Going to be 110-115+ in many areas like Phoenix, etc. What do growers on here that live in that climate do? Potted plants kept in the shade only? Shade nets must be mandatory I imagine.
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Southwest heat wave
- Thread starter GhostPepperz
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Yes, we are supposed to be at 110 in Las Vegas on Saturday and Sunday. I have some of my potted peppers where they are shaded during the hottest part of the day, and the rest are under shade cloth. Some form of shade seems to be mandatory during the summer months here. Still, at these temps I am seeing a whole lot of flower drop and very little fruit set, especially with the chinenses. It was the same story last year; pepper production almost completely shut down from around the first of June until mid-September when it starts cooling down again. I have several chinenses that are trying to flower that I am keeping mostly indoors for a few days to try to encourage fruit set. Hopefully that will help with the flower drop issue. Still, I don't want to do that for long as it is too easy to reverse the hardening off process by bringing plants back inside. This is only my second year growing peppers, so I am still trying to figure out how to have a productive grow in a desert climate.
Hope you got some Cayenne peppers growing. This was the most productive plant in the summer heat, for me anyway.
Not a whole lot that you can do. You can try shade, potted plants are necessary... You've probably heard someone from Az say it's a dry heat. It's not just a joke. You also learn to plant more heat resistant plants. Figure out what works best for you and your climate. Arizona has about a million different climates. You can be in the snow, then drive for an hour...and it will be over 100 degrees.
Mine are really liking this heat (I am not). They are always in 50% shade and constantly bloom and set fruit. The dryness is the main problem, single digit humidity and I get a lot of blossom drop but when the monsoons get here and the humidity goes high they grow fast. Right now I have two over the roof of the house and 3 others touching the eve's. Had 114 here yesterday and predicting 118 today so I expect blooms to start dropping again.
I will take it! Northeast texas is rain all day and 70s... Its supposed to heat up soon I hope
I's 110 today in Tucson and the plants are doing fine.
I do move them beneath a big mesquite tree when it gets to 105 or so. They still get a few hours of full sun, but this doesn't bother them. Full sun for the entire day and ~105+ appears to stress them and greatly slow growth.
IMO, using woven grow-bags is a huge benefit for those growing in containers.
The evaporative cooling does wonders, and my Wallybag plants always grow and produce much better than those living in a plain old pot.
In general, Baccatum do quite well in the Az climate. All my overwinters set great pods this spring. While they will stop flowering for a few months in mid-summer, they are among the first to start up again in late August
Best hot weather plant I've had was a 'Dragon Cayenne' from Bonnie plants and a big box. That thing crankied pods 24/7 for 9 months out of the year.
I do move them beneath a big mesquite tree when it gets to 105 or so. They still get a few hours of full sun, but this doesn't bother them. Full sun for the entire day and ~105+ appears to stress them and greatly slow growth.
IMO, using woven grow-bags is a huge benefit for those growing in containers.
The evaporative cooling does wonders, and my Wallybag plants always grow and produce much better than those living in a plain old pot.
In general, Baccatum do quite well in the Az climate. All my overwinters set great pods this spring. While they will stop flowering for a few months in mid-summer, they are among the first to start up again in late August
Best hot weather plant I've had was a 'Dragon Cayenne' from Bonnie plants and a big box. That thing crankied pods 24/7 for 9 months out of the year.