• If you need help identifying a pepper, disease, or plant issue, please post in Identification.

sun When is sun too harsh?

When I leave my pepper plants in direct sunlight, the leaves get soft and flaccid and begin to droop. Is that an indication that the sun is too harsh or is that normal behavior?
 
According to weather report, highest temp today is 86 degrees (F) with 55% humidity.
 
Most of the time, once I move them into shade, they will perk up again without watering.
 
sirex said:
That's normal.
 
So just double checking. It's safe to leave them in the direct sunlight and get soft and droopy?
On some occasions, the leaves will undulate too. Is that normal as well?
 
Thanks for the reply sirex
 
I agree with Sirex.  Some wilting during the day is not uncommon and not an issue.  If it were to start to look like too much, moving them to shade or partial shade like you did is a good idea.  What you should see in a healthy situation is perhaps some wilting during the hottest part of the day, especially if they're not used to the intense temps/sun, followed by recovery the same day as the sun lowers and it cools down.
 
As far as the undulation, you shouldn't see any left-over effect from the wilting the following morning.  If you do, then you should probably give them some shade during the hottest part of the day, but progressively less so they adjust.
 
CaneDog said:
I agree with Sirex.  Some wilting during the day is not uncommon and not an issue.  If it were to start to look like too much, moving them to shade or partial shade like you did is a good idea.  What you should see in a healthy situation is perhaps some wilting during the hottest part of the day, especially if they're not used to the intense temps/sun, followed by recovery the same day as the sun lowers and it cools down.
 
As far as the undulation, you shouldn't see any left-over effect from the wilting the following morning.  If you do, then you should probably give them some shade during the hottest part of the day, but progressively less so they adjust.
 
Copy that, mahalo for the reply guys!
 
Wilting leaves when the sun is too harsh is a nature protective mechanism for the plant. But as others said if it's too bad, you should either move them to shadow or use shadecloth.
 
I think it's important to rewind to the beginning, and assess this potential well before the plants go out.
.
Ask yourself if the plant that you're about to grow, is known to thrive in a similar climate to your own?  Where does grow most successfully?  Under what conditions?
.
You may not fully get the answer from that, but it forms a part of the process.  For the most part, all of us are growing things that are far from ideally suited for our climates. But you can boil the question down to simple parts, and get pieces of the puzzle, to develop a strategy to compensate.  For example, Rocotos in the flat tropics are a long shot from the highlands of Peru.  There's inherent clues built into that understanding.  Same with growing 7 Pots in Iceland.
.
Again, that's rudimentary, but if I try to understand the "normal" habit and habitat, I can figure out things like, how much shade cloth to reduce UV index to a similar value as the one found in XXXX, or perhaps a decision to grow indoors for the opposite scenario.
 
Back
Top