Common succulent problems in summer, let me teach you how to tackle them one by one
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Faded
Alan Walker
00:00/03:32
BGM：Alan Walker——Faded
Haworthia cooperi
Three days off for the Dragon Boat Festival - did everyone go out traveling, or stay home? I stayed home taking photos of my succulents and tidying them up, and before I knew it, it was time to go back to work again.
I was wailing while tidying up - how did the succulents that looked so beautiful in March end up so bedraggled now? Let's look at the comparison photos (March VS June)
Echeveria 'Allen', all the color has completely faded
Sedum clavatum, it's like it turned into a completely different succulent!!!
These succulents all perform poorly because of the summer heat, and are prone to sunburn or other problems.
So what problems do succulents commonly run into in summer?
- 1. Leaf drop -
Leaves start dropping at the slightest touch, commonly seen in Cotyledon tomentosa (Bear's Paw) and Graptopetalum mendozae. Bear's Paw doesn't tolerate high temperatures and its leaves drop easily; Graptopetalum mendozae has leaves that are too small, and in summer it doesn't grow compactly either, so a touch easily knocks leaves off.
Treatment
Don't cut off water for Bear's Paw; when the leaves soften, give it a little water and let it slowly adapt to the environment. Don't move Bear's Paw and Graptopetalum mendozae around carelessly.
- 2. Black rot -
Starts turning black and withering from the roots or the top of the stem, commonly seen in succulents prone to black rot like Graptoveria 'Titubans', Echeveria 'Sasa Queen', and Echeveria elegans. My Graptoveria 'Titubans' has already had two small seedlings rot black since the start of summer; the old stem didn't rot though - depends on luck...
Weather also has a big influence; some succulents are just prone to black rot, and others get it from improper care: too much water, poor ventilation, soil that doesn't breathe, and so on. Each specific case needs its own analysis.
Treatment
1. If part of it has black rot, remove the rotted part, then place it in a cool, ventilated environment with a fan blowing on it, because with a wound it's dangerous to put it out in the sun;
2. If it's completely rotted black, promptly clean up the rotted succulent and wipe away your tears.
3. If part of it has black rot, remove the rotted part, mix carbendazim with water in the proper ratio and drench the roots; after drenching, use a fan on a gentle breeze for one night, and when you get up the next morning and it feels half dry, move it to a cool, ventilated spot. Do this for half a month straight, once a week.
4. In spring, pull more leaves off your succulents to serve as backups for summer - better than total wipeout, and you won't have to spend money buying more, since Sedum grows fast anyway.
5. Prevent ahead of time in spring by drenching the succulents a few times with avermectin and carbendazim.
- 3. Turning to water -
Starting from one leaf becoming watery, then all the leaves of the whole succulent turn to water and drop off. Turning to water is a bit hard to judge, because some succulents' leaves just look listless and watery in summer; you can only tell by checking whether the stem is healthy.
Slight turning to water:
Obvious turning to water:
Fully turned to water:
Treatment
Same as with black rot, pull off the leaves; if they all come off easily, it has fully turned to water. Remove the watery parts, place in a cool, ventilated spot, let the wounds dry, then slowly move it back to its original environment. 2. Just behead it and let it re-root, to stop the pathogens from continuing to infect the healthy parts. Rooting time varies, so wait patiently~
Echeveria 'Tippy'
- 4. Sunburn -
Usually the parts of the leaf edges that touch sunlight get scorched. I tested it, and succulents like Echeveria 'Allen', Sedum adolphi (didn't expect that, right?), and Sedum clavatum sunburn more easily;
Succulents of the Echeveria agavoides line - like Echeveria agavoides 'Christmas' and Echeveria agavoides 'Ivory' - are very tough, and no matter how much sun they get, they're fine. It's also closely related to how soft the leaves themselves are.
There's also a type caused by a sudden change in environment, or by spraying water into the leaf center, that causes sunburn (like the Graptoveria in the photo below) - this counts as improper care.
Treatment
1. So even with shade, this type of succulent can't be placed in the spot closest to the sunlight. If it gets sunburned, move it right away. Sunburn is irreversible - you can only wait for the succulent to slowly consume the leaves, or wait until autumn to give it a big makeover (pull off all the sunburned leaves clean, out of sight, out of mind).
2. For sunburn caused by a sudden change in environment, you have to let the succulent slowly adapt to the environment.
Aeonium 'Akafuku'
- 5. Green blisters appearing -
A fellow succulent lover asked, what's wrong with Echeveria 'Allen''s leaves? These big green blisters have appeared one by one - so ugly.
It's generally more common in succulents with oval leaves like Echeveria 'Allen' and Pachyphytum 'Peach Egg' (Echeveria 'Peach Egg'); green bumps appear one by one on the leaf surface, like pimples. Roughly once the temperature goes past 25°C, Echeveria 'Allen' will show this problem, and Pachyphytum 'Peach Egg' occasionally has it too; the higher the temperature, the bigger the blisters get.
Typical blisters
Treatment
1. Wait until autumn for them to be naturally consumed,
2. Or move it to an environment with a room temperature below 25°C,
The second method isn't very practical, because the conditions are hard to maintain, and a constant-temperature environment takes a lot of manpower and resources.
- 6. Leaves wilting and shriveling -
Soft and floppy, and even after watering it recovers very slowly. Some succulents, after just a little water, still look listless the next day with no energy. This kind of succulent usually just needs one big drench of water and it'll be fine, but afterward soil that's too wet easily causes black rot, so the big-drench method isn't really advisable.
Treatment
Small frequent meals - when a succulent isn't absorbing water, it's like a person with poor digestive function; it needs to be nursed along slowly. When it's wilted, give it a little water, and remember to water in the evening/dusk, so the succulent slowly gets used to the current watering method.
The survival goal for succulents in summer - a bad life is better than a good death; the one that survives to the end is the king. Wait until autumn, then give them a big drench so the succulents can comfortably eat and drink their fill.
There are several more problems succulents commonly run into in summer; see you next time. If anyone has questions, hurry up and leave a comment!
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