misc Unthrifty Buena Mulata

[elnewt]

Hello all,

Anyone have any experience with buena mulata peppers? Do they tend to be unthrifty? Sensitive to sunlight or excess water? I'm trying to figure out why my other pepper plants (volante peach cross, datil, Baker Creek "datil", Thai, sugar rush peach) are thriving but both of my buena mulatas died. The first died a few weeks ago. I assumed it was just too small and not growing fast enough to handling the increasing GA sun. The second grew nicely, but all of a sudden, the leaves wilted and it's dying off. We had a ton of rain the week before this happened. The plants are all in a raised bed. Why would my other pepper plants (15 in all) be thriving but this variety is seemingly incompatible with life?

 

[hadanero]

I didn't have much experience with other peppers when I grew a pair of Buena Mulatas, but after growing some other varieties this spring, I'd say they were a bit more sensitive. The other varieties I've grown seem to be more forgiving overall. In retrospect, I'd probably trim then a little more aggressively and be more careful with the watering if I were to grow them again.

 

[elnewt]

I didn't have much experience with other peppers when I grew a pair of Buena Mulatas, but after growing some other varieties this spring, I'd say they were a bit more sensitive. The other varieties I've grown seem to be more forgiving overall. In retrospect, I'd probably trim then a little more aggressively and be more careful with the watering if I were to grow them again.

Thank you for your thoughts. Did you think you were overwatering or underwatering them?

 

[hadanero]

I think I overwatered them. I really didn't know the first thing about growing anything, and assumed a daily watering was in order. It was a while into the grow when I started paying better attention to the actual soil condition.

 

[elnewt]

I wonder if that could have been my issue. It was growing fine until we got a lot of rain. I wouldn't think it would have been enough to cause issues, especially in a raised bed, but who knows?!

 

[BlackFatalii]

I grew Buena Mulata in 2021. IIRC, I think I lost one plant to root rot early in the season, but apart from that I don't recall any particular problems with them. Most of my Buena Mulatas were still alive in early December, so they certainly weren't "incompatible with life" at any rate.

all of a sudden, the leaves wilted and it's dying off. We had a ton of rain the week before this happened.

That sounds like your plant might have root rot caused by all the rain. Just a guess.

 

[elnewt]

Yeah, that's my best guess, too, just weird that that's the only pepper (and only plant period) that it happened to, and in a raised bed that should have better drainage.

Trying to get some more seedlings started in hopes that I can get a little bit of a late harvest with it and then overwinter it for next year.