How to care for succulents in summer? Eight common problems answered at once, from shading and rain protection to cutting off water

1. Do succulents need shade in summer? When should shading start?

Shading is needed in summer. Generally, once temperatures exceed 32~35°C, shading is necessary. The most important thing is around midday, when the sun is fiercest; in the morning and evening they still need sunlight. If you live in an area where the annual high rarely exceeds 35°C and you grow them outdoors year-round, then shading or not shading basically makes little difference.

As for when to put up the shade net, you do not need to do it too early. Try to wait until the temperature is stable above 30°C before putting up the net. After all, once the shade net is set up, taking it down again is inconvenient.

As for choosing a shade net, a three-pin density gives a shading rate of about 55~60%, a four-pin density gives a shading rate of 70~75%, and a six-pin density gives a shading rate of about 85~90%. Generally, three-pin or four-pin is enough. After all, even during dormancy, succulents still need light.

2. What should I do if succulents become leggy in summer?

Succulents become leggy because of a lack of sunlight combined with too much water. In summer we worry that succulents will be damaged by the sun, so we move them to a shady place, and if we do not control watering, this easily makes them leggy.

If our succulents have already become leggy, we can first move them to an environment with plenty of sunlight and appropriately control water, to ensure that the new leaves and stems grow normally. Then twist the leaves off the stems (the removed leaves can be used for leaf propagation). After some time, you will find that the succulent has become an old stem~

3. What should I do if succulents get sunburned in summer?

In summer, if you are not careful, succulents easily get sunburned, leaving scars on the leaves, with the leaf tips and leaf centers turning black from sunburn; this counts as a relatively mild case. Sunburn of the succulent's leaf tissue is moderate, and moderate sunburn is mostly caused by succulents being exposed to strong sun right after watering. Severe sunburn may cause the leaves to turn to mush.

If you find that a succulent has been sunburned, you can move it to a ventilated, shady place to let it cool off, and spray just a little water; spraying water is to increase air humidity. If it is a deep sunburn and the succulent has turned black or scorched, then just cut it off directly. This process is truly a tough one. If it is sunburn that has turned to mush, then the same applies: remove all the leaves that have turned to mush.

Here I will quote the sun protection experience of the great grower Ermu:

1. Avoid suddenly moving plants from a position with weaker sunlight to strong light.

2. After sunburn, it does not necessarily show on the plant's leaves the same day; various scars may appear over the following week.

3. Plants that have already been sunburned need to be moved to a position with relatively weaker sunlight and left to recover on their own. Maintain normal care and ventilation.

4. If you like growing them outdoors, even if sunburn occurs, you do not have to move them. Keep the current environment, and the plant will gradually train itself to adapt to this sunlight intensity. In daily care, reduce watering a bit to avoid rot caused by water evaporation. This method is not suitable for small seedlings, as there is a certain possibility of them being sunburned to death.

5. The most dangerous thing is not strong sunlight, but water evaporation. After watering, moist soil exposed to strong sunlight and baking heat causes the inside of the pot to start heating up, and the water begins to evaporate, creating a sauna effect. The plant's root system will be suffocated to death, and then the whole plant will rot.

So it is best to water at night or on a cloudy, overcast day, and be sure to avoid watering under a blazing sunny sky. (The vast majority of summer rot is caused by this reason, which is also why areas with especially high summer temperatures need to cut off water.)

Even among Crassulaceae, the degree of sunburn varies. Each variety and each plant's health level will also be somewhat related to the degree of sunburn. In the picture below, sunburn on the lower leaves does not matter; it will recover quickly.

In this situation, you need to use tweezers to remove the dried-out leaves in the middle. The problem is not too serious.

This counts as severe sunburn. Do not manually pull off the dried-out lower leaves either, because there is still a little moisture in the leaves that can be used for the plant to recover and adjust. Once the leaves are completely dried out, they will fall off on their own.

Although sunburn is somewhat easier to recover from than frost damage, there can still be cases of being sunburned to death, and most of those directly killed by sunburn are seedlings. The appearance of rot and mush is not the legendary "black rot" either, but is caused by water evaporation and the sauna effect formed inside the pot by strong sunlight. For alpine plants such as Sempervivum, this is especially fatal.

4. Do succulents need rain protection in summer? Is getting rained on good for succulents?

Succulents can be rained on. Rainwater not only washes dust off the succulents, but the nutrients contained in rainwater are also beneficial to their growth.

For succulents that are usually grown outdoors or semi-outdoors, they have already become accustomed to changes in the climate and environment. Appropriate rain exposure is actually similar to watering, and even long-term rain exposure will not necessarily make them leggy. But it is still better to protect them if you can.

Although they can be rained on, getting rained on is equivalent to watering, and watering every day is never appropriate, right? The rainy season is long; at most, one or two weeks of rain is about enough. Never let succulents be rained on continuously. When it is time to shelter them from rain, shelter them. Do not wait until they have been rained on for one or two months before you start feeling distressed.

Those old stems that have been grown outdoors for a period of time will be more resistant to rain, and usually can still maintain their shape and color after being rained on for a while. But those obviously light-starved, leggy, thin, and weak seedlings cannot handle it; after rain they will only become even more leggy. Diseased succulents especially must not be rained on.

The aftereffects of too much rain exposure are usually that the leaves begin to turn to mush, and in severe cases black spot disease may appear. Succulents with tightly packed leaves, such as Echeveria 'Taheijin' (Echeveria 'Tippy'), Huangli (Sedum adolphi), Yinxing (Echeveria 'Silver Star'), and Yudie (Echeveria 'Jade Butterfly'), are the most likely to suffer. Rainwater remains between the leaves and cannot flow out, easily breeding fungi.

5. Do succulents need their water cut off in summer?

Regarding how to water in summer, Huizhang has already shared the experience of many succulent lovers. Overall, you still cannot cut off water; you need to control watering.

Believe it or not, many succulents die in summer because water was cut off and they died of drought. If you notice the leaves are wrinkled, water a little at night, not much, and after watering put them in a ventilated, shady place.

Watering in summer's high temperatures is not frightening; what is frightening is poor air circulation!

6. The balcony is too hot. Can succulents be put in an air-conditioned room?

Succulents can be put in an air-conditioned room. But an air-conditioned room can only relieve high temperatures and cannot improve ventilation. Keeping them in an air-conditioned room for a long time is definitely not good. When humidity is relatively high or when it is hot and humid, you can cleverly use the dehumidifying function of the air conditioner~

Some succulent lovers move their succulents into an air-conditioned room during the day and move them out in the evening to get some ventilation. When there are not many succulents, this can be a method, but the person will be very tired.

Actually, if possible, putting an electric fan on the balcony easily solves the problem. Improving the balcony's air circulation is so easy!

7. Can succulents still be repotted and have their soil changed this season?

Succulents can also establish themselves in the pot in summer. Just make the decision based on the local environment and the upcoming weather~

For those in cheat-mode regions, there is no need to say more. In the north, where high temperatures of over 30°C happen at the drop of a hat, it is still best not to repot if possible. This is an enormous test for succulents.

In southern regions, although the temperature is also relatively high, affected by plum rain weather, the humidity in the air is still relatively high, so it is still fairly suitable for succulents to root and establish themselves in the pot.

8. Can leaf propagation or sowing be done in summer?

Leaf propagation can be done in summer, but the survival rate is not high. After all, summer is hot, and many succulents are in a dormant or semi-dormant state, so it is not easy for them to produce roots and buds. Wounds are also prone to bacterial black rot and turning to mush. In autumn, when the temperature drops, succulents wake from dormancy and are full of vitality. At this time, cuttings and pulled leaves are more likely to survive, so it is more recommended to consider it in autumn.

If you cannot control yourself and still want to do leaf propagation, first consider these points:

1. First consider whether your geographical location and environment are actually suitable. If you are a succulent lover in an area with superior conditions, then do as you like. If you are in a reverse cheat-mode region or a free-shipping region, you should think about it again.

2. If you want to propagate, try to choose tough, common varieties for leaf propagation, such as Jinhuangxing (Echeveria pulvinata 'Frosty'), Qiuli (Graptosedum 'Francesco Baldi'), Heiwangzi (Echeveria 'Black Prince'), Longyue (Graptopetalum paraguayense), and so on. These common varieties mostly have tenacious vitality, and no matter how you propagate them, the chance of producing seedlings is still high. Although among expensive varieties there are also some that are easy to leaf-propagate in summer, the proportion is very small. Then provide ventilation, lower the temperature, and tend them carefully~

3. Seedlings are easy to produce but hard to raise to maturity. After successful leaf propagation, how to raise the seedlings through summer is the biggest challenge. Everyone knows that succulents are not easy to grow in summer. Even mature plants may not make it through, let alone seedlings~

In addition, it is normal for some succulents to sprout slowly. Basically, only if no seedlings appear within 2 to 3 months is it judged a failure. Some succulent lovers had Echeveria 'Tolimanensis' leaf propagations that did not sprout for several months, and just when they were about to give up, they quietly grew buds on their own.

It is also very normal to produce only roots and no buds. You should promptly bury the root system into the soil medium. Once the root system is firmly established, the leaf can absorb nutrients and water from the soil and be self-sufficient.

Generally, the mother leaf will also become plump and thick, or even grow larger! As for budding, just wait patiently~ According to observation, leaves with good light and good ventilation tend to bud more easily; otherwise, they tend to grow roots.