Currant-leaved Pelargonium with Bacterial Leaf Spot? Rare but Treatable

Bacterial Leaf Spot on Currant-leaved Pelargonium: What to Know?

Bacterial Leaf Spot on Currant-leaved Pelargonium (Pelargonium ribifolium) is a bacterial condition with moderate severity. Currant-leaved Pelargonium has low susceptibility to this disease. Xanthomonas is a group of bacteria that causes leaf spots and blights on many garden and indoor plants. It spreads through splashing water, wet tools, hands, and infected seed or cuttings. Early signs...

Currant-leaved Pelargonium is a medium-care plant.

Unlike most plants, Currant-leaved Pelargonium has natural resistance to Bacterial Leaf Spot. Best treated with preventive measures rather than reactive treatment.

• ✓ Keep leaves dry by watering early in the day at soil level and increasing spacing for airflow.
• ✓ Practice hygiene by sanitizing tools and pots and washing hands and gloves between plants.
• ✓ Avoid working with plants when they are wet.
• ✓ Buy healthy certified seed and disease free transplants and quarantine new houseplants for two to three weeks.
• ✓ Use mulch to limit splash and maintain even soil moisture.
• ✓ Rotate vegetable crops by family and remove crop residues after harvest.
• ✓ Manage leaf chewing insects that create entry wounds.
• ✓ Maintain balanced nutrition and avoid excess nitrogen that encourages soft disease prone growth.