Thursday, April 12, 2012

Sunscald aka sunburn on plants.

 Indoor plants first; Indoor plants are accustomed to very steady conditions, temp always about the same, little to no breeze/wind, humidity a little changing...very steady. If you put them outside, you have made an immediate drastic environmental change. IF you MUST take them out, I would suggest acclimating them outdoors a few hours a day for a week if possible. Above is sunscald on a Jade plant. I recommend leaving your indoor plants indoors, and here is why:
  • indoor plants will take several weeks to adjust to the new environment -stressing them
  • often leaves get sunburned, they can't move out of the wrong location, you need to place them correctly, bright light thru a window does not compare to direct sun
  • often, insects set-up housekeeping and you bring the critters in the house to spread around to all the other plants
  • plants can become introduced to diseases outdoors
  • when they come back indoors, they will have another adjust/transition period and will likely lose leaves and struggle a while
 Above is sunscald on a hosta. This plant needs to be moved to a location with more shade. Hosta, like daylilies are tough plants, and in our climate can be dug, divided and moved up until late Aug.
Cut the foliage back to about 1-2" from the crown, and as soon as the roots get established, new top growth will start! A plant like this may survive, but certainly not thrive.
Even fruit can get sunscalded. (yes, a pepper is a fruit, botanically speaking) 
  • can occur when unneeded pruning took place on tomatoes, peppers etc. (quit doing that)
  • leaves protect the fruit, and leaves make food for the plant
  • consecutive scorching days will promote this disorder
  • when you start to harvest, choose the more exposed peppers first
While your protecting your plants, don't forget about your own sunscreen!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the great advice Diane. I never thought about my plants having "virgin" skin just like a real baby. I will ensure that they have appropriate "sun protection" the next time I put them out.

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  2. I love your 'virgin' skin analogy...so true! Back in my 'dumber' days about 25 yrs. ago, I stuck all my indoors plants outside, 'cuz it was so nice and sunny out.' By 4pm they were all toast! So blonde.

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