If you still don't pay attention to these points in succulent care, it could be dangerous

Black rot is a disease, and when it turns black it's deadly serious. I believe black rot is the pain in every succulent grower's heart. During this period, as temperatures steadily rise, quite a few succulent enthusiasts have already fallen victim. Huizhang has gathered various suggestions, hoping our succulents can stay far away from black rot.

These types of succulents are more prone to black rot

1. Etiolated succulents are more prone to black rot than normal ones. Etiolation itself is a pathological growth state. Generally, after crops become etiolated, their disease resistance drops noticeably and they easily fall ill. Succulents are the same. Several Little Echeveria 'Jingye' (Echeveria derenbergii) that I once grew and that developed black rot all showed etiolation characteristics, with stems noticeably thinner than their siblings.

2. Weak root systems are prone to black rot. Plants with weak root systems have low disease resistance and are prone to black rot. Those Little Echeveria 'Jingye' that developed black rot also had relatively weak root systems. Strengthening the root system can prevent root rot and black rot.

3. Poor soil lacking nutrients. People who lack nutrients tend to get sick, and succulents are the same. When the nutrients in the soil cannot meet the plant's growth needs, the plant suffers from malnutrition and lowered resistance, so it naturally becomes susceptible to infection by pathogens.

4. High temperature and high humidity environments make black rot more likely. Here we need to clarify a misconception: it is commonly believed that watering too much causes black rot, but this is not accurate.

Water itself does not make plants rot. Rather, bacteria like to multiply massively in high-temperature, high-humidity environments, and it is the pathogenic bacteria that cause plant rot and death. So rather than controlling water, it is better to say you are controlling humidity and temperature.

Black rot prevention and treatment manual

1. 28-32°C is generally the temperature range where black rot occurs most frequently. If you encounter this temperature, you need to be highly attentive. To ensure the soil stays dry, don't water every day even if you have nothing to do. You can water along the edge of the pot, or water thoroughly only after the soil has dried out completely.

2. Black rot is mostly caused by fungi, so it is very necessary to have broad-spectrum fungicides such as carbendazim on hand. In this current season when black rot occurs frequently, adding a little carbendazim to the water can prevent this situation at the source.

3. The occurrence of black rot indicates a problem with the soil mix. If the top dressing is too smothering, the soil tends to retain water, making black rot especially likely. Therefore, it is recommended to use top dressing mainly to keep things dry, and to use mainly gritty soil for succulents going through summer.

The simplest gritty soil is sand, and mountain sand is even better. So-called mountain sand is the grains formed after weathered rock breaks down. It suits the natural environment of all succulents! Coconut coir, on the other hand, makes black rot more likely.

4. Plants with well-developed root systems are less prone to black rot, so it is recommended to use slightly larger pots. If you water along the edge of the pot, you need to have an edge in the first place. Users of small black square pots should take note: this thing is sometimes especially prone to black rot!

5. The most important point in preventing black rot is ventilation. A hot, humid and stuffy environment is most likely to cause black rot. If you have no way to cool things down, then at least ensure ventilation. Ventilation is the best way to prevent black rot, bar none, more effective than carbendazim!

6. Nothing is more ventilated than outdoor growing, so succulents grown outdoors should continue to be grown outdoors; moving them indoors carries greater risk. But with summer's high temperatures, the midday sun can scorch the plant's surface, so you also need to avoid intense sun exposure. We generally choose a north-facing balcony, or a balcony with shade, to avoid overly strong sunlight scorching the leaf surface.

7. If direct sunlight cannot be avoided, you can choose to cover with a shade net. As for choosing a shade net, Crassulaceae generally like sun, so we choose a shade net with better light transmission, with a shading rate of 50-55%. If it is too dense and too dark, the plants easily become etiolated.

8. Haworthia like shade, so we generally choose a shade net with a shading rate of 70-80%. It should not be too sparse; if too sparse, the plants will get sunburned black.

8. In summer, succulent growing requires appropriate rain protection. Although rainwater is the best fertilizer, summer rain comes quickly and fast, mostly as heavy showers. Just a few minutes can drench them thoroughly. The weather after rain is hot and stuffy with high humidity, which perfectly satisfies the conditions for black rot: high temperature, high humidity, and no ventilation. So black rot becomes a very normal occurrence.

9. What should you do if they accidentally get rained on? You can use tissue paper or cotton swabs to blot dry the water on the plant leaves and in the flower center. If the sun is not strong, pull back the shade net to increase ventilation. If there really is no wind and the sun is strong so you cannot pull back the shade net, you can move an electric fan onto the balcony and turn it on to increase air circulation.

10. After rain, the sun is harsh, and seedlings die especially easily. Phenomena such as black rot and turning to mush appear especially often. So after rain, it is recommended to provide shade, and if there is water on the leaf surface, it is recommended to blow it dry with a bulb blower.

11. In summer, don't pluck leaves unnecessarily. If you force it, poof, gone. We all know that black rot is caused by bacterial infection, so if a succulent is a healthy plant with no wounds, its chance of being infected with black rot is greatly reduced.

But if there is a wound on its stem, under high temperature and high humidity, bacteria multiply extremely fast, and it becomes especially susceptible to infection. Naturally, it will be gone in a puff of smoke.

12. There is also repotting and changing soil. Many people think that once summer arrives, plants need good breathability and good ventilation, so they should switch to coarse gritty soil and repot into terracotta pots. Is that actually the case?

Of course not. First, with coarse gritty soil and terracotta pots, breathability is better, but the soil also dries out very easily. If you are not careful, our succulents may also dry out and die from lack of water.

13. Be sure to pay attention to some varieties that are especially prone to black rot, such as Echeveria derenbergii and Echeveria 'Xiaohongyi'. For these varieties, you can consider cutting off water for the summer, finding a cloudy day once a month to water. It is fine if they get a bit soft. For getting through summer, it doesn't matter whether they are etiolated, as long as they don't die. Their appearance is judged in spring and autumn; those that still look good in summer are generally in cheat-mode regions.

14. If it is a mixed planting, and one gets black rot, don't hesitate: pull them all out. First wash the roots with carbendazim. After healthy succulents have been aired for a day, put them into pots and repot.

15. If you don't want to throw away pots and soil where black rot has occurred, they must be disinfected. Directly using soil that has had black rot will only drag down other succulents.

The pot and soil must be spread out under strong sun for more than 3 days, or steamed in a steamer for 10 minutes, or put in a microwave for 5 minutes before they can continue to be used. If it is cheap planting material, it is still recommended to throw it away.

The pot should also be wiped inside and out with water mixed with fungicide, or placed under the sun for more than 5 days before it can continue to be used. Alternatively, spray the pot and soil together until wet, then leave them in the freezer for 5 days.

16. If a succulent has black rot, behead it directly. Don't think that because just one spot has black rot, you can shave it off and it will survive; to be honest, the odds are not good. Directly beheading and replanting may give a somewhat greater chance of survival. Black rot is highly contagious, so don't cling to wishful thinking.

How to plant succulents bought in summer

Five out of ten succulent enthusiasts are standard shopaholics, and the buy-buy-buy rhythm simply never stops. But after buying them, they worry again: how to plant them in summer, will they die, what if they don't root? Buying succulents in summer is completely fine. Greenhouses, for example, all rush to propagate during the summer off-season. In spring and autumn they are too busy selling flowers to have time to propagate, right?

So planting in summer is possible. As long as the succulent you receive is healthy, with no problems and no damage, planting it is no issue. So how do you plant it? First we distinguish whether what you bought is an old stem or a small seedling, a rootless small seedling.

If it is an old stem, we should choose coarse gritty soil with good breathability, because the root system of an old stem is not well developed, and only well-aerated soil is more suitable for old stems to grow. For small seedlings, choose soft, loose soil, because soil that is too aerated will dry out the newly grown roots of small seedlings, which is not good for the growth of small roots.

After choosing the soil, we use the method of dry planting in moist soil to plant succulents. First, the plant needs its roots aired, letting the wound dry completely. A wet wound easily gets infected by bacteria in the soil. Use slightly moist soil, and do not water for one week after planting. This one week is the adaptation period for the plant and soil; the plant begins to slowly grow roots and absorb water from the soil.

Remember to shade newly planted succulents. The shade net should have a light-blocking rate of about 75%. After one week, you can switch to a 50% shade net and water appropriately. It is not necessary to water thoroughly, because at this time the plant is starting to grow roots, and the root system has not yet reached the bottom of the pot, so there is absolutely no need to water thoroughly.

After about one month, your newly planted succulents can be grown outdoors together with the other plants. But remember, while the plants are rooting, don't always give in to itchy hands and pull them up!