? Thank you! Ann
Weld County Colorado
Expert Response
Ann,
Thanks for reaching out to Ask Extension.The most likely issue with your leaf curl is the amount of sun & heat the plant is getting.
You are doing a lot of things right, checking the soil moisture before watering, and fertilizing your plant.
The articles attached below discuss container gardening in general and some specifics about geraniums.
Geraniums generally need at least 6 hours of sun daily. 7-8 hours facing west, especially planted in the rock area in your picture, may be a bit too intense.
Also, some geranium types are less tolerant of intense heat. Is this plant a different type that the geraniums you have planted in prior years?
Zonal geraniums generally do well in full sun, but ivy, zonal/ivy hybrid, and scented geraniums prefer to be a bit cooler and tolerate more shade.
How often and at what strength are you applying the fertilizer? Every 2 weeks at a diluted strength is recommended.
And, deadhead the blooms as they finishing blooming. Otherwise, the plant may think its work is done for the year.
Please review the information below, and if you have further issues or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us again.
CONTAINER GARDENS – CSU FACT SHEET 7.238
https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/container-gardens-7-238/GERANIUM CARE – IOWA STATE EXTENSION
https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/faq/how-do-i-care-garden-geraniumsGROWING GERANIUMS – AU Cooperative Extension
https://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/growinggeraniums.html