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I could use some advice on my Chocolate Bhut Jolokia plants

N

neopythagorean

Hi. I'm Jonathan. I have grown chilies for some time but never this particular strain of Bhuts. I got two live Chocolate Bhut plants from chiliplants. com and one seems to be doing pretty well.

The other is doing very poorly. Even though the soil is moist and rich (I grow in pots with premium soil mix that all my other peppers seem to love), it seems to dry out several times a day. If I add water, it perks up a bit but will wilt yet again as long as the sun is shining.

A week ago, it wilted and I added water. It perked up a little bit after about an hour. However, I checked it an hour after that and it was lying completely flat. The poor thing's vascular system had completely collapsed near the tips and edges of some leaves and, thus, those parts died and flaked off.

But it still lives on. I water it as needed (at least twice per day which is WAY too much for pepper plants).

Is it possible that I just got a "runt"? I guess that happens, right? I've heard the Chocolate Bhuts can be a bitch to grow at first but my other Chocolate Bhut plant is pretty healthy.

I have 36 chili plants all together and every one is doing well except for the Chocolate Bhut.

Any ideas?
 
How did the two look upon arrival? Did one arrive in a 'poor' state? I would give it a bit less sun until it improves its root structure.
 
Twice a day seems excessive especially if your other plants are not requiring so much..   Knowing how big the plants and pots are would be good info.
 
 
If one particular plant seems to need to so much water you need to go back to basic's with it and check off possible issues.. 
 
POT - Is the pot exceptionally small compared to the heat exposure it gets, tiny pots hold tin moisture and dry out fast, repot it in a larger pot... If the pots 4 times larger it should dry out 4 times slower (not science here just a rough example)
 
MEDIUM - If its a high quality potting mix, doubtful this is the issue 'However'..  Some vermiculite mixed in well help with moisture retention, and if water is running through a repot with fresh medium may help. 
 
ROOTBOUND - If the plant is exceptionally root bound there isn't much soil left and the roots create a highway for the water and you will see it streaming out the bottom as fast as you poor it.. Transplant to bigger pot.
 
HEAT - If its in a place that's just too hot.. You may need to move it or cover it with some shade cloth etc. to cool it down, Putting some straw like mulch on top of the soil will help create insulation against the heat and help stop soil temperatures rising.
 
All this being said if you have one particular plant that's off compared to the rest it may already be suffering from a nutrient lock out or similar... Crispy tips of leaves can be from excessive watering or nutrients and both go hand in hand. I would repot the plant (changing to larger pot if rootbound or small) add a little vermiculite to the new mix.. I would also add plain water to the mix before repotting making it just moist... once re-potted (preferably not in a black pot to avoid extra heat absorption) I would top it off with some mulch, and cut back (if possible) any foliage less branches etc. to reduce the plants energy expenditure and shock the plant into repair mode.. get a moisture gauge and try to water sparingly for the first few weeks and observe...
 
Sounds like a lot of work but ... its really a 10 minute process with a couple of $$ of products. If this does nothing for it. Rip it out and put it into the bin lol.
 
I have had several plants that grow like runts.. Wether its genetics, environmental or what I don't know.. But I have had plant from the same stock that just don't want to go ... That being said, a lot of those plants when pushed through the bad times have turned out to be something special once they finally recover.. !!
 
     Sometimes soil-borne illness can manifest as constant wilting. Check the soil (pop the root ball out of the pot) for anything that shouldn't be there like brown roots, fungus gnat larvae, disgusting smells... Maybe compare it to the healthy one for reference.
     I was dealing with a horrible fungus gnat infestation a few weeks ago and some of my harder hit plants would wilt as soon as I put them out on the porch to harden off. Even in the shade, just the dry air would be enough to cause them to wilt. The larvae were feeding on the roots and preventing the plant from imbibing water from the soil.
     In the mean time, avoid overwatering the plant. If your problem is fungus or fungus gnats, wet soil will only make things worse. Keep it inside, away from an environment that will stress it and try to figure out what exactly is causing the wilting.
 
KrakenPeppers said:
PS...
 
I guess the other question is..... Were both plants hardened off.... Maybe one was and the other wasn't.. It might be a humidity whore ... You may need to go through hardening off with it.. 
Click to expand...
 + 1
 
I can say, for sure, that the plant is not root-bound. I transplanted it from its tiny original container to a 4 gal pot only about 3 weeks ago. Right now, it's only about 7" tall.

I can also say, for sure, that it hasn't been hardened off. One look at the stem will tell you that. Since it's outside in the elements, that problem should take care of itself, right? Funny thing is, it's the only plant (out of 36 all from the same nursery--CCN) that wasn't hardened off when I got it.

I'm thinking that this little guy might just be the ring of the litter. I'll keep treating him well but I guess I shouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it. I was warned about Chocolate Bhuts having a relatively high probability of defective genetics.

It's dark here on the East Coast but I'll go out and snap a pic so you guys can see it. I'm not sure if I can upload, though, because I'm not a paid member.
Here are some photos:

The damage on the leaves is due to complete vascular collapse as mentioned in my original post.
20s7s4n.jpg


Another angle.
30mwglt.jpg


Here's my healthy Chocolate Bhut for comparison.
296etxh.jpg
 
Check one thing. If it falls down put in the shade. If it comes back to life in the shade it's not hardened of yet. Some plants take longer to love the sun.
 
Sounds like good advice. I knew this plant wasn't hardened off when I put it out with the others. I just thought that it would have adapted by now (weber been having seriously hot and sunny weather here for the past week or so). Maybe tough love wasn't the answer.
 
neopythagorean said:
I can say, for sure, that the plant is not root-bound. I transplanted it from its tiny original container to a 4 gal pot only about 3 weeks ago. Right now, it's only about 7" tall.
I can also say, for sure, that it hasn't been hardened off. One look at the stem will tell you that. Since it's outside in the elements, that problem should take care of itself, right? Funny thing is, it's the only plant (out of 36 all from the same nursery--CCN) that wasn't hardened off when I got it.
I'm thinking that this little guy might just be the ring of the litter. I'll keep treating him well but I guess I shouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it. I was warned about Chocolate Bhuts having a relatively high probability of defective genetics.
It's dark here on the East Coast but I'll go out and snap a pic so you guys can see it. I'm not sure if I can upload, though, because I'm not a paid member.Here are some photos:
The damage on the leaves is due to complete vascular collapse as mentioned in my original post.
20s7s4n.jpg

Another angle.
30mwglt.jpg

Here's my healthy Chocolate Bhut for comparison.
296etxh.jpg
Click to expand...
the small leafs look good so get rid of the bad leafs.
 
     I disagree. Every square inch of photosynthetic tissue that plant has is helping it overcome its problems right now. The more leaves it has the more energy it can store. This will improve its chances of survival. 
     The plant will know when it's time to get rid of old leaves. If they haven't fallen off, the plant is still using them - they are still a net gain.
 
I just want to thank everyone for their good advice. By process of elimination, I can safely say that this little "runt" Chocolate Bhut is simply not yet hardened off. It's apparently a bit developmentally delayed in comparison to its bigger stronger brother (or maybe sister?) and should be fine after some basic hardening off.

I think the little guy will make it. And if he doesn't, maybe he can haunt my garden as a true "ghost" pepper plant.
 
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