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Hot Pepper Space

Hello! 
 
I am new to this forum and I have a question. 
 
How far apart do peppers have to be? I'm sort of new to growing hot peppers and currently I have a jalapeno plant in a pot and a red savina in another pot probably no further than 8 inches from the jalapeno. Should I move it further or it doesn't matter? I plan on growing more peppers in the future, probably next spring. But for now I have these two hombres.  :)
 
Thanks for your help!
 
:welcome:
 
As long as they aren't blocking the light from each other it should be fine. To my mind, the minimum planting distance advice is more for if you plant them in the ground, so that the roots and leaves of both plants don't end up competing with each other for resources as the plants get bigger. As long as both plants are healthy and are not competing for light I think you are fine. If the leaves are blocking the light from each other then you should move them farther apart.
 
But if you are asking for seed isolation purposes, then it is best to cover the flowers with some netting or organza bags. Just moving them a short distance apart is not sufficient to prevent cross pollination by bees. But this is only even an issue if you plan on saving their seeds and you want to avoid growing any Habapenos from the seeds next year. Cross pollination won't affect the fruit you harvest this year; they will still all be normal Red Savinas and Jalapenos.
 
Being that they're in pots they should be fine close together til they get bigger. When the leaves start to overlap, just move them a little farther apart.
 
PepperMan16... Welcome !
 
Are you growing indoors ?  If you have them outdoors then just keep them far enough apart to let the sun hit all of the leaves.  Life is good in that case !   Indoors under a grow light is a different story.
 
If you are growing indoors under a grow light, then the issue of spacing becomes an important consideration. When the plants mature, they can get very big and bushy. I have indoor plants that have canopies that are close to 2ft x 2ft.  So two plants in a grow room would have to be 4ft. apart if you want to get the most out of the plants.
 
Since you have pots, you're already in a good spot. Just move them apart as they get bigger, or trim them as others have already said. You don't have to have huge plants to get peppers. If you look to have lots and lots of peppers, then you'll need to have a lot of space to let them grow.... and really good lighting.
 
Good Luck and Happy Growing !
 
Jeff
 
 
 
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