Sunburned Kalanchoe

May 29, 2020 5:58 AM

Hi Folks, I have a kalanchoe plant that I was growing indoors for almost a year. It had very glossy green leaves, and it looked very healthy. I put the plant outside for 3 days, and it does not look healthy anymore. Is it still alive? Will it go back to "glossy green" leafs? What can I do to help it along?

Here are a few pictures of the plant:

Picture One

Picture Two

posted by stevenpl to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

Plants can be shocked by a lot of sudden sunlight, even plants that normally eat it up. Make sure it's not dehydrated, bring it back inside, and try to reintroduce it to the sun a little more gradually.
posted by zadcat at 6:16 AM on May 29, 2020

It’s not sunburnt - it’s thriving! Many succulents turn red when exposed to greater sunlight. In fact, the growth shape of the older leaves indicates it could use more sun at its indoor home. Actual sunburn is crispy brown - if you see that, THAT’S too much sun, and that damage doesn’t go away. Outside, your plant likes cover in hot midday sun, but morning sun will help produce that beautiful red/green tone.
posted by missmary6 at 6:21 AM on May 29, 2020 [4 favorites]

I put a potted ficus outside and it dropped a bunch of leaves at first and was really unhappy for awhile. But now it’s thriving and twice as large. It just took a couple of weeks to adjust.
posted by gt2 at 3:31 PM on May 29, 2020