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thin stems

A

allen

As i have never grown chille pepper plants before, please forgive me if this is a stupid question, but the plants i am growing (ring of fire = orange habanero - AGI Limon) seem to have rather thin stems, so thin that when left out in the rain one day the weight of the rain on the leaves was actually making stems bend, the same happened when i sprayed the epsom salt mix on them, is this normal? should they be staked?

The Tomato plants i have grown at the same time halvs stems 2 - 3 times thicker.

Thanks in advance for any replies.
 
Leggy growth maybe. Its probably sun starved put it out in the sun for a while. Prune it a lirttle. Then it i'l have a thicker stem it'll be bushier and able to be better at other things.
 
allen said:
the plants i am growing (ring of fire = orange habanero - AGI Limon) seem to have rather thin stems, so thin that when left out in the rain one day the weight of the rain on the leaves was actually making stems bend, the same happened when i sprayed the epsom salt mix on them, is this normal? should they be staked?

The Tomato plants i have grown at the same time halvs stems 2 - 3 times thicker.
Click to expand...

My jalapenos and bells were more tomato-like in their branching. Other peppers like cayenne and the baccatums are more vine-like and bendy. The habs are kind of in between. I stake the main trunk as usual and then take a loop of string and wrap around the side shoots and the stake to keep them up out of the dirt and growing more vertical before they turn 'woody'. The top of the plant is a mess though. I'm thinking a trellis or something, like for a cherry toamto vine, might be good.
 
if you exercise the stems (read blow a fan on them) twice a day for 30 minutes, it will strengthen the stems...I do this from the time they pop their little loops up...

mechanically moving the stems either by brushing your hand across the tops or using a fan for stimulation stretches the stem cell walls and stimulates the cells to create thicker cell walls thus strengthening the stems...
 
When in doubt, stake em. An ounce of prevention.... But AJ is right on the money as far as getting thick stems from the get go.
 
I had to use some toothpicks to stake my lanky seedlings when they were small. I just picked up some of those bamboo skewers (on sale) for use next year. They come in 12" and a shorter version for only a few $$ per pack.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies, i am most grateful.

POTAWIE i am growing them indoors on a very large windows, but have been popping them outdoors on fine days to harden them off ready for planting them outside permanently.
 
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