pics My Bhut Jolokias need CPR I think :( Pics inside.

Kwest13

Kwest13

I'm at a loss.
 
At first there were a good amount of leaves but there was browning edges and yellowing and everything pointed to over watering. So I cut back on the watering and it almost seems like they are doing worse.
 
I'll post what they look like now and then a couple "before" pictures below.
 
wOHbkP6.jpg

 
 
 
Leaves have been falling off. Two of the plants only have 1 leaf now. But it is confusing because I can definitely see new tiny leaves coming in where the old ones fell. Here are a couple pics from before:
 
 
 
During transplant:
 
LGzaAif.jpg

 
 
 
 
Transplant complete:
 
 
jWIVU1h.jpg

 
 
 
I feel like I have tried almost everything. Providing water, depriving them of water, additional sunlight, and less sunlight. The soil right now is almost bone dry but they aren't drooping at all so I feel they don't need water. The only time I have ever seem them start to wilt or droop was during transplant, but they propped right back up after they got potted and watered.
 
Only thing I haven't tried is fertilizer.
 
Any opinions should be helpful lol.  :rolleyes:
 
They pretty much werent established well enough yet. If the soil is bone dry, they need water. If your soil isnt hot with nutes I would feed them at 1/4
strength. I would either give them window light or artificial light until they are a little bigger
 
Yeah, I'm with Mega - either keep them inside with light, or outside under complete/partial shade for a couple of weeks.
Water until they're soaked for about 10 minutes, then pour out the water.
What would you use for nutrients? 
The roots look pretty good, but I'd make sure the transplant soil is a good soil.
 
Best of luck with my favorite chiles!
 
catherinew said:
Yeah, I'm with Mega - either keep them inside with light, or outside under complete/partial shade for a couple of weeks.
Water until they're soaked for about 10 minutes, then pour out the water.
What would you use for nutrients? 
The roots look pretty good, but I'd make sure the transplant soil is a good soil.
 
Best of luck with my favorite chiles!
Click to expand...
 
I'm not sure what you mean by soak them for 10 minutes and then pour out the water?
 
I was told no ferts until they are bigger. Here are pictures of the soil they are in. Only thing I have added more of is perlite.
 
u08zSdj.jpg
mcZg1mj.jpg
 
I would err on the side of less fertiliser additions at this early stage.  I've had solid success by using earthworm castings (see my glog) (bought off Amazon) that give a subtle boost of nutrients that won't burn seedlings.  You could also make a tea out of 1 cup of worm castings to a gallon of dechlorinated tap water and feed with that.
 
florida sun is way too hot for pepper plants, put some shade cloth over them or keep them in the shade

in the wild, pepper plants are usually surrounded by bigger plants that provide shade
 
they're not built to be in full sun

also invest in mulch, even in the shade it's hot and water gets out of the dirt fast
 
cactusMD said:
florida sun is way too hot for pepper plants, put some shade cloth over them or keep them in the shade

in the wild, pepper plants are usually surrounded by bigger plants that provide shade
 
they're not built to be in full sun

also invest in mulch, even in the shade it's hot and water gets out of the dirt fast
Click to expand...
 
 
Are you suggesting more water and shade?
 
Kwest13 said:
 
I'm not sure what you mean by soak them for 10 minutes and then pour out the water?
Click to expand...
 
 
I think Catherine's referring to bottom watering. Fill a tray with water and set the plants in it. Once the soil's soaked through (about ten minutes), dump the remaining water out of the tray. I'm in Louisiana, and we get the same intense sun as Florida. I keep my peppers in full sun and they do fine. Sometimes they're just slow starters. I had a couple that looked like I was going to lose them as seedlings, and they recovered fine on their own with little intervention from me. I think that's going to be the key. Keep them watered, then turn your back and walk away. Try no to intervene too much.
 
Phil said:
 
 
I think Catherine's referring to bottom watering. Fill a tray with water and set the plants in it. Once the soil's soaked through (about ten minutes), dump the remaining water out of the tray. I'm in Louisiana, and we get the same intense sun as Florida. I keep my peppers in full sun and they do fine. Sometimes they're just slow starters. I had a couple that looked like I was going to lose them as seedlings, and they recovered fine on their own with little intervention from me. I think that's going to be the key. Keep them watered, then turn your back and walk away. Try no to intervene too much.
Click to expand...
 
Very interesting. Thank you for the reply.
 
I have my bigger pepper plants in full sun and they are doing fine. I'm just having a hard time with these super hot seedlings. 
 
I bottom water my seeds and sprouts in trays, but I have never tried to bottom water plants that are already in small pots. I suppose I will give it a try.
 
spydrweb77 said:
I'm not so sure bare rooting them has helped your  chances much. :/
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Why wouldn't it? They needed to be put in bigger pots with fresh soil. They were too small to have any sort of stable root ball.
 
Bare rooting always results in setback. You are breaking off the tiny (almost microscopic) root hairs that actually take up water and nutrients. The plant then needs to spend all of its energy regrowing these root hairs before making more stems or leaves. That can take days or weeks. Best to leave a solid root ball intact and transplant the whole into new soil. Sometimes loosening the circling roots can help, but it is rarely necessary with annually grown plants such as peppers, unless that are severely root bound.
 
Transplants should be put into shade, in well draining soil without fertilizer. They should be watered regularly (daily if necessary), heat stress will kill them through transpiration if the soil becomes too dry. After they have recovered and put out a New, fully formed and mature leaf, then you can begin fertilizing them at half strength and moving them into more sun...gradually.  
 
 
Also: That soil looks cheap and I would not use it on seedlings. You will be better off with something made from Canadian Peat or Coir, and without any compost.  Compost breaks down more quickly and compacts reducing porosity. It is fine for mature plants but not the best for seedlings. Look for Lambert or Fafard mixes with 100% Canadian peat.  
 
 
http://www.backyardnature.net/roots.htm
 
Peppers are a resil
 
thegreenman said:
Transplants should be put into shade, in well draining soil without fertilizer. After they have recovered and put out a New, fully formed, leaf, then you can begin fertilizing them at half strength and moving them into more sun...gradually.  
 
Click to expand...
I like the word 'gradual'.  We learn new ways of gardening every year, especially when problems arise.  Peppers are usually pretty resilient and I believe yours will recover slowly.  Very good advice to keep them shaded until they recover from some sort of shock.
 
Would it be better to have them in the shade all day, or keep them in direct sun but only for an hour or two and then bring them inside under artificial light?
 
From a fellow floridian.. shade is better at least until they are strong and healthy. Even then the summer sun and heat temps will put a beating on em. With the shade, they will get plenty of light. If you want to keep it simple, grab some good potting soil with out nutes and then buy some Tomato Tone and add. You will be good to go for a while. You could also start watering with an AACT to get that soil kicking with live activity. Live soil = happy pepper plants.
 
with Florida sun you'd be fine leaving them somewhere completely shaded, my mature Habanero was dying in full sun then I moved it to a place that gets no direct sun and it looks completely healthy now

if you're gonna put it in full sun, spray some mud on it or anything that'll block light while not really messing with the plant

or put some shade cloth over it

or just make sure it's at least 3.5 feet tall and make sure it has a constant supply of water
 
KingLeerUK said:
I would err on the side of less fertiliser additions at this early stage.  I've had solid success by using earthworm castings (see my glog) (bought off Amazon) that give a subtle boost of nutrients that won't burn seedlings.  You could also make a tea out of 1 cup of worm castings to a gallon of dechlorinated tap water and feed with that.
Click to expand...
+100

Go worm castings - is fertilizer but you really can't burn anything with it - kinda set and forget

Good luck, Al
 
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