I always grow plants and the top canopy gets real big an yields lots of fruit, but i always end up with little two leaf sets coming out of the lowere nodes. How come peppers dont like to branch? Is it impossible to get these things to bush, or am i just growing a variety that doesnt branch a lot?
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Branches
- Thread starter OrganicChiles
- Start date
Dunno cause you didnt say what you were growing 
Some types do stay taller/thinner while others maybe shorter and bushy..yet other may be tall and bushy. It really just depends on the plant and even the individual characteristics of the plant. Sometimes, like this season, the weather/conditions plays a role in it as well.
Some types do stay taller/thinner while others maybe shorter and bushy..yet other may be tall and bushy. It really just depends on the plant and even the individual characteristics of the plant. Sometimes, like this season, the weather/conditions plays a role in it as well.
I don't know, my chinenses bush like a 70s porn. Annums don't bush nearly as much though.
Some people like to clip the tops of plants to force them to bush out.
Last year I had this accidentally happen to one of my plants and I noticed a big difference it how it grew. So, this year I tried to do it to a few plants here and there to see what happened and I seem to have the same bushier results from the one with the clipped tops.
Last year I had this accidentally happen to one of my plants and I noticed a big difference it how it grew. So, this year I tried to do it to a few plants here and there to see what happened and I seem to have the same bushier results from the one with the clipped tops.
Topping is a very valid way to increase the amount of branches and thus flowering points. I did it with a number of my plants this year and the results so far are very good.
Here is a fresno that was topped, you can see the single stem coming out of the ground. Major stems form from the joints between leaves and the stem when you prune the growth point.
Supposedly peppers can yield more on the first harvest with this method, but you have to wait a few weeks for them to catch up so you get a slightly later first harvest as well.
I did it because my weather is too hot and arid for peppers and the increased foliage helps a lot to regulate soil temp and moisture.
-Phil
Here is a fresno that was topped, you can see the single stem coming out of the ground. Major stems form from the joints between leaves and the stem when you prune the growth point.
Supposedly peppers can yield more on the first harvest with this method, but you have to wait a few weeks for them to catch up so you get a slightly later first harvest as well.
I did it because my weather is too hot and arid for peppers and the increased foliage helps a lot to regulate soil temp and moisture.
-Phil
you may try to bend the top over
(make the stem upside down U)
the idea is the aleura(sp?)
growing hormone will go to the highest elevation growing tip
and the little side buds can out pace the "central leader"
some one else here called it something more technical
i would just use a coat hanger and make it like a croquet arch to bend some over
{it has worked well for urban 'other plant' growing for me in the 70's & 80's}
or any string with a weight or tie it to anything
(make the stem upside down U)
the idea is the aleura(sp?)
growing hormone will go to the highest elevation growing tip
and the little side buds can out pace the "central leader"
some one else here called it something more technical
i would just use a coat hanger and make it like a croquet arch to bend some over
{it has worked well for urban 'other plant' growing for me in the 70's & 80's}
or any string with a weight or tie it to anything
The problem with topping is that it causes shock to the plant and, as a result, reduces growth for a week or two.
I believe the idea of bending the top, low stress training, is less harmful and should give the same results.
I have 3 brain strains growing right now. One I'm going to clip the top, another I'm gonna use the LST, the third I'm just gonna let it grow naturally.
By the end of the season we'll know the better method.
Bleash
I believe the idea of bending the top, low stress training, is less harmful and should give the same results.
I have 3 brain strains growing right now. One I'm going to clip the top, another I'm gonna use the LST, the third I'm just gonna let it grow naturally.
By the end of the season we'll know the better method.
Bleash
Tipping (aka low stress training) is probably a better option, since in my experience topping can delay fruit set by as much as a month, as I found out the hard way this season when some of my plants were damaged in storms. Still, the results are similar. My Datils are growing like Chia pets in spite of having their tops removed.
ya i noone of my dogs broke the tip of of a black pearl plant i have and it has gotten extremely bushy. but i can necer get jalapenos or hungarian hot wax to branch
