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Leaves Sagging

Smokenstein

Smokenstein

This may be a stupid question, but I'll ask just to be sure. My potted pepper plants (2 CR's, 1 Hab, 1 Tabasco) have started sagging or getting droopy this afternoon. The heat is now getting up to the mid-90's with full sun. They're pretty good size plants in, I believe, 14 inch or so pots. The soil seems pretty dry, but I've been watering them almost on a daily basis. Is this just a result of the heat and the plants sucking up all the water I'm giving them, or does it sound like I also need to add some nutes? I used an absorbent potting soil and topsoil mix for the soil. My guess is that they are sucking up the water as fast as I give it to them, but thinking they may have also sucked up many of the nutes that were in the soil to begin with. Will it hurt to experiment with putting a little bonemeal or something in with them tonight when I water them?

Also, we left 3-4 inches between the top of the soil and the top of the pots when we planted these. I was kind of wondering if it might help to prune some of the bottom leaves and add another couple of inches of soil/compost so the soil can hold more nutrients and water on these hot, dry days.

Or is it just a case that since this soil probably drains much faster than the plants in the ground, I just need to get used to watering them every day?
 
I know for my plants, the afternoon droops is the norm. They just seem to kinda get tired from the beat down of the sun. But rest assured, in the morning they are happy to see the sun, all the leaves raised pointing up, like morning wood. :P I don't think it's a big deal unless you see some kind of other symptoms like leaves falling off or curled leaves or yellowing. I know for my plants they always spring back strong the next day.
 
Plants transpire a lot in full sun, hot days... So yeah, they are pumping the water out of the soil.

Happens here all the time, just make sure to water them when the lower leaves first start showing sings of wilting. And when you do water, water deeply so some leaks out the bottom of the pot, otherwise you will get a buildup of salts in the soil from the frequent watering which can cause all kinds of problems.
 
I agree- stay on top of the watering when its hot out. I thought i watered my bhut's enough and i was wrong. They looked terrible on monday but i knew that i watered them not too long ago. I checked with the water moisture meter i had and sure enough they were sitting in pretty dry soil. I watered them and two hours later they look like a whole different plant. The heat in az is hot so the trick is getting them through the summer. Good luck!
 
the top of your soil can be dry dry dry...but if you check it down where the roots are....say 4 inches, it may be moist...if it is moist down at that level, I would not water them...like has been said above, deep water...I am trying wait three days between watering...some won't allow it though...

remember, hot weather + wet soil = root rot (or prime conditions)....I lost 75 plants last year before I started checking the soil moisture down at 4" because of root rot...
 
I got one of my fatalis that just seems to hava death wish atm...total droop.

I've flushed it thinking fert overload, let it dry out, etc. Just sits there...drooping away. Think I'll just can it as I hava it's twin that I had to trim back as it's hitting the lights...
 
with my plants, i have noticed that when this occurs, it is often the case that the plants that go "droopy" are rootbound in their pots.

Whenever I see that i have this problem, i check, and sure enough, they need potting up and some fresh dirt.

Also if i wait too long to water them when they are droopy they get sun scalded pretty bad.
 
You can have the moisture level right and they'll still droop when it gets really hot. Especially if the containers are heating up the soil temperature. With mine, I consider them OK if the wilting goes away when the shade comes on them around 4 - 5 PM.
I also use the poke-the-drain-hole method and how-heavy-is-the-pot system to see how much water is in the dirt. For the rootbound ones (1 gal) sitting them in shallow water for a few hours makes them perk right up.
 
to water deep is to ensure that all the dirt is getting wet, basically, you want to see some water flowing out the drain holes, ensure that all the soil is moistened.
 
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