What to Do When Flowers Easily Die in Summer? Master These Ventilation Measures
In the scorching summer, temperatures are high both indoors and outdoors. Many people say the plants they grow at home easily die off. In fact, the main reason is poor ventilation. Today let's take a look at various summer ventilation measures for growing flowers!
Succulents
After growing succulents for a long time, you should know that a lack of light can make succulents look poor, but without ventilation, succulents may die.
Consequences of no ventilation:
If succulents are kept in an unventilated environment for a long time, the soil easily becomes damp, breeding bacteria and causing black rot and leaf drop.
Ventilation measures:
In summer, you can add a small solar-powered fan for your succulents, with a timer switch. This can speed up the evaporation of moisture in the succulent pots and soil while preventing pests and diseases.
Chinese rose
Many flower lovers dare not grow Chinese roses on an enclosed balcony, precisely because the balcony has poor ventilation and Chinese roses are very prone to disease.
Consequences of no ventilation:
The old leaves at the bottom turn yellow. High summer temperatures combined with poor ventilation and a damp, enclosed environment easily breed red spiders and trigger outbreaks of powdery mildew.
Ventilation measures:
In summer, Chinese roses grow very vigorously, with dense branches that affect the ventilation inside the plant. Flower lovers can prune after flowering, cutting off all the leggy branches, thin branches and weak branches of the Chinese rose to increase air circulation.
Azalea
Azaleas fear stuffy heat most in summer. If you want azaleas to get through summer safely, improving ventilation is the most crucial step.
Consequences of no ventilation:
In the scorching summer under high temperatures, if ventilation is poor, azalea leaves will dry up and drop continuously.
Ventilation measures:
Flower lovers with the conditions should ideally keep azaleas outdoors for care. If that is not possible, you can place a fan next to the azalea to strengthen air circulation.
Christmas cactus
In summer, the Christmas cactus enters its dormant period. Besides keeping it in a cool place, ensuring good ventilation is also key to the Christmas cactus successfully getting through summer.
Consequences of no ventilation:
In a poorly ventilated environment, the Christmas cactus is prone to red spider outbreaks, causing leaves to turn yellow and thin, and ultimately wither and die.
Ventilation measures:
In summer, the Christmas cactus needs a cool, ventilated environment. You can place the Christmas cactus on a north-facing balcony and open the window. A north-facing balcony with ventilation and scattered light can help the Christmas cactus successfully get through summer.
Clivia
In summer, Clivia enters a semi-dormant period, growing relatively slowly, with reduced disease resistance and frequent pests and diseases. Doing a good job of ventilation brooks no delay.
Consequences of no ventilation:
In the hot, stuffy summer, if Clivia is in a poorly ventilated environment, bacteria in the potting soil easily multiply faster, the soil becomes severely oxygen-deficient, and the roots will rot within 3-5 days.
Ventilation measures:
Place the Clivia on the side with airflow, or use a fan to blow toward the flower pot. Never let the wind blow directly on the Clivia, otherwise the leaves will lose too much water, becoming dull and soft.
The above are the summer ventilation measures for various flowers. As someone who loves flowers, you certainly cannot just watch your flowers die, so the ventilation measures must be done well!
How to grow flowers in summer? What should be noted when growing flowers in summer?
It is generally believed that the best time to prune flowers is in late autumn. In fact, in summer, proper pruning is also necessary to help plants get through summer safely. After entering summer, many flowers and plants tend to grow leggy, affecting flowering and fruiting. To keep the plant shape graceful and produce more flowers and fruit, pruning and shaping are needed. Summer pruning generally focuses on measures such as pinching, bud removal, leaf removal, bud thinning and fruit thinning.
(1) Pinching: For some herbaceous flowers, such as wax begonia, fuchsia, scarlet sage, chrysanthemum, Dutch aster, early small chrysanthemum, etc., when they grow to a certain height, pinch off the top to encourage more branching and more flowers. For some woody flowers, such as kumquat, etc., when the current year's branches grow to about 15-20 cm, they should also be pinched to promote more fruiting.
(2) Bud removal: In summer, many flowers often sprout adventitious buds from the base of the stem or on branches. These should be removed promptly to avoid consuming nutrients and disrupting the plant shape.
(3) Leaf removal: For some foliage flowers, old leaves should be appropriately cut off to promote new leaves, making the leaf color even more beautiful.
(4) Bud thinning and fruit thinning: For flowers mainly grown for their blooms, such as dahlia, chrysanthemum, Chinese rose, etc., excess flower buds should be removed promptly; for fruit-viewing flowers, such as kumquat, pomegranate, Buddha's hand, etc., when the young fruit grows to the size of a soybean, excess young fruit should be thinned; for some flowers that cannot set seed or whose seeds you do not plan to collect, promptly cut off the spent flowers after they fade.
(5) Shaping: For flowers such as poinsettia, plum blossom, ornamental peach, crown of thorns, etc., in summer the side branches are often bent and shaped to make the plant fuller and more graceful.
Comprehensive management of disease prevention and pest control: Summer temperatures are high and humidity is great, which favors the massive occurrence of pests and diseases. The policy of "prevention first, comprehensive control" should be carried out, and in the spirit of "treat early, treat small, treat thoroughly," do a good job of prevention and control to ensure healthy growth of flowers.
(1) Common summer diseases include powdery mildew, anthracnose, gray mold, leaf spot, nematode disease, bacterial soft rot, etc. Powdery mildew mainly harms Chinese rose, plum blossom, peony, chrysanthemum, dahlia, begonia, cineraria, fuchsia, etc. After being affected, the plant becomes short, tender shoots bend, and leaves become uneven or curled. On tender buds, tender leaves, tender shoots and flower buds, it is as if covered with a layer of white powder and grows many small black spots. In severe cases, the leaves shrink and dry up, and even the whole plant dies. Anthracnose mainly harms orchids, white orchid, Aglaia odorata, plum blossom, rubber tree, cactus, etc.
After most flowers are infected by pathogens, nearly round lesions appear on the leaf surface, with edges mostly purplish brown or dark brown and centers light brown or grayish white. On the lesions, small black spots arranged in concentric rings often grow. When the disease is severe, the leaves wither and die. Gray mold mainly harms peony, Chinese peony, cyclamen, begonia, fuchsia, etc. The affected parts of leaves, stems and flowers appear brown or purplish brown and rotten. In damp weather, gray mold-like substances grow on the lesions, and in severe cases the whole plant dies.
To control the above three diseases, the following methods can be used:
① In early spring, thoroughly remove dead branches and fallen leaves, and promptly cut off diseased branches, leaves, buds, etc. and destroy them in a centralized manner to reduce sources of pathogens;
② Strengthen cultivation management, fertilize and water reasonably, pay attention to ventilation and light transmission, so that the plants grow robustly and their disease resistance improves;
② In the early stage of disease, spray 50% carbendazim or 50% thiophanate 500-800 times solution.
(2) Common summer pests include two major categories: piercing-sucking mouthpart pests and chewing mouthpart pests. The former mainly include aphids, red spiders, whiteflies, scale insects, etc. These pests often gather on leaves, tender stems, flower buds, branches and other parts, piercing into the plant body with needle-like mouthparts to suck sap, causing leaves to turn yellow and curl, leading to leaves withering, yellowing and falling off. For control, spray 50% dichlorvos emulsion 1000-1500 times solution. This pesticide easily causes phytotoxicity to flowers and trees such as plum blossom, cherry blossom, azalea, and elm-leaved spirea, so it must not be used on these flowers and trees. The latter mainly include moth and butterfly larvae, various beetles, and underground pests, etc. These pests eat leaves and bite roots, causing plants to wither and die. For control, spray 50% dichlorvos emulsion 1000-1500 times solution, or drench the root zone with 500-800 times solution. In summer, temperatures are high and pesticides volatilize easily. In addition, at high temperatures the human body's excretion function is enhanced and skin absorption increases, so toxic substances easily enter the human body and cause poisoning. Therefore, when applying pesticide in summer, it is best to move the flower pots outdoors and do it in the morning and evening.
Things You Should Know About Growing Flowers in the Office in Summer
"My succulents are wilting and the leaves are dry. What should I do?" Recently, such help-seeking posts keep appearing on some flower and plant forums. The scorching summer has arrived. How can flowers and plants get through summer safely in a hot, stuffy environment? Recently, reporters visited the offices of several flower-growing experts in urban office buildings to look for summer flower-growing tips.
Succulent Plants Are Adorable Summer Is a Difficult "Hurdle"
"With a two-point-one-line life, the office has become another home. In the spare time from busy work, watering the flowers and admiring them carefully, relieving work pressure, is that not a kind of enjoyment?" This is a passage left on a forum by the white-collar worker "Lancome." In her office, succulents such as Sempervivum, Aeonium 'Zwartkop', Haworthia cooperi, Sedum rubrotinctum, and Senecio rowleyanus fill the entire windowsill. Counting carefully, there are nearly 20 varieties.
The white-collar worker "Unthinkable" has the surname Lu and works in an office building on Lantian Road in Haishu District. She is also a thorough "succulent addict." Her office faces south, and succulents fill two entire windowsills, with more than 30 varieties including Echeveria 'Hakuhou', Crassula capitella 'Campfire', Graptopetalum paraguayense, Graptoveria 'Silver Star', Haworthia fasciata, and Tillandsia. These succulents are carefully cultivated in ceramic pots, with tall and short plants paired together in a well-arranged layout.
"Many succulents will lose their shape as they grow up and need constant pruning to maintain a beautiful 'figure,'" Miss Lu said with a smile. In the corner of the office, more than 10 small flower pots placed on the floor are her succulent "propagation base." "The trimmed branches and leaves are placed here to propagate. Succulents have amazing reproductive ability. A single leaf or a single branch can breed new life," Miss Lu said.
"You didn't come at the right time. The succulents are not in very good condition now. If you had come 2 months earlier, they would have looked much better!" The "poor condition" Miss Lu referred to means that some succulents have already entered or are about to enter their dormant period.
So how do you tell the dormant period? The experts say you should look at the growth state. During dormancy, plants stop growing, leaves become dull and lose their luster, and the whole plant looks listless. For example, with Aeonium 'Zwartkop', after entering dormancy, the originally plump leaves become soft and the luster disappears accordingly.
"Summer is a hurdle for succulents. If you don't handle it well, you could lose them all!" To keep the dormant succulents from root rot, "I would rather let them stay dry than water them. I haven't watered them for more than a week straight!" Miss Lu said.
Green Plants Refresh the Mind In Summer Avoid Too-Strong Light and Insufficient Humidity
Compared with succulents, green plants get through summer more easily. The office of the white-collar worker "Love of Snowland" is recognized as the "most beautiful office" in the building. On the windowsill and bookshelf, green plants such as pothos, ivy, spider plant, cymbidium, begonia, snake plant, anthurium, purple jade, Christmas cactus, and roundleaf peperomia add up to more than 30 pots. She sometimes makes several exquisite flower arrangements to add a lively touch to her desk. She said: "Being surrounded by flowers and plants while working can relax body and mind and improve work efficiency."
When choosing green plants, "Love of Snowland" values their air-purifying effect. On her desk, the most numerous are spider plants, with six or seven pots. "Several pots of spider plants were poorly cared for by colleagues and brought here for foster care. Although spider plants are easy to grow, the leaf tips easily become dry, scorched and yellow. When growing spider plants in summer, the biggest taboos are too-strong light, insufficient air humidity, and improper fertilization. These can all cause leaves to become dry, scorched and yellow." "Love of Snowland" said that if spider plant leaf tips turn yellow and dry up, do not worry. You can move the spider plant to a semi-shady, ventilated place and frequently spray water on the leaf surface and surrounding environment to increase air humidity. When fertilizing, avoid the leaves. In addition, also check whether there is root rot, and promptly cut off the rotten root parts.
Behind her are several pothos plants about half a person tall, with leaves as large as two adult palms, but the leaves of the hydroponic pothos on the desk are very small. Both are pothos, so why is the leaf size so different? "Love of Snowland" said that the potted pothos was fertilized this year, so it grew rapidly. Hydroponic pothos has limited nutrients in the water, so the leaves can only be this large. "Plants are very smart. Under limited living conditions, they will actively change their body shape according to the environment to adapt to it. For this reason, for hydroponic pothos, you can regularly drip a few drops of special nutrient solution into the water to supplement nutrients."
Getting Flowers and Plants Through Summer Watering Requires the Most Attention
How do flowers and plants get through summer? Sun Lijun, deputy director of the Haishu District Greening Office, told reporters that the feelings people get from spring, summer, autumn and winter are that spring and autumn are the most comfortable, summer is hot and winter is cold. Succulent plants' feelings about the four seasons are basically similar to people's.
There are many varieties of succulents: summer-type species that dormant in winter and grow in summer; winter-type species that dormant in summer and grow in winter; and spring-autumn-type species that dormant in summer and grow in spring and autumn, etc. Therefore, if you are not familiar with the characteristics of succulents, the most conservative approach is: less exposure to strong sun, less watering, more ventilation.
Watering succulents in summer depends on the situation. Those active in summer are mostly plants of the Cactaceae, Euphorbiaceae, and Apocynaceae families. For succulents in the dormant period, water must be cut off in summer. Once watered too much, the root system will rot. But for succulents in the growing period, such as Sedum adolphii and Pachyphytum 'Peach Beauty', they need watering once every 2-3 days.
For green plants, most plants need shade and protection from strong sun in summer. For flowers and plants grown indoors, water when the soil turns white, and water thoroughly when watering. Large-leaved flowers such as green emerald and Alocasia amazonica must not lose water in summer. Once they lose water, the leaves will be damaged, while asparagus fern should be "rather dry than wet."
At the same time, she particularly pointed out that when watering flowers, do not directly use tap water, because tap water contains alum, which can cause soil compaction and affect the soil's water permeability and air permeability. For this reason, it needs to sit for more than 3 days before use.
In addition, she also listed summer care methods for several green plants. Summer is the peak growing season for orchids, so you must ensure the water and nutrients needed for their growth and maintain a ventilated and light-transmitting environment; azaleas grow slowly in summer and are in a semi-dormant state, so avoid fierce sun exposure and excessive fertilization. They should be shaded, watered 1 to 2 times a day, and sprayed with water on the leaves and ground to retain moisture and lower temperature; jasmine blooms in summer, so sufficient water and fertilizer are beneficial for flowering. Spray the leaf surface with clean water to stimulate flowering; Aglaia odorata likes light and heat, grows vigorously in summer, and should be fertilized before and after flowering, with frequent water spraying on the leaves; peony fears heat and dampness, so in summer the plant should be placed in a cool, ventilated place, and there is no need to water too much. Keeping the potting soil moist is enough to avoid root rot.