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Do I wait it out, or burn them with fire?

My two favorite peppers that I'm overwintering have been struggling since transplant. They had a run in with aphids that i had to eventually put down with systemic imidacloprid. I put the changes in foliage down to transplant stress and the various treatments, but now I'm worried it's something else.

My datil has had most of its original leaves die by going pale and developing brown tips before falling off. More strange, is the fact that on some leaves the veins are yellowing. Even some of the young, new growth, is falling with bright yellow veins.

The Aji Chombo started by having the leaves looking chlorotic, but now they have deformations as well. It is putting out new growth, which looks pale, but has not (yet) shown the uneven color or deformarion.

I am begining to suspect something other than stress, nutrients, water, etc. If I'm right, I may need to remove them and scour my equipment. I have seedlings starting to sprout for next spring, and I don't want to put all of next years grow at risk.

I wont bias anyone by saying what I suspect. I just hope I'm wrong. Please take a look at the pics, and let me know what you think...

- Trout
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I mixed in worm castings at transplant along with kelp meal and bone meal. I have given then some fish emulsion a few times, but didnt want to overwater, so I havent been giving them lots of ferts.

I have tried some shots of liquid iron and some epsom salts when they started to look chlorotic., but I don't want to overdo it.

At this point with the patchy deformed leaves, Im worried that it's some sort of mosaic virus. Please tell me I'm paranoid and that my spicy pals will be ok. :)

-Trout

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are all the aphids gone? they will do that to new leaves. for aphids i lay a plastic tarp on the pot and spray the leaves with soapy water. 1tbs per gallon will do. do not let it get in the dirt. if the aphids are gone, then yes try some fertilizers.
 
troutbeer said:
I mixed in worm castings at transplant along with kelp meal and bone meal. I have given then some fish emulsion a few times, but didnt want to overwater, so I havent been giving them lots of ferts.

I have tried some shots of liquid iron and some epsom salts when they started to look chlorotic., but I don't want to overdo it.

At this point with the patchy deformed leaves, Im worried that it's some sort of mosaic virus. Please tell me I'm paranoid and that my spicy pals will be ok. :)

-Trout

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What did you transplant to and what were they in, in the other pots?

 
 
You said that you transplanted these peppers when you brought them indoors...correct ?  Did you cut back the foliage after the transplant ?  Did you use the soil from the garden in your pots ? Did you use purchased soil ?
 
A lot of problems can be seen after a transplant which is primarily caused by root stress. The roots get disturbed during transplant and are no longer able to pull the nutes from the soil efficiently (since the roots are spending energy trying to grow more roots) so the above ground plant suffers from a host of problems. Root health is plant health !
 
The leaf defects could be caused by a nute problem for sure, but not because the soil doesn't have the nutes, but because the natural biology of the soil has been disturbed along with the roots. Root health is plant health !
 
I'd cut back the above ground plant and let the roots get established. As long as you keep several healthy leaves on the plant, it should come around eventually.
 
Aphids... keep a very close eye on those things. They can hide very well and will be a major problem if you don't keep them under control. Don't fertilize. The soil (garden or purchased) should have plenty of nutes for the plants while you overwinter. But then, if you want to "grow" peppers over the winter (technically this is NOT overwintering), well then that is another subject altogether..........
 
Good luck to you and Happy Growing !!
 
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