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Daily cycle of pepper plants - leaf movement

Felix

Felix

Hi all,

I have a few questions, which I could not find the answer for.

I have only just begon growing a few peppers, and I am totally unfamiliar with growing plants and such, however I notice some "strange" behavour.
The two seedlings I have are about 8 weeks old and cleary show a daily cylce of leaf movement.
At the end of the day, around 1800 (6pm) the leafs start to move and point towards the ground and even without giving them water the next morning the leaf are pointing upwards again.
Even when the leafs points downwards they still feel pretty firm, so I doubt it has anything to do with low soil moisture.

Question 1. Has anybody noticed this with their peppers and is there any more information on this phenomenon?
Question 2. Can this cycle be used to determen, what the best time is to water the plants during the day?

PS. The plants are in the windows sill and the temperatures are quite steady. Usually between 65-80 degrees and then some sun.

With kind regards,
Felix
 
Small seedlings in particular are sensitive to small changes in humidity, air flow, and temperature, so they will alter their positions to optimize transpiration, which helps protect against edema, etc.
 
#1, Give them some water and see how they respond. If the leaves pick up then they could use more frequent watering or a larger pot. However it is normal for leaves to bend downward at higher temperature so they are hit with less sun to stay cooler, then with a temperature drop they will rise again but this usually does not happen much at only 80F temperature.

#2, no you need to water when the soil gets too dry regardless of any other factors, though leaf drooping can be a sign of low soil moisture among other stresses.

I wouldn't call a variation of temperature as large as 65F to 80F, steady, although at 80F none of my plants are drooping their leaves as that is not very hot for most types of pepper plants.

Two months is a enough time that I'd hardly call a plant a seedling any longer, is their growth stunted from too little sunlight?
 
Thanks for the quick replies guys.

The plants do not realy react to watering, I have tried this and not much change.
When not watering they are still firm and pointing upwards the next morning.

The pepper plants (not seedlings any more :P ) are not that big (around 6-7 inches measured from the soil), however they seem to have quite some leaves.
They receive about 6 hours of direct sunlight on a daily basic, ofcoure depending on the weather. In the afternoon I often put them out on the balcony if the weather is good for another 2-3 hours of sun. Regardless of this the plants still show the same "daily cycle".

If I am awake enough, to think, I will makes some pictures in the morning tomorrow and then in the afternoon.
 
Mine sort of droop once the sun starts going down and temps drop, and only on the nights when humidity is really high compared to during the day.... Even in the morning when the humidity is still high, before the sun rises, they perk back up.... I've noticed they do it more often after waterings and feedings than when the soil is drier....
 
That video is awesome Greenman. Thank you for posting that and the (wiki) article.

I thought it had something to do with watering, but found it quite strange that the peppers did not respond to watering.
It obviously has to have something to do with light, temperature or growth then.
 
you can play with ur seedlings this way: let them grow a few days in one direction, than turn it around in the opposite direct, and you will see a little wist
 
Without photos of your setup....plant (species), container ratio to plant size, and daytime temperature at plant location, its difficult to give an exact answer. But my guess would be "Evapotranspiration" which is a normal process. This can be induced futher by
windowsill plants placed close to an inside window. Extra heat is distributed through the pane of glass which can cause faster water intake from the root system through the plant, into the leaves .....and out the door! Generally potted pepper plants require consistant moisture. What you're saying is pretty normal. Your plants do perk up before the next light cycle, and that's a healthy sign. Its good to have a soil medium thats drains
fast but also retains water.....peat, vermiculite and a perlite type mix works well indoors


Good luck with your plants..........post some photos, if possible

Greg
 
Hi all

Here are some photo's I took yesterday evening around 10pm and this morning around 7am.

10pm
p1000865d.jpg

The leaves are quite hanging down

Then 7am in the morning sun (without watering)
p1000872n.jpg

As you can see the leaves make quite some movement during their daily cycle.

The species are unknown however probably closely related to the cayenne peppers. Or if anybody can already tell me they are other species, please do so.
The current pots I had laying around and are about 5 inches squared.
I think the peppers are far from rootbound and thus stunted, however I have a few new pots for them which will contain about 1 gallon soil so they will soon be transplanted.

Thanks again for all replies,
Felix
 
Typically just another day in a pepper plants life!........A-ok

Also, try to rotate the plants a quarter turn each morning to insure an even growth all the way around...

Greg
 
I thought you were talking about a larger change in leaf droop, that is just the plant adjusting its orientation to receive more light from the room vs window.
 
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