The summer sun is sparing no one, be it plants or humans. I have been out of action for the last few days as the heat here was unbearable. Sometime back I shared with you about how my Echeveria Shaviana succulents which were scorched by the sun. This post is an update on what has been happening since then.
I had shifted all the sun scorched Echeveria Shaviana is (the one shown in the image above) to a shady place where the afternoon sun doesn't hit hard during the day. However, there is no place on my terrace which is safe from the blazing summer sun. So this place to which I have moved my plants is only comparatively better. Regardless of what I do the temperature here is rising by one or two degrees centigrade almost every other day and there is very little that can be done. Each day I need to do some juggling to prevent one or the other of my plants from getting scorched. Sigh!
One of the plants (image above) which was sun scorched started to look limp and sag even after it was moved to a cooler location. I noticed that the leaves on the tips were slowly becoming lose and about to fall off. I quickly removed the leaves at the tip only to find that the growing tip had been scorched as well.
The most important thing now was to save the plant somehow. So,
I decided to cut off the sun burned tip and save the rest of the plant. After cutting the tip I applied some fungicide and covered the open tip loosely with a plastic bag. This was mainly to save it from any unexpected summer showers.
I watered the plant regularly to save it from drying further, take care never to over water. In about ten days I noticed that the remaining leaves had firmed up a bit. This was a healthy sign, so I continued the watering schedule. Around this time I removed the plastic bag that I had used to over the tip of the plant.
In about a couple of weeks I noticed that the tip was looking pink and healthy. I was glad to see the progress this plant was making. In a couple of days the color deepened and on close observation I noticed some growth was showing up there.
This is image was taken 17 days after the tip was cut, can you see the number of pups that are coming up? I am super thrilled. I find in my experience it is always easier to save a plant which has a rot or problem on the growing tip rather than root rot. Sometimes just cutting off the rot at tip, applying fungicide and allowing the succulent to dry in the shade for a couple of days works like magic, but at others the same process may not work.
External factors like heat, rain or how deep the rot has run also matter. Observing the plant regularly and doing what is needed based on your observation helps. There is never a one solution that works in call conditions. In a more humid weather I wouldn't have used the plastic bag to cover the whole plant. In wet weather conditions tying up a plastic bag like a tent held up with stakes or using a soda bottle to cover the plant would have helped improve the micro-climate for the plant.
As a gardener no matter how many plants you have you never okay when any of them die. I am just happy to report that I could save this plant and also multiply it!