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Stunted Habanero Brown

Smokenstein

Smokenstein

This is the only pepper that survived me trying to grow from seedlings this year. The problem is that it has been this size for about 2 months. A few weeks ago, I transferred it to this pot and have just kept watering it hoping it will grow. I'm wondering if it's worth my while to add some nutrients to it to see if it happens to take off. Basically, it'll grow 3rd and 4th leaves, but once it does, the bigger ones drop and it just seems to be keeping that cycle. Any advice on what I could do to try to get this baby going? Here's a couple pics:

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imaguitargod said:
Could have rabies. Has it been foaming alot? Also, how long has it been stunted like that?
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Haha... No rabies that I'm aware of. :)

POTAWIE said:
What kind of soil are you using?
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I'm not even sure now. Basically, I got some old seeds from a buddy of mine of many different peppers (Habanero Brown, Fatali, Caribbean Red, and many more). I experimented with planting the seeds in a foil pan, poking holes in it to drain, and stuck it in the closet with a space heater and a grow light to try an get it started. I didn't get a bunch of indoor growing materials since this was just an experiment. Several seedlings sprouted, but this was the only one that survived. At the time I used a potting soil and top soil mix.
It was probably late February when I planted everything. This one popped up in late March/early April. And once the weather got warmer and it didn't look like anything was going to happen with these, I just stuck them outside, watered them regularly and figured if anything grows... great! But I didn't have any expectations.

But for whatever reason, this little bastard has hung on all this time. I'm thinking if I would have added some appropriate nutrients maybe it would have taken off... and I figure since it's lasted this long it's at least worth asking at this point if anyone has some tricks they would try.
 
I'd re-pot it into a smaller container with a loose, well draining soil and check the roots while you're at it, they probably aren't too happy
 
RichardK said:
How much light has it been getting?
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Well, since it's gotten warm enough (maybe the last 6 weeks), it's been getting sun most of the day. I'd say the sun probably hits it about 10AM, and gets shaded by the house around 5PM.
 
Looks like Sta-Green soil to me. I recognize the small green nute ball in the picture. Whatever you do, don't add more nutes. You might already be overpowering it with the nutes that come with the soil.
 
POTAWIE said:
I'd re-pot it into a smaller container with a loose, well draining soil and check the roots while you're at it, they probably aren't too happy
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I would do what POTAWIE has suggested. I have some Orange Habs that were going through the same cycle you suggest (dropping the large leaves once new ones begin to grow). I re-potted into larger containers with better draining soil and so far they have not lost any leaves since. They are still small, but hopefully they will hit a growth spurt here soon.
 
Toss it and start over. I don't see any point in trying to save this one considering you started with old seeds and have no clue what soil your using. If you need seeds I'll toss a few choc habs in a envelop and ship them to you. The seeds I have have germinated very well. Then get a seed germination with a heat mat and a couple 40 watt CFL lights. I followed the tips by the guys here and did a lot of research online and in a week I have over 100 plants bigger than that. Now they have pretty much taken over my back patio and I have more than I know what to do with.

Like they say if you fail to plan you plan to fail.
 
LGHT said:
Toss it and start over. I don't see any point in trying to save this one considering you started with old seeds and have no clue what soil your using. If you need seeds I'll toss a few choc habs in a envelop and ship them to you. The seeds I have have germinated very well. Then get a seed germination with a heat mat and a couple 40 watt CFL lights. I followed the tips by the guys here and did a lot of research online and in a week I have over 100 plants bigger than that. Now they have pretty much taken over my back patio and I have more than I know what to do with.

Like they say if you fail to plan you plan to fail.
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I appreciate the offer, but don't worry about sending me seeds. At this point, the only purpose for saving this plant would be so I could pound on my chest and scream "I survived!"

But, you do have me curious... do you need to start seeds inside under lights and heat mats, or in a greenhouse? Or with temps up now in the summer months, could they be started pretty easily in nature as long as you protect them from too much heat and at least get a late harvest, or bring it inside for the winter to have for next year? I'm honestly not (yet) hardcore enough to get more lights and mats and all that stuff, but it seems like the growing conditions here (pretty consistent 85-95 daytime and 70-75 evening with lots of sun) for starting plants out in nature... where God intended it... would be pretty ideal for peppers? :)
 
Smokenstein said:
I appreciate the offer, but don't worry about sending me seeds. At this point, the only purpose for saving this plant would be so I could pound on my chest and scream "I survived!"

But, you do have me curious... do you need to start seeds inside under lights and heat mats, or in a greenhouse? Or with temps up now in the summer months, could they be started pretty easily in nature as long as you protect them from too much heat and at least get a late harvest, or bring it inside for the winter to have for next year? I'm honestly not (yet) hardcore enough to get more lights and mats and all that stuff, but it seems like the growing conditions here (pretty consistent 85-95 daytime and 70-75 evening with lots of sun) for starting plants out in nature... where God intended it... would be pretty ideal for peppers? :)
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not sure what the optimal conditions need to be in order to germinate seeds outside, but I agree plants should be grown outside. However if you want to improve your germination rate and improve the growth rate being able to control their environment will be a big plus if growing from a seed. Once my plants are big and strong enough they go outside and end up end the dirt, but after a bit of reading I followed the "best practices" of growing peppers from seed which included picking up a germination box, CFL lights for when they are small and MH/HPS lights to get them big.
 
Definitely get the little fella in a smaller pot as Potawie said. I'm the worst for putting little plants in big houses, but it's a lot of water for it to take in, also it's good to let it develop a nice solid root ball.
 
Ok, I transplanted to a smaller pot with loose soil. I didn't find much root growth at all. I have some 5-15-5 root stimulator. Would it be a good idea to mix a little of that in with water and water the plant with that to try and get a better root system started? I'll be shocked and extremely proud if this thing happens to hang on, but my expectations are very low. :)
 
Just a little update for anyone who's interested. This plant has come a long way. It's got about 6-7 leaves on it now and has probably tripled in size from the pics above. Still got a long way to go, but it looks like he should pull through. Thanks again for all the advice!
 
That's great to hear Smoken. I've just recently tried using some PlantProd 10-52-10 root stimulator on a few of my seedlings. Although I don't have much experience growing (my first season) it makes sense to get a strong root system established then everything else will follow suit.
 
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