All sorts of plants can be affected by leaf burn, particularly during the hottest times of the year. Leaf burn on plants looks terrible and is frustrating, but there are some easy precautions you can take to avoid this problem. The main cause of leaf burn is from spraying water, fertilisers or chemicals onto plant foliage in hot sunny weather. What happens, is the water on the leaf in the sun acts like a magnifying glass - it intensifies the sunlight onto the leaf, causing it to overheat & then burn. It's very similar to using a magnifying glass to burn paper. During hot weather, you have to water plants regularly and you will almost certainly need to fertilise or apply garden sprays - but how do you do this without causing leaf burn? The solution is simple - whenever you water, fertilise or spray chemicals, make sure it's early in the morning before the sun gets too strong, or, do it late in the afternoon. Never do it during the middle of the day in direct sunlight. If for some reason you do need to water a plant in the middle of the day, and it's in direct sunlight, then only water the soil & don't wet the foliage. When spraying soluble fertilisers or chemical sprays onto plants, always follow the directions for application and dilution rates on the packet. Overdosing chemicals can also be a cause of leaf burn or damage. Preventing leaf burn in the garden is as simple as that. • Remember, when watering, fertilising or spraying chemicals, only do it early mornings or late afternoons and always follow directions for use on packets. Now you can sit back & enjoy a beautiful garden Happy Gardening with Searles from the Searle family. © Copyright 2002 JC & AT Searle Pty Ltd You may make a copy of this Fact Sheet for your personal, non-commercial use only. Please do not make any other use of this Fact Sheet without first obtaining our permission.