When I first got my plants about a month ago (1 jalapeno, 1 habenero, 1 serrano) I put each one in its own pot, the serrano is in a 12" and the other two each have their own 8" pot. After awhile I noticed the serrano plant in the larger pot is growing bigger/faster than the other plants. So basically what im wondering is how much does the size of the pot affect the plant? Will I need to transfer the plants into larger ones when they start to reach a certain size? And if I do have to transfer them what size pot should I be upgrading to?
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Pot sizes
- Thread starter sreinhard88
- Start date
usually a 5 gallon to 10 gallon will be more than enough for your peppers, pot size does effect the plant size, on how fast it grows i dont think it matters as much unless major root bound and cant grow more roots, so for serrano growing faster then other 2, i dont think its pots size at all, habeneros will grow slower anyway its a chineses and they are slow growers especially habeneros lol.
if you want to plant up i say go for it, hit 5 gallon if you like and they should be good, just remember all pepper plants grow at a different pace so dont worry if one shoots up like a rocket and other ones dont
if you want to plant up i say go for it, hit 5 gallon if you like and they should be good, just remember all pepper plants grow at a different pace so dont worry if one shoots up like a rocket and other ones dont
I wonder if he meant diameter Sicman? That would be a 12" diameter so about a 5 gallon and 8" diameter about a 1 gallon?sicman said:whats the gallon size? cause inches tall tell "us" nothing.
but if i understand right? it sounds ike move them up 2 3 gallon and you will be fine for the year? you could also go 5,or 7 and have lots of room! but 3 will be fine
5 gallon is the smallest I would go personally. The bigger the better to a point.
Here is a Red Caribbean Habanero I grew last season. All of my pots are 5 gallon, black plastic nursery pots.
The 8" and 12" are referring to the diameter of the pot, I'm not sure how many gallons they are but I'd guess they're somewhere between 1.5-2 gallons. Figure I'll probably go with 5 gallon pots, never hurts to have some extra growing space. Anything I should know for when it comes time to transfer them to the larger pots?
One more thing: does it matter if my plants are just starting to flower? Would moving it to a bigger pot disrupt the flowering process or should I be alright? They are literally just starting, only my serrano plant has a single almost completely open flower and my jalapeno is just starting to show signs of it.
I think as long as you don't disturb the root system, your flowers should be OK. However, you could cut the blooms off, delay flowering, and allow the energy to go to forming more roots or letting the root system adjust to the new growing media. Once the roots are settled in, the flowering will take off immediately, and you might make up for lost ground and supercede the number of fruits you would have had if you had let the blossoms stay.sreinhard88 said:
hmm that's an interesting idea...so all I'd have to do is remove the flower thats out now and i think there's one bud thats close to flowering so I'd remove that too? Also, I'm guessing that if I were to prune/top any of my plants the day I transfer them that it would be too much of a shock for the plant? Saw a post on here about the benefits of pruning/topping so I was thinking I'd give that a shot at some point.PequinPepper said:
How mature are you plants? If they are small and starting to blossom, pruning shouldn't be necessary. However, if you have a lot top growth, pruning would be ideal. Take about a third of the top off. It would also allow energy to focus on the roots as well as new leaves, and you will end up with a bushier plant. Pruning doesn't shock a plant, at least in my experience, so I will add a disclaimer...lol...you should prune only one time in my opinion, and early in the summer, so the rest of the summer will be used in producing fruit....hope I helped...sreinhard88 said:
I've only had them for about 5-6 weeks, The Serrano is by far the largest, roughly two feet tall with one flower and the beginnings of another one close behind it, about average fullness. The Jalapeno is a foot tall, one of the buds is on the verge of flowering, but of the 3 it's definitely the least full. The Habenero is the shortest at right around 10", it's a pretty full plant, the buds are there with one bud looking like it could flower soon, but its the slowest flower-wise. I have pictures on my comp that would most likely tell you more than I could but I've run into some trouble trying to upload them so until I figure out how to do that I can't really describe it any better.PequinPepper said:
figured out a way to post it, in order left to right its Serrano, Jalapeno, Habenero. I can post additional pics of each individual plant if need be
I would definitely pot up the serrano as soon as possible.
I plan on doing all three first thing in the morning.StupidJerk said:
Just finished upgrading my plants into larger pots, I think they all look a bit happier in their spacious new homes! Still debating whether or not I should remove what few flowers are on the plants as was suggested earlier though.
Their new homes!
Their new homes!
you dont have to remove the flowers to make them grow bigger or produce more roots, you can kind of make a plant produce more roots regardless of its life cycle by your watering, make sure to water the whole pot and not just around the plant and let it go for awhile before watering right until it wilts and then that night water it or in the morning, this will cause your plant to throw roots out looking for more water.
as for cutting flowers off to cause it to grow more, thats a big debatable discussion, lots believe doing so make the plant focus on growth, where as some believe it can stun the growth if done to much. so thats all in your personal choice.
i wouldnt prune them personally from the pictures, the two smaller ones id probably top myself as for serrano if i topped id be cutting off 1/4 to maybe 1/3 of it since it is so tall.
but my last thing ill say is do what you feel is right, pruning, topping, cutting off flowers, the plants will keep producing all summer and keep on growing so dont think its gunna stay that size
plants look great btw
as for cutting flowers off to cause it to grow more, thats a big debatable discussion, lots believe doing so make the plant focus on growth, where as some believe it can stun the growth if done to much. so thats all in your personal choice.
i wouldnt prune them personally from the pictures, the two smaller ones id probably top myself as for serrano if i topped id be cutting off 1/4 to maybe 1/3 of it since it is so tall.
but my last thing ill say is do what you feel is right, pruning, topping, cutting off flowers, the plants will keep producing all summer and keep on growing so dont think its gunna stay that size
plants look great btw
The watering method sounds like the safer way to go to me in terms of root growth, I'm just too against taking the flowers off. Might let them go just a bit longer before I start looking into topping them. Thanks for the advice!Balduvian said:
some say it slows growth because it focuses on roots, but does it really, you would habe to do an experiment ive seen people start in 10 gallon or 30 gallon and get a massive plant by the end of summer.
i say start off at least in solo cup and pot up how you feel, not what people tell you too
i say start off at least in solo cup and pot up how you feel, not what people tell you too
I start off small and work my way up to bigger pot. You use less water and the pots dry out faster . Less wasted fertilizer