Troubleshooting · Sunburn and leaf scorch
Bleached or papery patches on sun-side leaves — a heat injury that often shows up a day after a move, a transplant, or a heat wave.
Sunburn on plants is exactly what it sounds like: a sudden exposure to more sun than the leaves are acclimated to, producing bleached or papery patches on the side facing the sun.
Care profile
Likely causes
Each cause below has a quick check you can do in about thirty seconds. Stop as soon as one matches. You’ve found your answer.
A plant that's been growing in a dim indoor spot or on a shaded nursery bench can't tolerate a sudden shift to full afternoon sun. The leaves burn within a day.
Quick check
Did you recently move the plant outdoors, or to a sunnier window, without a gradual acclimation period?
What to do
Damaged leaves won't recover, but new growth will adapt. Move the plant back to a partially shaded spot, then re-introduce sun over 7–10 days: one hour of direct sun the first day, two the second, and so on.
Even established outdoor plants can burn during a sudden heat wave, especially if soil moisture is low and the plant can't transpire fast enough to cool itself.
Quick check
Did the weather jump 15°F hotter than the week before?
What to do
Water deeply in the morning so the root zone is full before the heat peaks. Shade cloth or a temporary umbrella during the worst afternoons buys the plant time to adapt.
Watering from above in full sun leaves droplets on leaves that act like small lenses, concentrating sunlight and burning the leaf tissue underneath.
Quick check
Are the burn spots small and round rather than a broad swath on the sun-facing side?
What to do
Water at the base of the plant in the morning, or only in the evening. Overhead watering in full midday sun is the single most common avoidable cause of summer leaf burn.
This page is beginner-friendly general guidance, not professional horticultural, medical, or veterinary advice. For pet-exposure questions, contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. For persistent plant-health issues, your local university cooperative extension office is the best free expert in the country. See our full disclaimer for details.