sun Is too much direct sun possible?

[future_man]

I need to harden some of my plants.. If I put them in direct sunlight for too long they get all thin and mopey (leaves curl down). Is this a sign that the plants aren't adjusted well enough or are they just receiving too much sun?
 
Can too much direct sun per day kill pepper plants or do they thrive on south side with full sun through the day if well adjusted? Some say shade is good for peppers, some also say morning or afternoon sun is the best. What if I leave them on full sun almost all day during the summer, will this boost the plant or only damage it?
 
To sum it up, is too much sun possible?
 
PS: Here, as bonus pictures of some of my plants in shade (jalapeno, habaneros)
 

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[Zoli]

It depends on the temperature too. Full sun until 38 maybe 40 Celsius max is okay for hardened plants. At least my plants didn't have a problem with it last summer.

 

[PepperWhisperer]

Depends on the variety and the conditions they have been growing in. They grow peppers out in open fields in New Mexico and I can tell you the sun is on full blast out there. Some of the peppers with purple foliage seem to like part shade, but most of the peppers I have grown do fine in the full sun once they are fully hardened off. 

 

[Streamer]

Depends on the variety and the conditions they have been growing in. They grow peppers out in open fields in New Mexico and I can tell you the sun is on full blast out there. Some of the peppers with purple foliage seem to like part shade, but most of the peppers I have grown do fine in the full sun once they are fully hardened off. 

I have seen fields of pepper crops in New Mexico covered with sun protective netting also.  Exceptionally Hot Direct sun can scorch them beyond fruitful reproduction.   Here in Texas Zone 9, full direct sun is hard on peppers and tomatoes too..  I have taken to container growing under a stand of Oak trees.  My peppers get 3 and 1/2 hours of direct Sun in the morning and filtered Sun the rest of the day. I mist them mid morning coz IT IS STILL HOT when the sun's rays are in direct contact with leaves.  Works out great.

 

[future_man]

So there really is not maximum amount of sun only minimum
 
Well my plants were on window sill inside untill now, but we had cloudy weather. Sun started shining like crazy, really a drastic change of weather... It seems I just can't adjust my plants to full sun, I will leave them on east side, where they only get 5 hours of morning sun. Maybe that will harden them eventually. But is there really a point in hardening the plants? I mean if they get required amount of sun on E side, why adopting them for S location?

 

[Koreansoul]

Here in Central Florida the sun will scorch them if you don't put up shade. It's been in the 90's with 70% humidity and the plants just cannot take it. I start my seeds outside so there is not hardening off issue for me. Just depends on how much sun you get combined with the heat. 

 

[future_man]

Here in Central Florida the sun will scorch them if you don't put up shade. It's been in the 90's with 70% humidity and the plants just cannot take it. I start my seeds outside so there is not hardening off issue for me. Just depends on how much sun you get combined with the heat. 

 
You start seeds outside and they still can't take the heat? Wow, looks like peppers really don't like much sun. Care to share where do you have them located and how much direct sun do they receive?

 

[juanitos]

they are fine in full sun, not as productive in the super hot weeks like july but still fine. 
source: farmers fields
 
seems like big bell peppers / tomatoes grow better in green house conditions.
source: hydro greenhouses

 

[Koreansoul]

Future, 
 
I'm in zone 9b (Central Florida). Without shade the plants will usually get about 10 hours of direct sunlight a day. Right now it's in the mid to low 90's but with the humidity it feels closer to 100. In our area of Florida in the morning it will be 83 and 60% humidity at 3am.  Essentially it feels like you're sitting in an insane Sauna and can't get out. 
 
My plants are usually fine until this time of the year and then I have to put up shade. Depending on how the year goes in about August I can take the shade down. If I don't shade the plants everything gets sun scalded. For example today I waited a little bit to put up shade today (I take it down at night so there is no airflow problem) and my Bhut Jolkia already looked wilted from the heat/sun at 9:30am. 
 
It's a trick to get them enough light withing giving them too much. They get sun throughout the day depending on where the sun is as it moves, but not so much they get scalded. 

 

[Rattlesnake Blues]

Future, 
 
I'm in zone 9b (Central Florida). Without shade the plants will usually get about 10 hours of direct sunlight a day. Right now it's in the mid to low 90's but with the humidity it feels closer to 100. In our area of Florida in the morning it will be 83 and 60% humidity at 3am.  Essentially it feels like you're sitting in an insane Sauna and can't get out. 
 
My plants are usually fine until this time of the year and then I have to put up shade. Depending on how the year goes in about August I can take the shade down. If I don't shade the plants everything gets sun scalded. For example today I waited a little bit to put up shade today (I take it down at night so there is no airflow problem) and my Bhut Jolkia already looked wilted from the heat/sun at 9:30am. 
 
It's a trick to get them enough light withing giving them too much. They get sun throughout the day depending on where the sun is as it moves, but not so much they get scalded. 

 
Koreansoul......same here in the St. Augustine area. This year I put all my peppers and tomatoes under a large outdoor garage that was made for an RV. My plants get a good amount of indirect sun and they are thriving. I tried putting some out in the direct sun and they immediately wilted - in fact, 4 Poblano plants died when I was away most of the day. Last year I did not shade them and I lost all my tomatoes and many peppers. I do wonder how some of the farmers in NM and TX get away with no shade . So far this year, my pepper plants and tomatoes are doing MUCH better now that they are mostly shaded and getting enough direct and indirect sunlight.

 

[Streamer]

Latitude, Longitude, Sea Level all factors as well.   I'm at 20 feet above sea level with high humidities all year long on southern Gulf Coast. It's hotter in the lowlands.  If I didn't partially shade my plants, they would SURELY suffer.      Source: My experience
 
I laugh out loud when I read planting instructions on packaged seeds.   FULL SUN.  Yeh right, if you live in Iceland or thereabouts with the Midnight Sun.  LOL

 

[Koreansoul]

 
Koreansoul......same here in the St. Augustine area. This year I put all my peppers and tomatoes under a large outdoor garage that was made for an RV. My plants get a good amount of indirect sun and they are thriving. I tried putting some out in the direct sun and they immediately wilted - in fact, 4 Poblano plants died when I was away most of the day. Last year I did not shade them and I lost all my tomatoes and many peppers. I do wonder how some of the farmers in NM and TX get away with no shade . So far this year, my pepper plants and tomatoes are doing MUCH better now that they are mostly shaded and getting enough direct and indirect sunlight.

 
Yeah, my peppers are doing MUCH better with the shade. They were doing 'eh' at first but growing. I put shade up and BAM they've taken off like gangbusters.

 

[Geonerd]

 
You start seeds outside and they still can't take the heat? Wow, looks like peppers really don't like much sun. Care to share where do you have them located and how much direct sun do they receive?

 
Seedlings go well with a few hours of direct early-morning sun, but no one living in the southern half of north america is going to leave a tiny seedling in full sun for the entire day.
 
Of course your plants are wilting.  You've taken them out of the calm, humid, not-too-hot house and dumped them into what is, from their point of view, a scorching desert.  The dry air, wind, and intense sun would dry you out too! The issue is not so much the sun itself, but the greatly increased water loss caused by all the extra heat. The plants will adjust - their leaves will thicken and become less porous, the roots will expand, and the stems will get tougher, but all this takes time.
 
For now, just place the plants in an area that gets a bit of sun in the morning, but is shaded the rest of the day.  A little evening light is fine too. Leave them there for a a few days, then slowly reduce shade.  Depending on your climate, you may not be able to leave them in a 100% unshaded area without problems. 
 
Also, you may be running into excessive soil temperatures. The black dirt and black containers can collect solar energy and get way too hot.  Here in blazingly hot Arizona, I'm having very good success with woven 'grow bags' that allow the container to cool by evaporation through the container walls. Look for the recycled shopping bags.  If you have a dreaded WalMart, look for their big blue bags,  they're are cheap and work quite well.
 
Even with the grow bags, my plants need to live under a big mesquite tree that provides critical shade during the hottest part of the day.  They get ~3 hours of direct 'wake-the-bleep-up!' sun in the morning, dappled shade/sun mid-day, then about an hour of direct evening exposure.  This changes during spring and fall; with much cooler air temps, when the plants don't mind all-day sun.

 

[geeme]

As already noted, it's not really a question of sunlight alone, per se, but the combo of sunlight and heat. Where are you in Slovenia (closer to the coast or mountains)? It sounds like, from the reading I've done, your weather is roughly similar to ours in Ohio. You are further north than we are, but have different geology in the surrounding area. Most of the people who have posted here so far are much closer to the equator then you are, and likely get higher heat for longer periods. They also rarely (compared to here and there), if ever, get snow. (Houston, TX is my hometown, so I am very familiar with the differences.) 
 
If your weather is more like ours in OH, you are only occasionally going to have days hot enough that your plants will suffer from the heat. Even at 30C (86F), your plants should be able to handle sun all day, assuming they have sufficient moisture in the soil. Your plants are still very small right now, so will be more sensitive to sunlight and wind until they are fully hardened off. Just be patient with your hardening off, and they'll be fine. Keep in mind that chiles need a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight to produce well and that they are native to areas that get and stay as hot as some of the hottest days you and I have for longer periods of time than we get. They do best in the tropics and subtropics, so they can definitely handle our summers.

 

[Streamer]

Just a reminder.  Weather temperatures are reported by your local news casters IN THE SHADE!
 
It was 88 degrees F on my patio in the shade at 3pm CST.
 
So, I set the same thermometer in the yard with Full Sun.
 
It pegged out at @125 degrees F. before I finally removed it ...thought it might burst...LOL
 

And this is only June folks...It's gonna get hotter down SOUTH !!!

 

[alkhall]

Hmm...
 
Too much sun?
 
I am no expert, but are not Bhuts and Trinidad peppers native to extremely hot and sunny locales?

 

[Streamer]

Maybe this can help you realize the importance of the all important CLIMATE that is so necessary for the propagation of plant life around the World.  
 

 

[Spicy Mushroom]

I'm in 9b California. Temps are constantly 100+ and can reach up to 115 O_O 
 
Last season I had my peppers in full direct sun. Practically all day. As long as I watered everyday they did fine. The orange habs were super productive.
 
This year I am going to provide some shade netting and get a feel for the differences.

 

[PepperWhisperer]

I am in Houston, TX and for several years I have grown peppers in the full sun with no problems. The last 3 years the location I have put many of my peppers gets sun all day until the last 1-2 hours before dusk when they are shaded by a fence. They also miss the first hour or so after sunrise, but that is not really a time that anyone should be worried about since the heat is not a factor at that time. I have grown Tabasco, Goats Weed, and some Thai varieties very successfully under these conditions.
 
Chiltepins and red Habaneros I have found needed a little more shade to produce well so I placed them where they would be partially shaded by taller plants in the garden. In the hottest part of the summer, most of my plants stop producing flowers, except the Tabasco which didn't seem to care how hot it was and continuously bloomed and set fruit even through several weeks of 100+ (38 C) weather.
 
This year I am growing only 2 varieties. A tepin / lemon drop cross that I expect will be a real sun worshiper, and Mata Frade, which will need quite a bit of shade to grow well.

 

[Gotrox]

Mine get full sun for the first few hours of morning, partial shade till the afternoon, partial sun in early evening.
 
Bit of extra radiation above 5k feet here, they roast in full sun between 10 and 2.