In this article, I’ll explain what farina is. The white dust that covers your succulents gives them an odd gray or blue cast, and it can even give you the impression that they look dirty.
Don’t remove the white powder from your succulents if you want them to look clean and nice. A big mistake would be to clean it. Would you like to know why?
The farina is a white powder or substance found on the surface of succulent leaves, stems, and flowers.
Farina, What Is It And What Does It Do?
Farina also referred to as epicuticular wax, is a natural protector for our succulents.
Epicuticular wax is very common in echeverias, but it can also be found in kalanchoes, pachyphytum, graptopetalum, and sedums, among other plants.
Use caution when handling succulents that have a white protective powder or farina on their stems or leaves, as this powder can be easily removed by lightly touching the leaf or stem with our fingers.
This epicuticular wax, also known as farina, is not only found in succulent plants but also in some fruits like plums, blueberries, and grapes, as well as in the leaves of some trees like eucalyptus.
What’s The Purpose of Succulents’ Epicuticular Wax?
Epicuticular wax protects succulents from the sun. It serves as a reflector of ultraviolet rays, which keeps succulents from getting sunburned.
To be clear, we say it helps because there are numerous other factors that can affect whether or not your succulents become sunburned when exposed to sunlight. The care and requirements of each of your succulents must be considered.
Succulents benefit from farina because it redirects water that collects in the leaves to the center of the plant, where it is better used to water the roots.
A place where conditions are particularly dry and arid needs this to make the most of every drop of rain that falls. This also serves as a cleaning mechanism for the plant’s leaves.
Bugs (insects) have a hard time moving around the leaves and laying their eggs because of the epicuticular wax.
It also has the added benefit of reducing transpiration. High heat and drought increase the rate of transpiration, which is essentially water evaporation.
The more farina on the leaves, the greater the moisture retention and, therefore, the greater the demand on your irrigation system.
Why Shouldn’t You Remove Farina From Succulents?
Attention! Farina does not regenerate. Remember that once Farina has been removed, it cannot be replaced, so removing it leaves our succulent vulnerable to harm because it no longer has its natural protection.