Pods size get smaller as the plant age?

[ZenPepper]

I have a 2 year old red Caribean hab, really great Hab taste so I over winter it last year. Now this year its not as bushy as last year and it produce smaller pods, the first year pods are about size of a golf ball, this year its only 70% of its previous size.

I'm wondering if pepper plants produce smaller pods as they age? if its some other factors, what might they be?



The frozen one on the left is the one from last year, the 2 on the right are from this year

 

[megahot]

Other factors, is what I assume! Potting up I'm sure would help, although I'm sure your plant is root bound. Temperatures as well as pests/disease can effect plant health and pod size. Did you change anything such as nutes? If you want bigger pods you can try clipping off the smaller pods, although you may not want to chance it, but the plant should put its energy into making bigger pods rather than several smaller pods. I notice the same with my plants

 

[Justaguy]

I get small ones every year, but never over wintered. May be the soil and what is left in it.

 

[mtbrider17]

I think it gets root bound, thats what kills production. The nutrients are absorbed as effectively.

 

[gasificada]

Interesting is, some of my second-year plants in the past have produced bigger pods while others produce much smaller ones. I can't figure it out. As others have said, plants becoming rootbound or spent soil sound like plausible causes though. Or maybe just genetics in other cases??

 

[JDFan]

Could also be the number of pods on the plant at the time --- figure in year 2 there is probably more pod production which could lead to smaller pods.

 

[ZenPepper]

I actually planted them in same size pots with new soil, but I might have used different soil, but the over all general health of the plant is not as good as before.

I also changed the soil, but I used a porcelain pot this season instead of a plastic one, could that be a factor too?

Other factors, is what I assume! Potting up I'm sure would help, although I'm sure your plant is root bound. Temperatures as well as pests/disease can effect plant health and pod size. Did you change anything such as nutes? If you want bigger pods you can try clipping off the smaller pods, although you may not want to chance it, but the plant should put its energy into making bigger pods rather than several smaller pods. I notice the same with my plants

do root bound plants produce smaller pots? or less pots? or both? I grow these in pots

 

[Boost313]

I can't contribute to overwintered plants. As I have never over wintered on. But in my past two years of growing bhuts. I have noticed the first pods set are larger than the ones that follow. By the end of the growing season pods are rippening at half the size at the first ones.

 

[socapots]

Could soil temp be a factor? Being that you are growing in pots. Maybe the clay pot gets hotter then the plastic did?

Edit: as far as overwintering. I have one that has been over wintered once. It only had one pod last year(its first year). These year lots of pods of all different sizes.

 

[FadeToBlack]

What size are the pots you have them in?

I have had 2 year old Yellow Scotch Bonnet plants before that were planted in ground.
I found that the sizes stayed pretty consistant. With pod variation from small to large, which all seemed random.

It could also be a number of other factors too. Sun exposure, nutes, soil, pest, water etc.

 

[ZenPepper]

Could soil temp be a factor? Being that you are growing in pots. Maybe the clay pot gets hotter then the plastic did?

Edit: as far as overwintering. I have one that has been over wintered once. It only had one pod last year(its first year). These year lots of pods of all different sizes.

Yeah, that might, but my plastic pots are very thin and I would think plastic would be hotter, and my porcelain pots are my bonsai pots, so its glazed, but I think that could be a factor, but I'm not sure about the relationship of the effect. I'm not sure if I should over winter this year.

What size are the pots you have them in?

I have had 2 year old Yellow Scotch Bonnet plants before that were planted in ground.
I found that the sizes stayed pretty consistant. With pod variation from small to large, which all seemed random.

It could also be a number of other factors too. Sun exposure, nutes, soil, pest, water etc.

they are 30cm in diameter and 20cm high, it seems last year I got more pods and larger pods, this ever happened to you?

 

[Dave2000]

So you trimmed the plant back far enough that it still isn't bushier this year than last? I'm not one who likes to trim back overwintered plants any more than necessary for storage purposes plus getting rid of any dead limb areas in the spring.

Are the temperatures higher this year? I'm wondering if they're stunted by that and not enough room for new root growth as a 30cm diameter and 20cm high pot seems small for an overwintered plant, I calculate that if completely full of soil and same diameter at the bottom (not smaller as most pots are) that's only 3.7 gallons.

Being root bound can have two affects. One is a smaller overall plant size and this reduces # of pods produced. The other is lower nutrient delivery which through fertilizers you can improve but if it is not improved (enough) then you may also have smaller pods. Is the plant in the same place so it receives the same amount of sun at the same time of day?

I do sometimes notice that the further away from the main stem a pod grows, the smaller the size it ends up. I also notice smaller pods if a plant is starving for nitrogen but then the leaf growth is a bit stunted too.

Measure the temperature of the pot in direct sun. If it's not getting over ~ 95F then I doubt the pot material is a factor, though a darker color could be getting warmer too.

Back to the topic of trimming them back, if that is what happened I'd overwinter and trim back much less. Even if the pods stay smaller you should end up with more volume in total given a big enough pot.

 

[ZenPepper]

So you trimmed the plant back far enough that it still isn't bushier this year than last? I'm not one who likes to trim back overwintered plants any more than necessary for storage purposes plus getting rid of any dead limb areas in the spring.

Are the temperatures higher this year? I'm wondering if they're stunted by that and not enough room for new root growth as a 30cm diameter and 20cm high pot seems small for an overwintered plant, I calculate that if completely full of soil and same diameter at the bottom (not smaller as most pots are) that's only 3.7 gallons.

Being root bound can have two affects. One is a smaller overall plant size and this reduces # of pods produced. The other is lower nutrient delivery which through fertilizers you can improve but if it is not improved (enough) then you may also have smaller pods. Is the plant in the same place so it receives the same amount of sun at the same time of day?

I do sometimes notice that the further away from the main stem a pod grows, the smaller the size it ends up. I also notice smaller pods if a plant is starving for nitrogen but then the leaf growth is a bit stunted too.

Measure the temperature of the pot in direct sun. If it's not getting over ~ 95F then I doubt the pot material is a factor, though a darker color could be getting warmer too.

Back to the topic of trimming them back, if that is what happened I'd overwinter and trim back much less. Even if the pods stay smaller you should end up with more volume in total given a big enough pot.

I did trim the plant for winter, I actually turn them into bonsai, but failed, because low light during winter months, so not a lot of leafs. This spring I put them back into approximate same size pot as last year, both roots and branches trimmed to start with. Maybe I abused the plant a little too much. But I thought it would just grow back like my other bonsai trees. This is why I'm wondering if this is a trait for pepper plants, they dont recover their full potential after a bonsai treatment? Do pepper plants "grow back" after both root trim and branch trimming?

Yea, my pots are small, but last year I got around 50-70 peppers from 2 plants in the same size pots, this year I only got 20 so far. I'm still new to pepper, thanks for everyone's help btw

IF the pods do get smaller, it might actually help me turn this into a real bonsai with small fruit, if the pods get smaller after every trim, than we got something we can work with here. I'm just not sure, new to growing peppers here.