Plants need light to be able to produce chlorophyll, which will be used to make food in their precious leaves. But when we expose them directly to the star king, without having previously acclimatized them, problems will soon arise: the next day we will see that they have brown spots, or that their appearance suddenly looks sad.
In the summer months, or in areas with strong sunshine, some measures must be taken so that the most delicate do not suffer from heat stroke. For this, I am going to tell you what are the effects of insolation on plantsand how you can prevent them.
When can plants have heatstroke?
We are used to hearing and reading that during the summer people and four-legged animals must protect themselves from high temperatures to prevent them from suffering from heat stroke. Well, with plants we must do the same, since increased temperatures lead to greater evaporation (which would be the equivalent of sweat in humans).
As a result of this loss of water, they can no longer photosynthesize as quickly as usual, so they don’t absorb as much carbon. Because of this, the plants begin to consume the reserve substances to try to survive, which it can cause death by starvation if you don’t act on time.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms that plants with heat stress can have are:
- Sad look: leaves and branches fall from one day to the next.
- Leaf burns: if they are mild, they will remain on the plant; but in more serious cases, they will tend to fall.
- In woody plants the bark may present cracks.
- Weakening: growth stops due to lack of water and nutrients.
What to do to prevent it?
There are many things we can do to prevent our plants from having a bad time:
- Choose native plants, or living in similar conditions. They are the ones that best resist the high temperatures of the place.
- If we have a non-native plant, even though we know that originally it lives in full sun, In the event that we live in an area with a strong insolation we will put them in semi-shade. For example, the palm tree Archontophoenix Alexandrae. It grows naturally when exposed to the king star, in the northeast of Australia, but in the Mediterranean climate it needs protection so that its leaves do not burn.
- Increase the frequency of watering during hot months. We will water at sunset so that the roots can take better advantage of the water.
- Do not spray the leaves, flowers, or stems. Doing so could cause problems for them by suffocation.
- Fertilize throughout the growing season. From spring to late summer we must fertilize the plants so that they can grow well, either with specific or organic fertilizers.
- The soil and growing medium must have good drainage. If it is very compact, it will not be able to filter the water well so the roots will not be able to take advantage of it. We will find more information on this topic here!.
- Acclimate the plants little by little. Even if we get a Cycas For example, or another heliophilic plant (sun), if in the nursery they had it protected from the sun’s rays, we should put it in semi-shade and gradually expose it to the star king and gradually increase the exposure, starting in spring or autumn.
With these tips, the plants can be perfect.
