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Any chance of a reaper plant blossoming twice?

B

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Hey guys,

First time grower, I have about 15 different strains growing at once right now in NJ.

We had a slow start to the season but the heat of June and July resulted in some seriously explosive growth on all of my plants, and nearly all of them are producing healthy looking pods already. I'm going to end up with way more than I know what to do with.

All of the plants are 2-3 feet tall and bushy as hell. However, as healthy as they look, my Carolina Reapers are mysteriously fruitless. The two reaper plants I have both started pushing out blossoms in early June right along with all of the other plants, but unlike the rest, never set any pods. Some of the other plants still have some flowers opening and show no signs of stopping, but all of the Reaper flowers have since fallen off and I haven't seen any new ones in a few weeks now. There doesn't even seem to be anything indicating any new flowers are going to pop up either. Is there a way to coax them into flowering again? They receive the same feeding as the rest of the plants (fish emulsion/FF Grow Big early on, FF Big Bloom/Bone Meal after flowering), and all of the rest seem to be quite content. I'm assuming the Reapers just didn't pollinate?

Hoping that I can turn this around quick while there's still enough time to mature them before it gets cold.

Thanks!
Chris



 
 
If your anything like the rest of the east cost it has been 90 or above for a few weeks now and really humid. That's the cause of your blossom drop and lack of production on the reaper. My reaper has tried to do the same thing but I give it partial shade during the morning and full sun from 10:30 to 6:30 during the day and that seemed to do the trick.
 
Heat is definitely a big reason. I had the same problem with my reapers. Most any pepper will drop blossoms above 90 degrees but it seems like reapers are a little more heat sensitive than habaneros or scotch bonnets in my experience. I didn't get any fruit set until I dragged my reapers under the shade of a big tree so they only get filtered sunlight. The 1 reaper I left out in direct sunlight is in a 40 gallon container and so it's nearly 3 ft tall and almost as wide but I only get pods from the lower branches that are shaded from the sun. I get more pods from the smaller plants in the shade.
 
My sole reaper is now 2 and in in 50% shade.  Its blooming again now for the 3rd time this year.  Sets pods each cycle but likes the higher humidity like we have now.
 
solid7 said:
And what do you suggest that will do? Is it really needed, or is this done for the sake of tradition and folklore?
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I do it because it makes me rock hard watching the plants get a boner before my eyes. They yell, "YEAH BABY!!!" for the next three hours.
 
WhatYouKnowAbhutThat said:
Epsom salts make them flower hard.
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Not in every case, they don't.

I guess I'm a little old-fashioned, because I try to only apply what I know I need, rather than just throwing something at my plants willy-nilly. :rolleyes:
 
solid7 said:
And what do you suggest that will do? Is it really needed, or is this done for the sake of tradition and folklore?
Click to expand...
 
Epsom salt is a highly soluble form of magnesium sulfate - Magnesium allows plants to better take in other nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. It also helps in the creation of chlorophyll, which is vital for photosynthesis and greatly improves the plants ability to produce flowers and fruit. Since it poses little chance of overuse like most chemical fertilizers, you can use it safely on almost all plants. Even if you do not believe in it's benefits it will not hurt to try it.
Magnesium allows plants to better take in valuable nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus. It also helps in the creation of chlorophyll, which is vital for photosynthesis. In addition, magnesium greatly improves a plant’s ability to produce flowers and fruit.
 
JDFan said:
 
 
Epsom salt is a highly soluble form of magnesium sulfate - Magnesium allows plants to better take in other nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. It also helps in the creation of chlorophyll, which is vital for photosynthesis and greatly improves the plants ability to produce flowers and fruit. Since it poses little chance of overuse like most chemical fertilizers, you can use it safely on almost all plants. Even if you do not believe in it's benefits it will not hurt to try it.
Magnesium allows plants to better take in valuable nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus. It also helps in the creation of chlorophyll, which is vital for photosynthesis. In addition, magnesium greatly improves a plant’s ability to produce flowers and fruit.
 
Click to expand...
 
I know about Epsom salts.  The point was, it's kinda silly to just add stuff, "just because".
 
Reapers, like many Chinense varieties, take a long time to set pods.  This isn't an unknown phenomena.
 
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