My bonda ma jaques and chocolate hab have quite a few pods on them but the pods aren't getting very big. My brain strains, douglahs,scorpions and bhuts seem to be growing way faster. They have been fed the same and are in the same spot. I can't figure it out.
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Peppers growing very slow
- Thread starter chillilover
- Start date
Could be a few things:
Reduced pollen viability (less seed can mean smaller pod)
Excessive P can cause small pods and leaves
Extended cold nighttime temps (<55 F) can cause small pods
Deficiencies in N, P or Mg.
If the temps were very warm recently (during the pod's flower development) this could have caused reduced pollen viability. Another and less likely cause is insufficient pollination (not enough pollen collecting on pistil).
If you are sure weather was not the cause, you should test the soil pH (reduced uptake in nutrients) and to see if there is an excess of P or a deficiency in N, P or Mg.
Note: Even with feeding/watering regimens that are the same, due to the varying differences of each plant, the uptake of water and nutrients can be higher or lower. Also of note are differences in transpiration (water evaporation) from plant to plant which leads to a difference in the watering regularity which can change the pH of the soil (due to water mineral content and flushing of nutrients). All of this can over time, lead to varying levels of nutrients in the soil as well as the soil pH.
So even though you may be feeding them the same and watering them the same, over time the soil of each plant will start to differ in nutrients and pH which can cause all kinds of problems and confusion.
You can purchase online or at a garden center a soil test kit that prices around $14-$20 and has 4 different tests (pH, N, P and K) with 10 tests for each type. How it works is, you take a soil sample (I use a metal tube to take a "core sample") and you mix 5 equal parts distilled or bottled water to soil (5-1 ratio water-soil) and you mix this together really good and wait for the contents to settle. When you have a clear-ish liquid, you take the provided water suction tool to suck up water and squirt it into the proper test chamber up to the fill line. You then take a "pill" for the corresponding test (they are color coded) and empty the contents into the test chamber, reattach the lid and shake for a minute or so to mix the contents.
After about 10 minutes, the liquid will change a color which you can compare to the color chart on the test chamber, this is labeled like "Depleted, Insufficient, Sufficient, Excess" and you can get a pretty good idea in about 30 minutes as to the nutrient levels of your soil.
Here is a link to Amazon.com for "Rapitest Soil Test Kit" for $13.55 plus s&h.
Hope that helps
Reduced pollen viability (less seed can mean smaller pod)
Excessive P can cause small pods and leaves
Extended cold nighttime temps (<55 F) can cause small pods
Deficiencies in N, P or Mg.
If the temps were very warm recently (during the pod's flower development) this could have caused reduced pollen viability. Another and less likely cause is insufficient pollination (not enough pollen collecting on pistil).
If you are sure weather was not the cause, you should test the soil pH (reduced uptake in nutrients) and to see if there is an excess of P or a deficiency in N, P or Mg.
Note: Even with feeding/watering regimens that are the same, due to the varying differences of each plant, the uptake of water and nutrients can be higher or lower. Also of note are differences in transpiration (water evaporation) from plant to plant which leads to a difference in the watering regularity which can change the pH of the soil (due to water mineral content and flushing of nutrients). All of this can over time, lead to varying levels of nutrients in the soil as well as the soil pH.
So even though you may be feeding them the same and watering them the same, over time the soil of each plant will start to differ in nutrients and pH which can cause all kinds of problems and confusion.
You can purchase online or at a garden center a soil test kit that prices around $14-$20 and has 4 different tests (pH, N, P and K) with 10 tests for each type. How it works is, you take a soil sample (I use a metal tube to take a "core sample") and you mix 5 equal parts distilled or bottled water to soil (5-1 ratio water-soil) and you mix this together really good and wait for the contents to settle. When you have a clear-ish liquid, you take the provided water suction tool to suck up water and squirt it into the proper test chamber up to the fill line. You then take a "pill" for the corresponding test (they are color coded) and empty the contents into the test chamber, reattach the lid and shake for a minute or so to mix the contents.
After about 10 minutes, the liquid will change a color which you can compare to the color chart on the test chamber, this is labeled like "Depleted, Insufficient, Sufficient, Excess" and you can get a pretty good idea in about 30 minutes as to the nutrient levels of your soil.
Here is a link to Amazon.com for "Rapitest Soil Test Kit" for $13.55 plus s&h.
Hope that helps
I'm having the same problem with carribean reds, fatalii and all my variety of habs.
Lots of flowers, very few pods, lots of flower drop.
I have a previous post about lack of bees in my area and have tried manual pollination but still the flowers are dropping. I did get to eat 1 hab last weekend and what a "heat treat" that was for me.
Lots of flowers, very few pods, lots of flower drop.
I have a previous post about lack of bees in my area and have tried manual pollination but still the flowers are dropping. I did get to eat 1 hab last weekend and what a "heat treat" that was for me.
How can it be weather or the soil if the other plants I have are fine?
Some plants handle weather differently (some can tolerate cold better than others) and or they are located in morning shade which is colder.
As for the soil as I said before, if in containers or in the ground, every plants roots/leaves/growth are different, even for the same varieties and even clones.
Why does that matter? Because a plant with more foliage sucks up more water which leads to different watering patterns (more leaves = more transpiration = more watering = more nutrient runoff & pH swings), also a larger plant uses more nutrients, and different varieties use nutrients at different rates. All of this snowballs over time and can cause one plant to grow vastly different than the others around it, regardless of feeding or watering.
The result? Even if you are flawless in watering and feeding your plants the same equal amounts, and even if they all receive the same amount of light a day, over time one plant may develop a nutrient deficiency, another one's soil area can experience swings in pH which can block uptake in nutrients causing a deficiency. Another plant might have an excess of one nutrient that blocks another, leading to a buildup of both nutrients, and a deficiency of another. Also, blocking of nutrients can cause signs that appear as a deficiency of those nutrients when there are plenty or more than enough of them in the soil!
Even if there is no deficiency or excess of a nutrient, varying levels in pH and nutrients WILL effect the growth rates and can cause one to grow faster than another. Not to mention temperature and genetic factors that can cause some plants to grow faster or slower which all effects soil pH and nutrient levels as well.
and we are 2,000 miles apart, completely different geographically. mine are in containers and come in the house almost nightly because nighttime temps are approaching 7C.
My plants are in Promix HP with mycorise. Get seaweed fertilizer, tomato fertilizer, epsom salt misting, the odd injection of hydrogen peroxide, the occasion drink of diluted coffee and or tea.
Annuums are producing like gangbusters. Fresno everywhere, superchili all year, ceyenne riping, goatsweed pods in their blacken stage, suryanki cluster in clusters and the biggest surprise is my hot portugal with monster pods. Hungarian wax only produced 1 pod but its 5" long. Tepins nothing no flowers or fruit.
Last year, I could do no wrong but this year something is different.
My plants are in Promix HP with mycorise. Get seaweed fertilizer, tomato fertilizer, epsom salt misting, the odd injection of hydrogen peroxide, the occasion drink of diluted coffee and or tea.
Annuums are producing like gangbusters. Fresno everywhere, superchili all year, ceyenne riping, goatsweed pods in their blacken stage, suryanki cluster in clusters and the biggest surprise is my hot portugal with monster pods. Hungarian wax only produced 1 pod but its 5" long. Tepins nothing no flowers or fruit.
Last year, I could do no wrong but this year something is different.
Question... Did you start from seed this year on the C. Chiense or are they second/third/etc... year growths? I.E. did you cut them back last year and regrow them this year?
If so, you really have to trim the roots down a lot when you cut them back, otherwise the roots will be older and have less hairs (which are responsible for uptake of nutrients) and growth will be slower. I had some plants from a few years ago that I cut back but never bothered to trim the roots. Now don't get me wrong, they did great (grew really fast too) for the first 2-3 months, but after that they all went down hill (stunted) compared to the ones I had trimmed and the ones started from seed. I tried everything short of repotting and could do nothing to change it. I eventually had to trim the roots and repot them, which worked like a charm.
I have a mix, 1 hab I started from seed but was over-wintered(so this is its second year), it was cut back(branches not roots), I potted up in the spring and lost some roots due to my handling technique but I didn't groom the roots. 1 hab I bought this year.
Fatalii is from seed this year. Carribean Red are purchased. Other habs are this years seeds from various sources, golden bullet habs were purchased from an online seed company, orange habs were seeded out of some fresh ripe pods from Mexico.
(the purchased plants are big box type store plants and are greenhouse raised, so they were sizable when I purchased them).
I'll keep a note on my plant container, so in the fall I will revisit this post to remind me to trim back the roots, I never had a hab last more than a year and in the past they have always died out in the early winter.
thanks for the pointers Richard.
Fatalii is from seed this year. Carribean Red are purchased. Other habs are this years seeds from various sources, golden bullet habs were purchased from an online seed company, orange habs were seeded out of some fresh ripe pods from Mexico.
(the purchased plants are big box type store plants and are greenhouse raised, so they were sizable when I purchased them).
I'll keep a note on my plant container, so in the fall I will revisit this post to remind me to trim back the roots, I never had a hab last more than a year and in the past they have always died out in the early winter.
thanks for the pointers Richard.
I am having flower drop problems with my plants as well. Day time temps get close to 100. nights in the upper 70's to low-mid 80's. The only plants that have flowers are my orange habs and my jalapeno. My jalapeno has 4 peppers with a few flowers. My hab has tons of flowers with no peppers. I have been bringing in my hab during the day and putting back at night. Not sure if that will help. I feed them mainly water and alternate with chile focus. I also spritz with plain water, chile focus and epsom salt. My plants look healthy so all I can see is the heat is causing the flower drop. Very frustrating given the time and expense that goes into caring for these plants. I have one bhut that made the journey from seed to plant. it's about 8-10" tall but I doubt I will get any peppers from it this year. I think I will over-winter it depending how it looks come Oct/Nov. Fatalli, datil, tabasco, long red slim, alma paprika, and a few others all look good, but no flowers. BTW all are plants in pots/containers and spend most of the day in shade with some afternoon/evening sun. It is now 730 pm and the temp is still 93*.
Guess I can chalk up my first grow season to a learning experince and hope for better results next year.
Guess I can chalk up my first grow season to a learning experince and hope for better results next year.
I am sorry to hear about that, it would appear as if the heat is causing pollen sterility and flower abortion due to excessive transpiration (plant sweating/water loss).
The only thing I can suggest is to give them some extra K (Potassium) which will help them better tolerate the heat. Also, try and make sure the plants are getting at least 6-7 hours of direct sun even with the heat otherwise the flowers will not develop properly and it will contribute to flower drop. And try to keep the soil moist at all times, which normally you want to avoid but due to your heat problems, the plant cannot afford to wilt for extended periods of time because this will lead to large batches of flowers aborting (regardless of pollination). I water deeply in the morning and at night and then small waterings through the heat of the day if needed. Adding hydrogen peroxide to the water will help prevent root rot from the soil being damp. Add 3-4 tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water.
I hope this helps you some, good luck!
Thanks Richard. I will give them some potassium today and add some hydrogen peroxide to the watering. I can say that every one of my plants that were in the sun were wilted when I got home yesterday. I watered them and within 30 minutes they were back to normal.