I've grown a variety of perennial geranium which I believe is NH Purple for YEARS....I have never known it to be anything but low maintenance. I just happened to be walking by an section of it that edges one of my beds and noticed it looked bad. I've attached some photos and I'm wondering if anyone can give me some insight on what disease might be the culprit. The 3rd photo is for comparison to the second - as the 3rd one is unaffected and dense as it should be....

Thanks so much!

I would check first for four-lined plant bugs, note the young ones (nymphs) look different from the yellow and black striped adults:

https://www.google.ca/search?q...:

Think it may be anthracnose, water early and avoid getting the leaves wet, clean out affected leaves. Maybe a wet cool spring?

Thank you both! It has been a cooler spring with more rain than usual, and overcast days. It could be either of those things. I will check for the bugs, though when I looked at them the day I noticed the problem, I didn't see anything except some young grasshoppers. I do know THEY can spread disease, so I wasn't sure if that was part of it. I'll look for the bugs, then see what I can do about the irrigation.

Thanks again!

J

I took some pictures this morning of four-lined plant bug damage to a hardy geranium so you could compare. I couldn't find the bugs, they have probably completed their lifecycle but they do this to these geraniums (and certain other plants) every year here. They feed by puncturing the leaf tissue hence the spots.

Sooby,

You were right. I see no signs of the adults, but several other plants in the general area show damage that is quite obviously not disease, but in fact these little suckers (literally!). I will be more vigilant next spring when they are more active so I can prevent the damage.

Thanks again!

Jennifer

They're a real pain here on catmint, Russian sage, veronica, hardy geraniums, and a few other things. Obedient plant too if I remember rightly. They're also, fortunately, predictable, they go for certain plants every year so it is possible to get ahead of the damage by watching for the first signs. On the bright side at least they don't have continuous generations all season like some other bugs.