A few thoughts... Was the weather hot this year? I know it's tough growing on concrete or blacktop, that usually makes matters worse. Also, maybe you had SVB problems... currently or in the past (growing in the same spot, they can hatch this year right under the plant.) It's hard to tell if it's SVB or bacterial wilt... bacterial wilt often takes down the entire plant... yours looks like just part of the plant. The fruit aborts can be heat related, especially since they are on pavement. I have a rear main vine on blacktop and no fruits set there, plus some leaves have crispy edges. The dried up leaves near the middle look similar to aged leaves near the beginning of a plant--they get that look from a combination of things--age, heat, wetting of the leaves during high heat, etc. I would look for signs of frass & holes in the vine section that's wilted, close to the stump. Also kinked or broken vines can cause the rest of a section of vine to wilt like that. See if you have any cucumber beetles in the flowers too. Hope this helps. Mark

I have some Geranium Biokovo and Biokovo Karmina. This is their second season in my garden and they are growing nicely to a good size and lots of lots of flowers just starting to bloom now. However, I do see that a fair number of the leaves turn yellow and sometimes orange and reddish, especially in the interior of the plant and close to the ground. These leaves as well as some of the green ones also have some little black spots that looks like a fungus of some sort. What is the cause, and what can I do to treat this? For now I have been removing the leaf and sometimes the stem as well of the discolored and the more fungus-covered parts, but I was wondering if I could do more. When I see 100+ leaves per plant it's kind of tough to pick through and find every one with black spots. Thanks.

So what was this?

Two years is a long time. When did you last repot? What are you feeding it? there can be several culprits, but likely it is just a ph imbalance from the potting medium breaking down. it COULD be chloramines, if your city just changed their water processing. when you repot, if you are looking to re-use that self watering pot, wash it well (maybe even with some vinegar, but rinse that really well). and prepare a soil mix with probably about 40-60% perlite mixed in a commercial African violet or seedling mix - try to find perlite and soil that have no fertilizers added - those can do really strange stuff if put in a self watering pot. i assume your plant has a "neck" (or stem). it doesn't hurt the plant, but some people don't like the looks. if you want to "rejuvenate" the plant, (i don't know if the article still is to be found here somewhere). the measures you take are a bit more drastic than simply repotting. Materials needed: potting mix (moistened, not sopping wet) pot. clear ziploc bag big enough so that will enclose pot & plant without touching the leaves a knife Procedure: take the plant out of the pot wash the pot fill the pot with pre-moistened potting mix (it should clump when compressed, but not be wet enough that you can squeeze water out) remove all flower buds and the outer rows of leaves until you get to the healthy center crown (anywhere from 2-6" across i think is fine). sever the stem about 1/2-3/4" below the lowest row of leaves place the plant in the pot, pushing the stem into the mix, bringing the bottom row of leaves near level with the soil line don't fill the reservoir with water put the entire thing, pot and plant, into the ziploc bag, blow it up for volume then close it. place it somewhere bright, but make sure there will be no direct sunshine hitting it (good way to cook a plant) wait for new growth. usually roots within a few weeks. if there is too much condensation, open the bag to air it out, then close it again. water if needed (probably not necessary) when you see new growth, open the bag bit by bit over the course of a few days, slowly acclimatising the plant to "normal" humidity levels. when you take the plant out of the bag, you can fill the reservoir Disclaimer: this is how i read it everywhere. i always strip the plant down to 2" or less, and rarely bag them. Do this at your own risk, if you are attached, root a bunch of the leaves you take off, as backup. good luck Karin