geraniums

i got some geraniums from jersey plants i have put them in the greenhouse in pots to grow on but some are just dying with like a furry moss round the plant a lot of them are ok i cover them all at night with fleece and put a parrafin heater on at around 4am all the other plants what i have grown from seed seem ok
thanks dm

 

Have you got a Max/Min thermometer in the greenhouse? You need to know how cold it is getting overnight (put it under the fleece, next to the plants, as that's the min temperature you need to measure

Whilst older, mature, geraniums will take lower I think that small tender one are going to need a minimum of 10C.

 

i just have a normal thermometer and its hung in the greenhouse not under the fleece but would it be just the geraniums that need this as all the other plants are ok
when i go in first thing in the morning it is some times as low as zeroand up to 10 degrees but i think i was told that the fleece protected to -30
thanks dm

 

Hi Doormat

Try not to over water , I always water the seedlings in the morning never in the afternoon unless desperate for a drink , as they are best a little drier over the night as the temp drops
Geraniums at the early stages don't like full sun on them midday a sheet of paper does the trick , they could have grey mould ? as I said earlier dont over water them at this stage of growth

I hope that helps a little
ps you get up early 4am !

Spruce

 

Are these geraniums or pelargoniums?? pelargoniums don't like any humidity and the paraffin heater would create humidity.

Val

 

thanks for the replies i will try these things

 

Doormat - I am afraid that it far from the truth. Fleece helps by perhaps a couple of degrees centigrade or so.

It if was -30C outside - would you go out dressed in fleece only? I would want something a lot more substantial. What fleece does mainly is just protect plants from the wind - like us plants also suffer from windchill.

 

If you have metal staging in the greenhouse, then putting the heater under it - so that the bench heats up - and then putting the fleece over the plants may well trap enough heat under the fleece to make a significant difference, even if the temperature in the greenhouse, above the fleece, falls dramatically.

Be careful not to cook them though! Needs a Max/Min thermometer under the fleece, and preferably another one above it, so show what sort of insulation you are getting in practice.

 

it is a metal staging but i have not got room on the staging for the heater
there is another thing i have none on the top to get the direct sun i have 4 shelves and it seems that the lower ones are doing the best they are all in 3inch pots and the pots are stood in trays with water in is this wrong would they be getting too much water this way
thanks dm

 

Too much water I reckon dm. Only pond plants can cope with being permanently sitting with their roots in water. It sounds as though your are rotting through being permanently wet,
Jenny

 

thanks jenny i will change everything today i thought it was the easiest way to keep them watered
dm

 

Just to check: the heater would need to be under the staging for this effect (its probably when you meant, but I just wanted to check )

Won't help with the shelves above though :(

 

Capillary matting is useful , but even at this early stage can be too wet its awkward when very small trays or pots are used and they can dry out very quickly , just have to keep vigilante I am sure most of us have messed up at times with the weather lately as its been so cold but come lunchtime the greenhouse has been xtra hot even with this cold wind as the past two weeks my automatic greenhouse window has been open when I have come back from work , I use fleece to shade plants as well .

Spruce

 

yes the heater will not go under the staging but now with all the answers i have found that the staging as a slight tilt backwards this as meant that the frontpots looked dry but a few at the back was still stood in water i have now removed all the trays and will water individually
dm