Geranium Pests and Diseases: [Detection, Causes and Solutions]

To have a beautiful garden it is necessary to have the best ornamental plants that exist and, in that area, geraniums stand out as favorites.

The quantity of species, added to the fact that they can be found in an infinity of varied colors, give it elegance and high value.

It is also necessary to emphasize that geraniums can be planted both in pots and directly in the garden , serving us even more. 

Of course, the care that we have must be administered with a lot of love, especially when dealing with pests and diseases of geraniums.

Rust

It is a disease that has the property of manifesting itself on the basis of the action of a fungus and that mainly attacks the leaves of the plant .

In these, a series of brown pustules develop that look bulky because inside them is the mycelium of the fungus.

Its appearance occurs in environments that are loaded with humidity, so it is important to control this aspect, especially if the geraniums are in pots. Although the main action is on the leaves, it also has the ability to drastically affect flowering.

In the end, if left untreated, the leaves may end up drying out, affecting the overall health of the plant . If this is the case, there will be no choice but to burn this damage to prevent the fungus from spreading to other plants.

Treatment, applied quickly as soon as the first symptoms are detected, will consist of applying copper- based products such as Bordeaux mixture .

Mealybugs

It is a common pest in many crops, both ornamental type such as geraniums, fruit trees and vegetables. In this case, the most frequently affected species is the cottony mealybug .

This is white and has a shell covered with a kind of white fluff , hence the name cottony.

They generate damage to plants by extracting the sap that runs through their structure , locating their action especially in the youngest stems and nerves. All this results in the plant losing its healthy appearance and weakening, making it prone to other damages, especially due to the production of molasses. 

A very important fact is that dealing with the mealybug is not an easy task after they are consolidated adults, due to the shell that protects them. Therefore, it is necessary to attend to the first vestiges that something is not going well and use appropriate ecological products to deal with them.

Bad foot

Foot disease is a disease that occurs due to the action of a fungus that lives on the ground.

It is usually activated in conditions of very high humidity , for example when excessive watering is carried out that leads to flooding.

The attack is carried out directly to the neck of the plant , generating a rot that affects the entire structure. As the effects progress, the disease moves up to the aerial parts of the plant.

However, the determining symptom is noted at the ground level, where a black dust is evident about the fungus that later turns white. It is one of the most worrisome diseases when it attacks because it has no cure and the only solution is to kill the plant.

Red spider

They are insects with the same physical structure of a spider but whose size is only half a centimeter.

Its location is on the leaves, but not on the front but on the underside , where they are not easily located, unless a magnifying glass is used.

They have a suction device where they have their mouths and, through it, they suck the sap from the plants , causing small wounds.

These wounds fade as they appear or turn yellow , which will give us the first signs that something is wrong. They also have the property of producing cobwebs , as in the case of common spiders, which can be seen on the underside of leaves.

Its appearance responds to the increase in environmental temperature in conjunction with high humidity. To treat them, it is necessary to apply miticidal products and better if these are used as soon as the attack begins.

Anthracnose

The anthracnose is one of the diseases arising in connection with the attack of a fungus that develops in many plant species.

Its effects generate spots on the surface of the leaves , which can be brown or apparently black and that grow as time passes.

Even a version of anthracnose can be noticed with brown spots and black spots in the internal area. 

The good news is that there are fungicidal products that are specific for this disease. In this way, you have the opportunity to repair the damage in case corrective actions are taken the moment symptoms start.

Aphids

They are pests that attack geraniums very frequently as they are found naturally in many gardens.

There are different types depending on the species in question, but in most cases their size is around 3 mm in length.

It will be possible to recognize their action on plants because they are dedicated to attacking the youngest parts of them . The attack is by pits that they exert on the structure to extract the internal sap.

One of the most characteristic symptoms has to do with the presence of a sticky and sweet substance that they secrete, known as molasses. It attracts ants , for example, but it also causes new leaves to curl up.

In addition to that, it is possible that the fungus that produces the disease known as bold will settle on the molasses , multiplying the negative effects. The attack is preventable and correctable by using specific insecticides like neem oil or tail extract horse .

Putting preventive and corrective measures into action (on time) will help us so that our geraniums are always in a thousand wonders.