You might get really concerned if the succulent in your home turns pink because you think it might be dying.
In reaction to environmental conditions, succulents turn pink. It typically takes quite a bit of stress for some of the hardiest and most durable houseplants to change the color of their foliage.
You must keep in mind that succulents adapt to their settings, and when these environments or their care undergo unexpected changes, they will react since they do not handle sudden change well.
The most frequent stressors that lead to the pinking of succulents include excessive or insufficient sunlight, incorrect watering, root rot, temperature shifts, and nutrient deficiencies.
Too much sunlight
One of the most frequent causes of your succulent turning pink is because it is suddenly exposed to more light than it has ever experienced, which causes sunburn.
The foliage will turn pink as a result of this sunburn. Succulents that have been kept indoors for months and are suddenly moved to the outdoor garden frequently experience this. The succulent plant may experience some shock when exposed to the bright light on its leaves.
If your succulent is positioned too close to a glass window, the glass will magnify the sun’s rays before they reach the leaf of the plant, which is another way it can get sunburned. Plants placed in windows facing the south frequently do this.
Remedy
Transfer your plant to a new location where it may only receive indirect light for six hours each day, such as a patio or one foot away from a west-facing window, to correct this discolouration brought on by too much sunlight.
If you intend to move an indoor plant to your outside garden, acclimate the plant gradually by progressively increasing the amount of time it spends in the light each day. Up until the plant has completely adapted to its new environment, keep up the acclimatization.
If you give your succulent a few days to adjust to increasing amounts of light, it won’t suffer from sun damage and you should be able to keep its green hue.
Not enough light
When a succulent receives less light than it requires daily, this might also cause it to turn pink.
When certain succulent plants are under stress from insufficient light, such as some cacti, anthocyanins are produced. The pinkish color of the plant’s leaves is caused by the combination of the purple pigment anthocyanin and the green pigment chlorophyll.
Keep in mind that succulents require sunshine to survive and operate normally. They cannot undertake photosynthesis without it, which prevents them from growing their own food.
The yellowing of a succulent that isn’t getting enough light can be easily remedied. Simply move it to a location where it will have access to the constant, brilliant indirect light that it requires.
Overwatering
Your succulent is receiving too much water, which is another cause of its pinking.
This might be the case if you water it more frequently than you should or if you give it more water than it requires each time. In any case, this causes overwatering, which causes root rot.
The condition known as root rot is brought on by a plant’s roots spending an extended period of time drowning in damp soil. The decaying dead roots will start to attract opportunistic infections like fungus and bacteria. As a result of these diseases, the rot will spread more quickly and eventually kill the entire plant.
The leaves on your plant may become yellow, pink, red, or brown and become soft and mushy to the touch as a sign that it is overwatered.
The wrong potting mix might also contribute to overwatering. Succulents want potting soil that is porous and airy so that water and air may easily pass through it. Additionally, if the pot you use doesn’t have drainage holes at the bottom, this can also result in an accumulation of water that can cause root rot.
You must immediately stop watering your succulent if you notice that it may be turning pink from overwatering.
Take the plant out of the pot, then wash the roots to remove as much of the old soil as you can. So as not to harm the delicate roots, go slowly. Examine all of the roots, and using sterile scissors, remove any areas that have gone brown or black.
After that, place the plant on a clean piece of paper towel and let it air dry for a few hours.
Prepare a fresh container with drainage holes at the bottom, and fill it two-thirds with new succulent-specific potting soil.
After putting the plant in the middle of the dirt, add more potting soil to fill the container up. Gently tap the ground close to the plant’s roots.
The soil won’t need any additional moisture; it’s already damp. Before watering the newly potted plant, wait at least a week.
Check the top two inches of soil with your finger before watering your plant to prevent overwatering. If the soil is humid, wait one or two days before examining it again. If the soil is dry, water it.
Underwatering
Although it may not be as harmful as overwatering, underwatering can nonetheless result in your succulent turning pink.
A succulent’s foliage will first turn pink, then purple, and then turn brown if it does not receive enough water. The leaves will wrinkle and get crispy as they dry out.
Fortunately, a succulent that has been underwater is much simpler to cure than one that has been overwatered.
To restore the succulent to health, you will need to wet and dry it. Water the plant five times with water that is equal to the volume of the pot when the soil is completely dry.
After watering the soil, wait until the top two inches feel dry to the touch before watering it again.
A succulent only has to be watered on a regular basis when the soil is dry. By doing this, you can prevent your plant from being both overwatered and underwatered.
Changes in temperature
Your succulent may also be becoming pink since you are subjecting it to temperatures that are far higher than they are accustomed to.
This might be because the plant is in direct, unfiltered sunlight, it’s next to a radiator, or it’s located where a heater is blowing heated air directly at it.
The plant will release anthocyanin as a result of the heat stress, which is, as previously said, a purplish pigment that takes on a pink hue when combined with chlorophyll in the plant.
Your succulent may have tissue damage as a result of excessive heat, which may impair photosynthesis and produce more discoloration.
The plant will also experience temperature stress and develop pink discolouration if it is placed in an area where it will be hit by cold air, such as next to an air conditioner or a door or window that allows in cold drafts.
Simply move your plant to a location where it won’t be exposed to extremes of heat or cold to correct any discolouration brought on by temperature variations.
A room that is between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature for keeping an indoor succulent.
Nutrient deficiency
When plants are deficient in certain elements, such as phosphorus, nitrogen, or magnesium, succulents can also turn pink.
For instance, phosphorus is required by succulents in order to synthesize the sugars and nucleic acids that serve as their source of energy.
Along with turning pink, other symptoms of nutritional shortage include wilting and yellowing.
Because the succulent’s soil will eventually get devoid of nutrients and minerals if you wait too long to repot it, this might also result in nutrient deficit.
Is it normal for succulents to turn pink?
Succulents are typically green, but under stress, some types can change to red, pink, or purple hues. Some aloes, aeoniums, crassulas, echeverias, sedums, kalanchoes, sempervivums, and euphorbias can produce brilliant colors in addition to green. Agaves are an exception since they normally only show the color green. This post looks at how to enhance the coloration of our succulents without harming them.
My succulents have turned red, is this bad?
Succulents can alter their color when they require your assistance to live, whether it’s due to a shortage of water, intense sunshine, or just the growing environment.
There are certain actions you can take to improve their living conditions, so they avoid dying off, whether you have a green succulent plant whose leaves are turning pinkish-red or succulents that have turned brown and purple because the soil is too dry.
Red succulent leaves indicate a problem, and succulents are quick to communicate their need for assistance.
The following are the main causes of redness in succulents:
Drought Stress
When exposed to drought stress, which stops succulent cells from retaining water inside their cells, succulent leaves and stems will turn red.
Without proper maintenance, succulents that lack moisture wilt, get frail, and eventually disappear.
Succulents are trying to tell you by turning red that they need to be watered as soon as possible to avoid dying by doing so.
Direct Sunlight
Succulents will become red if they are exposed to excessive sunlight because the leaves cannot withstand the UV rays that the sun produces, which cause the cells to disintegrate and lose their suppleness.
Poor Soil Quality
When planted in soil that lacks the minerals necessary for succulents to survive, succulents will turn red.
Succulents will become red if the soil is too acidic, and its leaves will wilt, droop, and eventually die from exposure to dry circumstances if there aren’t enough nutrients.
Cold Temperatures
When exposed to chilly temperatures, succulent leaves and stems will become crimson.
Succulents may start to turn red if the temperature falls below 50 degrees Fahrenheit because the cells are stressed.
High Salt Levels
When exposed to excessive amounts of salt that prevent them from absorbing the necessary quantity of water, succulent leaves will turn red.
It is essential not to use fertilizers or salts on succulents as it can cause succulent plants to become extremely thirsty and eventually die off if you don’t take care of the problem.
Root Bound
If succulent roots are exposed to being bound down, they will start to become red.
Succulents need space to thrive because cramming too many of them into a pot prevents them from getting adequate water and nutrients from the soil.
It might be time to repot your succulents in a larger container with superior succulent soil if they keep dying off or changing color.
Heat Stress
When exposed to extreme temperatures, succulent leaves and stems will turn red. This can happen because the flexibility of the succulent cells can break down.
Succulents cannot retain water in their cells when it is too hot outside, therefore they will wither and die.
Over-Fertilization
Succulents that receive an excessive amount of fertilizer may experience cell breakdown, which results in thirsty plants that are unable to retain water in their cells.
Succulent plants should only be treated during their growing seasons because they only require a very tiny amount of fertilizer to live.
What causes pinking of leaves?
Isn’t there something special about the color pink? When you offer someone a pink gift, it inspires a lot of passion and a clear intuitive reaction. It expresses “I love you,” but it also has the ability to convey that sentiment in a platonic context. It is profound and timeless.
You can be astonished by the variety of pink plants that are offered on the market when it comes to plants!
A class of plant pigments known as anthocyanins is what gives plants their pink, purple, red, and black hues. You come into contact with anthocyanins on a daily basis because they are what gives blueberries their blue color, strawberries their red color, and fall leaves their special red/purple touch in addition to their usual orange tones (which are caused by another group of pigments called carotenoids).
A plant may use anthocyanins for a variety of purposes, but typically speaking, they are most prevalent in the portions of the plant that the plant wants other animals to engage with. Brightly colored blooms stand out against the background of green and assist pollinators in finding the pollen. Brightly colored fruits of the plant attract animals to the fruit so that the fruit can be consumed and its seeds disseminated.
Humans have chosen bred for houseplant species with high anthocyanin levels to produce that lovely pink leaves. More of it in the leaves doesn’t harm the plant or shorten its lifespan because it’s a plant pigment that is used essentially everywhere in the plant kingdom.
These leaves require a little bit more light than usual in order to produce the same level of glucose through photosynthesis because each leaf has a slightly less green and more pink hue than usual. Less green means less chlorophyll, which is how a plant primarily engages in photosynthetic processes. However, this rarely results in any issues because many of these plants usually grow in shaded areas under dense tree canopies, making any increase in light requirements fairly manageable.
Here are five pink plants that we sell for the discriminating pink aficionado, without further ado! The product page for that plant is linked in each of the images.
Aglaonema are wonderful gift plants because they require little maintenance and don’t require a lot of attention from their surroundings. In many households, a weekly watering will do just fine. They want an indirect light. A lovely representation of a happy marriage with open communication.
Hypoestes is ideal for everyone out there who has a lot of love to give because it is extremely soft and craves constant misting. Additionally, Hypoestes prefers indirect light, making spaces other than windows in the home ideal for it. perhaps a desk at the office!
Epiphytes, which usually invariably grow on trees, are Earth Stars, but not these ones. They are significantly easier to care for than the typical epiphyte because they enjoy being potted in regular organic potting soil. They don’t mind if a watering is missed and like to dry out between waterings. Even some direct sunlight won’t hurt them!
The triangular leaves of Syngonium have earned them the nickname “arrowhead plants.” The Neon, or Strawberries and Cream, version is a stunning creamy pink dream despite coming in a variety of colors.
The Syngonium Neon cultivar boasts gorgeous dusty pink to baby pink leaves that range in texture from glossy to velvety. When mature, Syngonium have a beautiful draping growth pattern that looks great on a shelf or in a hanging basket.
It’s remarkable to discover the Wandering Jew, or Tradescantia Fluminensis, in multicolor. Any plant collection will benefit from the lovely explosion of visual texture provided by the delicate pinks and lighter parts.
This plant, which naturally grows as a ground cover, can expand to fill the space you give it with soil or, more commonly, you can hang it and let it hang down. Even in the summer, it makes tiny clusters of white blooms with three petals!