What to do for sun scald?

livinonfaith · April 14, 2012

Okay, For the first time in a long time, I messed up and left my plants outside too long too soon. Most seem okay, but there are a few that are clearly scalded, some pretty badly.

I brought them back in and, if their soil looked a little dry, I watered them, hoping to cool them off a bit.

The question I have is, do I keep them in until they completely heal and then start the whole process over again? Or should I continue to put them out but just make sure it's only for a couple of hours a day?

Has anyone lost plants to sun scald?

lurley · April 14, 2012

I left my peppers out too long last year during hardening off. The leaves got crispy on the edges that were damaged, and some fell off. Some (OCD that I am) I cut off which some say you shouldn't do, but I needed them to look "neater". They sent out new leaves and recovered just fine. I kept putting them outside, weather permitting, and was just more careful about not letting myself get caught away from home for longer than they should be left out.

trout250 · April 14, 2012

this is the problem we have been having also, we took used onion sacks split them and wrapped our tomatoe cages making a sort of sun screen, shade cloth is to expensive for my budget. we are trying this on our replants, we had set out 18 really nice plants and with the 60deg. nights and close to 90 deg days we are having they got couldn't handle the sun

livinonfaith · April 14, 2012

Thanks guys! I checked on them and most of them seem to be doing okay. I'm only going to put them out for a short while tomorrow.

PA_Julia · April 15, 2012

Hi!

I take my flats of seedlings outside and place them directly in the sun in the morning when the temp's are in the mid to upper fifties.
I then set my microwave timer for 30 minutes.
When times up I go and place the seedlings on the patio table in full shade that way they still have the benefit of the breeze blowing on them to strengthen their root system.

Every two to three days I increase the time by 5 or 10 minutes of direct sunlight.

Seems to work very well for me.

**carolyn137** · April 15, 2012

In my experience if plants are correctly hardened off, and that means week for me, then they seldom get sunburned. Windburn yes, a possibility, but not sunburned in which case I just let the damaged foliage drop off naturally/

When you take seedlings back inside what you're doing just reverses what you put them out there for and that's to toughen up the leaf epidermis and get them used to outdoor conditions.

I think it's best to provide them with shelter, and preferably still outside, perhaps a garage or whatever, if high winds or frost or heavy rain is expected.

Crandrew · April 15, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by livinonfaith

Thanks guys! I checked on them and most of them seem to be doing okay. I'm only going to put them out for a short while tomorrow.

They should be fine. Just phase them out for early sun or fewer hours.

livinonfaith · April 18, 2012

It's really amazing how quickly these pants are healing!

The burned leaves look lighter, whitish green and almost papery, but most of the plants are already putting out new dark green healthy leaves on top. It's almost like the damage has made them go into overdrive.

Is this normal?

**carolyn137** · April 18, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by livinonfaith

It's really amazing how quickly these pants are healing!

The burned leaves look lighter, whitish green and almost papery, but most of the plants are already putting out new dark green healthy leaves on top. It's almost like the damage has made them go into overdrive.

Is this normal?

Yes, it's normal after you just let the damaged leaves fall off naturally they will start putting out new leaves. Same with windburned leaves.

tam91 · April 19, 2012

Wondering if I just got lucky last year... Mine are outside in a greenhouse. On anything other than really cold days or storms, I open the windows all day. So they shouldn't really need any further hardening, should they?

April 14, 2012	#1
livinonfaith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Posts: 1,332	What to do for sun scald? Okay, For the first time in a long time, I messed up and left my plants outside too long too soon. Most seem okay, but there are a few that are clearly scalded, some pretty badly. I brought them back in and, if their soil looked a little dry, I watered them, hoping to cool them off a bit. The question I have is, do I keep them in until they completely heal and then start the whole process over again? Or should I continue to put them out but just make sure it's only for a couple of hours a day? Has anyone lost plants to sun scald?

April 15, 2012	#6
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	In my experience if plants are correctly hardened off, and that means week for me, then they seldom get sunburned. Windburn yes, a possibility, but not sunburned in which case I just let the damaged foliage drop off naturally/ When you take seedlings back inside what you're doing just reverses what you put them out there for and that's to toughen up the leaf epidermis and get them used to outdoor conditions. I think it's best to provide them with shelter, and preferably still outside, perhaps a garage or whatever, if high winds or frost or heavy rain is expected. __________________ Carolyn

April 19, 2012	#10
tam91 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Crystal Lake IL Posts: 2,484	Wondering if I just got lucky last year... Mine are outside in a greenhouse. On anything other than really cold days or storms, I open the windows all day. So they shouldn't really need any further hardening, should they? __________________ Tracy

April 14, 2012	#2
lurley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 741	I left my peppers out too long last year during hardening off. The leaves got crispy on the edges that were damaged, and some fell off. Some (OCD that I am) I cut off which some say you shouldn't do, but I needed them to look "neater". They sent out new leaves and recovered just fine. I kept putting them outside, weather permitting, and was just more careful about not letting myself get caught away from home for longer than they should be left out.

April 14, 2012	#3
trout250 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: houston tx Posts: 21	this is the problem we have been having also, we took used onion sacks split them and wrapped our tomatoe cages making a sort of sun screen, shade cloth is to expensive for my budget. we are trying this on our replants, we had set out 18 really nice plants and with the 60deg. nights and close to 90 deg days we are having they got couldn't handle the sun

April 15, 2012	#5
PA_Julia Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Princeton, Ky Zone 7A Posts: 2,208	Hi! I take my flats of seedlings outside and place them directly in the sun in the morning when the temp's are in the mid to upper fifties. I then set my microwave timer for 30 minutes. When times up I go and place the seedlings on the patio table in full shade that way they still have the benefit of the breeze blowing on them to strengthen their root system. Every two to three days I increase the time by 5 or 10 minutes of direct sunlight. Seems to work very well for me.

April 18, 2012	#8
livinonfaith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Posts: 1,332	It's really amazing how quickly these pants are healing! The burned leaves look lighter, whitish green and almost papery, but most of the plants are already putting out new dark green healthy leaves on top. It's almost like the damage has made them go into overdrive. Is this normal?