Hi! First post here, as I have some issues with one of my overwintering chile plants and I don't know what to do...
I kept my best pepper plants during the winter as an experiment, and now this chile plant is showing signs of weird growth. Here are some details on my setup:
Light : Under two higher power CFL (120W equivalent in incadescent lights) and a mylar blanket as a reflector. Light time >12h every day. Distance from plant about 6". Temperature ranges around 18-23°C (I'm in a apartment and it's quite cold outside!)
Water and fertilizer : Watered every week approx. depending on subjective soil moisture at one inch under soil level and relative branch density. Fertilized with low doses 20-20-20 and 10-45-20 (depending on flower presence) every 2-3 weeks.
Soil : Low quality soil bought at the market. It is now quite dense in the roots section. About 12 months since last repotting. Water seems to flow properly through it though. The pot is 12" in diameter.
Past problems : Parasitic infection at the end of summer, controlled with a dish soap + cayenne pssh pssh (?) each week before turning lights off.
At the end of summer, all the leaves started yellowing, but not around the veins. I first thought this was a magnesium deficiency which was "fixed" with epson salt. The plant didn't grow or anything for a month or two, but now these leaves are falling. New growth has begun in very dense bunches and it is now flowering (I'd say there's around 7-8 flowers in 1-2 inch square bundles growing at different places around the plant stem, and there are now 4 of these bunches with very, very small leaves in them). This morning, I noticed some parts of these bunches are dying although the only pepper that is actually growing right now is doing really well and grows much faster than the smaller ones I got last summer, so I don't think it's a metabolic problem. Soooo....here are my questions :
1) Should I cut off the remaining branches that do not show signs of regrowth or keep them for next summer hoping that they'll regrow ?
2) Should I repot the plant or wait until I take it out again next summer ?
3) Why is the plant growing very dense bushes of <1cm leaves packed with flowers ?
4) Can I "revive" yellowed leaves and/or do they still produce energy for the plant using their less-efficient yellow chlorophyll ?
Thank you for any support! I know I'm asking many questions.
BTW, sorry if my english writing is not quite correct at times.
I kept my best pepper plants during the winter as an experiment, and now this chile plant is showing signs of weird growth. Here are some details on my setup:
Light : Under two higher power CFL (120W equivalent in incadescent lights) and a mylar blanket as a reflector. Light time >12h every day. Distance from plant about 6". Temperature ranges around 18-23°C (I'm in a apartment and it's quite cold outside!)
Water and fertilizer : Watered every week approx. depending on subjective soil moisture at one inch under soil level and relative branch density. Fertilized with low doses 20-20-20 and 10-45-20 (depending on flower presence) every 2-3 weeks.
Soil : Low quality soil bought at the market. It is now quite dense in the roots section. About 12 months since last repotting. Water seems to flow properly through it though. The pot is 12" in diameter.
Past problems : Parasitic infection at the end of summer, controlled with a dish soap + cayenne pssh pssh (?) each week before turning lights off.
At the end of summer, all the leaves started yellowing, but not around the veins. I first thought this was a magnesium deficiency which was "fixed" with epson salt. The plant didn't grow or anything for a month or two, but now these leaves are falling. New growth has begun in very dense bunches and it is now flowering (I'd say there's around 7-8 flowers in 1-2 inch square bundles growing at different places around the plant stem, and there are now 4 of these bunches with very, very small leaves in them). This morning, I noticed some parts of these bunches are dying although the only pepper that is actually growing right now is doing really well and grows much faster than the smaller ones I got last summer, so I don't think it's a metabolic problem. Soooo....here are my questions :
1) Should I cut off the remaining branches that do not show signs of regrowth or keep them for next summer hoping that they'll regrow ?
2) Should I repot the plant or wait until I take it out again next summer ?
3) Why is the plant growing very dense bushes of <1cm leaves packed with flowers ?
4) Can I "revive" yellowed leaves and/or do they still produce energy for the plant using their less-efficient yellow chlorophyll ?
Thank you for any support! I know I'm asking many questions.
BTW, sorry if my english writing is not quite correct at times.