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Pelargonium problem
Hi I am a very novice gardener. Last month, I planted two pelargoniums during a warm sunny spell of weather. They looked lovely for a while but after two weeks, the flowers died and the leaves developed yellow and red tinges. My dad said I planted them too early. What can I do to revive them?
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For the moment, get them under shelter, somewhere frost free and light. They aren't winter hardy, so as the temperatures dropped they've probably got nipped by frosts, which causes the red leaf discolouration. If they're in garden borders, you'll probably have to put them in pots. Keep them on the dry side (ie don't overwater them). You may find that some of the stems die back, if so, they will need cutting back, preferably to a leaf node.
Hopefully they'll recover, and when the weather gets more reliably warm, they can go back out. If it's a sunny day, put them outside, but bring them back in at night until there is no chance of frost or chilly night temperatures.
I agree with figrat - they've gone out far too early and got chilled.
As already said, bring them indoors for now - you can think about planting them out again in Mid-late May.
Pelargoniums are basically a house plant-only in recent years have they been considered as bedding plants with the introduction of F1 hybrids
But if they get a slight chill the leaves go red-and they are not frost hardy-depending on where you live then they will be ok to plant outside in about 4 weeks-but you will need to harden them off first.
Never be fooled by unseasonably warm weather
Thanks for all the advice.