Well, I posted a question about my N. Turecekianus over in cultivation. All of a sudden, I have a problem with it.
This photo was taken a week ago yesterday. Looks okay, right? (Not a super attractive plant, but it's near and dear to my heart.)
I was checking on my plants yesterday afternoon (as I do daily) and holy sheet, this is new.
Color change, although not exactly what I would expect from sunburn... plus it's somewhat soft. The wrinkles you can see extend around the crown, but the change in color is only the two ribs you can see.
I re-potted it about six weeks ago. Let it stand with no water for about ten days. It's been watered twice since then, both due to weight, not whim. I checked, the soil is not saturated. It's got water, but certainly isn't sodden. I'm thinking it will probably need water in about five or six days. The soil is not compacted at all.
It gets about 5 hours of direct afternoon sunlight, which I think might be too much. The rest of the time it's fully shaded (this probably isn't appropriate, but it's what I've got). It hadn't shown any ill effects in the six or eight weeks it's been outside, and it's been sitting in the same place since I brought it out.
We've had some pretty humid weather followed by a couple very cool nights (down around 60°f/15.5°c). We've had rain recently, but this plant is under the eves and only gets some splash, no water of any quantity.
Does this plant look like it can be saved? What steps should I take. It's not sitting where it was anymore, I put it in full shade for the day at least.
Sheet. What have I done? N Turecekianus, sunburn?
Re: Sheet. What have I done? N Turecekianus, sunburn?
In my opinion it looks like some sunburn. It also looks a bit puffy as well though...like maybe it had been slightly overwatered. I could be way off on the overwatering but it does look like it got a bit sunburned. I learned about sunburn the hard way and now have a euphorbia that exhibits a few spots of sunburn.
Budding cactus enthusiast
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- greenknight
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- Location: SW Washington State zone 8b
Re: Sheet. What have I done? N Turecekianus, sunburn?
Morning sun and afternoon shade would be better.
Spence
Re: Sheet. What have I done? N Turecekianus, sunburn?
I wouldn't have thought this would be fatal, probably won't even permanently mark the plant. Keep it shaded for a few days and see if it improves. I wouldn't have thought that it would be easy to scorch this in Connecticut, but maybe it isn't sufficiently adapted yet.
--ian
Re: Sheet. What have I done? N Turecekianus, sunburn?
Unfortunately, the options I have (due to 100+ year old trees) are full shade, full sun, or morning shade/afternoon sun. I wish it were different.greenknight wrote:Morning sun and afternoon shade would be better.
You'd be surprised how strong the sun can be in CT. I've gotten horrific sunburns myself right about this time of year. In fact, I had a friend a few years back who burned so bad she actually bled.iann wrote:I wouldn't have thought this would be fatal, probably won't even permanently mark the plant. Keep it shaded for a few days and see if it improves. I wouldn't have thought that it would be easy to scorch this in Connecticut, but maybe it isn't sufficiently adapted yet.
What freaks me out about it is that it went from normal to this in about 24 hours.
Gonna stop watering it for a week or two and keep it in the shade until it looks better.
Re: Sheet. What have I done? N Turecekianus, sunburn?
It doesn't take long for a cactus to sunburn. My euphorbia burned after only one day in the sun. Also only water if the soil doesn't feel moist. If the soil is beginning to dry out, then it could probably use a good watering.
Budding cactus enthusiast
Twitter: jmoneypn
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Re: Sheet. What have I done? N Turecekianus, sunburn?
Yeah, the same can be said for any plant. The reason I find it strange is that this plant hadn't moved in weeks and it's been quite a bit hotter and sunnier in the past few weeks than in the past couple days.
- greenknight
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Re: Sheet. What have I done? N Turecekianus, sunburn?
Right around June 20th is when the sun is most intense. The damage is cumulative, starts as just slightly yellowing patches on the sun side of the plant - you might not have noticed it.
Spence
Re: Sheet. What have I done? N Turecekianus, sunburn?
I had an incident a couple years ago where I got in a bunch of plants wholesale and put them in temporary quarantine along side my garage where it only gets 1-2 hours of direct sun. Literally one day of that and I fried half the Lithops I got as well as a bunch of Eriosyce occulta and Copiapoa hypogaea. It can happen amazingly quickly.
You might consider setting up a small frame draped with shade cloth (50% plus or minus). That should cut down on the excessive sun but still give it plenty of light, whereas moving into complete shade might be too much in the long run.
You might consider setting up a small frame draped with shade cloth (50% plus or minus). That should cut down on the excessive sun but still give it plenty of light, whereas moving into complete shade might be too much in the long run.
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