Succulent plants in summer: controlling your hands and managing water well is key

Cause of death 1: High temperature and humidity

In summer, plant deaths are mostly due to sunburn and bacterial infection. Many people say that in summer plants need shade to avoid sunburn, but this is not entirely true.

Succulent plants grow in their native habitat on mountain tops and gravel deserts; who goes to give them shade? They are not exposed to the sun only in the scorching heat and cold days. In addition, foreign countries place more emphasis on environmental protection, and the PM2.5 content in the air is low, so I believe the sunlight hitting the plants is even more intense.

Cause of death 2: Death from bacterial infection

Because of excessive watering, the plant's growing environment is too humid; high temperature and high humidity will cause the plant's fibrous roots to rot and form wounds, and combined with an environment suitable for bacterial growth, the plant becomes infected, thus causing the plant's core to rot and decay.

Generally, plant death caused by this situation is irreversible, and often this kind of disease develops from the inside out starting from the plant's main stem. Once you find that the plant has dropped leaves over a large area, it is too late to save it, because the entire support system for the plant's growth has already rotted away. The only hope is that one or two remaining leaves can be successfully propagated by leaf cutting, but based on experience, the usual outcome for such leaves is that they turn to mush.

Cause of death 3: The "steamed bun effect"

The reason "steamed bun" is used to describe it is that it is very vivid and easy for everyone to understand. The reason the "steamed bun phenomenon" forms is that many friends think summer temperatures are high and water evaporates quickly, so plants easily dehydrate. They often water during the day and then leave the plants in the blazing sun. This makes the plants feel as if they are sitting on a steamer basket.

Under the afternoon sun, it does not take more than an hour to steam your beloved treasure cooked; just go home and wait to eat steamed buns.

Solution: focus on solving the water problem.

Actually, getting through summer is not that scary; as long as you manage the amount of water well, getting through summer is still an easy thing. Below are some solutions for everyone's reference.

1. Choose a growing medium with good drainage: mix large-particle material into the growing medium to reduce its water retention, and at the same time promote breathing at the plant's roots.

2. Change the watering time, adjusting it from daytime to evening. Personally, I mostly choose to water after getting home from work. As the sun sets, the temperature gradually drops; watering in the evening can avoid the steamed bun effect.

3. Reduce the amount of water given each time: adopt the method of small amounts more often to ensure the water can evaporate before the next morning. This again avoids water accumulating at the plant's roots. In summer, it is best to use pouring rather than soaking the pot, so that excess water can flow out.

4. Ventilation: the main purpose of ventilation is also to remove moisture. My method is to use an electric fan blowing from morning to night every day to get through the summer.

5. Use a top dressing of larger particles that do not easily break down: due to their own properties, large-particle materials form gaps between the particles, promoting ventilation. This avoids evaporated water accumulating at the base of the plant and causing rot.

Alright, that is all for now. Actually, after saying so much, the key is still to solve the water problem. Control your hands and manage water well, and the death rate of your succulents will drop a lot.