Whoa, holy hell... here come the sons of bitches. With a vengeance.

[UltraZelda64]

This is my first time attempting to overwinter plants which haven't yet lost all their leaves. Long story short, I brought a habanero plant in last year after it lost every one of its leaves; unfortunately it didn't make it, because it turned out its roots were rotting (and have been rotting all summer; that explains why it would always fall over). It died around spring, when I was trying to get it to come out of its dormancy. Its stem literally broke off from its roots with practically no effort when trying to find out why it died. But at least it didn't have any aphid problems, since it lost all its leaves from the cold! Either way, this year I brought in two Habanero plants, a Tabasco, Vietnamese multicolor, NuMex Twilight, Medusa, and a Pimenta de Cheiro.

After bringing the plants in, I noticed that they are, in fact, beginning to lose their leaves. Even the slightest movement of the pots will cause a few to drop. I assume this is natural though, due to the lower light levels. But anyway... I have noticed many aphids on the leaves of one of the lower stems of one of my habanero plants. I chopped the whole stem off, sprayed it with "Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap" to kill the motherf***ers, and tossed it in the trash can. In fact, I was going to throw the entire plant out--don't want those things to spread. I've heard all the horror stories. Unfortunately, they seem to be becoming reality...

Problem is... I looked at my *other* habanero plant just now and... gazillians of the little MFers are on it. Little red and green pricks, this time on multiple stems toward the top of the plant. It's like an early Christmas or something. But it's late at night and I'm drinking right now, so I put it in the other room until I can get to it tomorrow (unfortunately not separated by doors... this house blows). I hope they don't spread to any of the other plants in the room it was in, but so far... I'm not expecting a miracle or anything; upon closer inspection, I'm sure I'll find tons of them on the other plants too, but I hope not (to be fair, the two hab plants are the ones I didn't care as much about--I'll just get new ones next year). Unfortunately, it is either 32 or 34 degrees outside right now (depending on whether you believe The Weather Channel or AccuWeather), and only 1 in the morning, so putting them outside is not a realistic possibility.

What would you guys do? Toss the plant to prevent further infection (there are still ripening peppers on it), or keep it? Try to spray (and kill) the little SOBs? I'm afraid I'll spray it, miss some of the little bastards, and they'll retaliate by reproducing in overdrive.

Temperature in this room is 75 degrees and hovering on 20-21% humidity (but 20% is the lowest my humidity reader goes...). A cooler room in the house is my bedroom, but there's about no room for any more plants in there (my Rocoto Red is currently in there). It seems that this may be a long, long winter.

Edit: By the way--I noticed a shiny substance on the tops of many of the leaves of this plant (and maybe on the bottoms too, but I haven't looked that closely yet). Is this that "honeydew" crap the aphids shit out?

 

[TheAlaskan324]

If you consider it a keep, then spray the hell out of the soil and everyhing else, and even if the other plants don't have it, spray it too, you never know, ya know.

But I would just toss the f***er, but I think some one else should have some better advice on what to do with the buggys, and I don't think that they would have overdrive reproduction to retaliate.

 

[UltraZelda64]

If you consider it a keep, then spray the hell out of the soil and everyhing else, and even if the other plants don't have it, spray it too, you never know, ya know.

But I would just toss the f***er, but I think some one else should have some better advice on what to do with the buggys, and I don't think that they would have overdrive reproduction to retaliate.

To be completely honest... I don't consider it a 100% keep. The plant has fallen off the porch and been damaged (losing an entire stem) due to the wind. So to be honest, your "toss the f***er" suggestion is the one I might just do eventually... the question is, when? At this point, I really just want to get all the peppers I can off of it that I can, and then throw it out... next year I'll probably get a new habanero plant (or more). No, I WILL get a new one (I love habaneros, no probably about it, what can I say?). If the daytime weather is not too bad, I might just stick it outside the next few days until I get sick of trying to save it. And actually... it seems that this may just be the case. In fact, I might not get lethal night temperatures for a little while now that I look at the forecast (but damn close).

 

[franzb69]

plants are tough, if you really want it around, just give it some TLC and it'll give back some good heat for ya. =D

 

[naganumbness]

if it's orange hab , then i say toss it. you can get those anywhere nowadays. if it's something more rare then it's a judgement call. it's on you. how bad do you want it? sounds like it's an orange hab though. if it is , they are everywhere these days. those little plant suckers can be a bitch! i might very well go through the same thing when i bring mine in. that is if they survive this skipjack weather. i hate this time of year. i am a pissy person to be around at this time of year. i hope things work out for you.

 

[UltraZelda64]

plants are tough, if you really want it around, just give it some TLC and it'll give back some good heat for ya. =D

You know... that actually gives me hope. I had a (cayenne) plant last year that had its main stem snapped, near the ground. Surprisingly, it was able to produce as much as the other plants without snapped stems (I just went out ASAP and taped it).

But still... like I said, these two habs are the least of my worries. It's the Tabasco, Vietnamese Multicolor, NuMex Twilight, Pimenta de Cheiro, and possibly Medusa that I want to survive. It seems that there are always some nice orange Habanero plants that are sold by Bonnie Plants around here at local stores. The unfortunate thing is... it seems the aphids are found first on these plants... ironically, the two habs in question *are* Bonnie Plants. While they seem to do absolutely great when I get them from the local store and really take off when the temps are favorable... in the long term they seem to be the first ones infested, while the ones from CCN seem fine...

Fearing the temperature in the house is too high (and favorable to these little bastards), I lowered it earlier. It is now reading 72 degrees fahrenheit, 21% relative humidity. I would like to higher the humidity at the same time, but don't have a humidifier... so the furnace drops the humidity in the house like you wouldn't believe.

 

[UltraZelda64]

if it's orange hab , then i say toss it. you can get those anywhere nowadays. if it's something more rare then it's a judgement call. it's on you. how bad do you want it? sounds like it's an orange hab though. if it is , they are everywhere these days. those little plant suckers can be a bitch! i might very well go through the same thing when i bring mine in. that is if they survive this skipjack weather. i hate this time of year. i am a pissy person to be around at this time of year. i hope things work out for you.

You're the second person to recommend something like that, which honestly was my first instinct. So... I think I've decided. Tomorrow, these plants are both going outside, and are not coming back in. If I get any more ripe peppers off of them... great! If not, oh well. But either way, I don't want to risk infecting my plants I really want to save. Thanks a lot for the suggestions.

 

[franzb69]

You know... that actually gives me hope. I had a (cayenne) plant last year that had its main stem snapped, near the ground. Surprisingly, it was able to produce as much as the other plants without snapped stems (I just went out ASAP and taped it).

had a few plants i thought were practically dead. i just never gave up on them and they're growing nicely now. of course there are some plants that will give up since they were really weak to start with.

have you tried growing from seed? how about doing some for next season, might work better for you. if you've had bad experiences buying live plants....might be a good learning experience too. since there's absolutely no selection here for plants, i started everything from seed.

might be a good idea to put in some ladybugs or something, if there's enough aphids for them indoors they might stay around long enough to kill them all =D

 

[UltraZelda64]

had a few plants i thought were practically dead. i just never gave up on them and they're growing nicely now. of course there are some plants that will give up since they were really weak to start with.

have you tried growing from seed? how about doing some for next season, might work better for you. if you've had bad experiences buying live plants....might be a good learning experience too. since there's absolutely no selection here for plants, i started everything from seed.

might be a good idea to put in some ladybugs or something, if there's enough aphids for them indoors they might stay around long enough to kill them all =D

Unfortunately, I did try growing plants from seeds... and failed miserably.

The C. annuum species germinated best, while the C. chinense species took forever. Problem was, I couldn't get the watering right... always fatally too much, or too little. Maybe it was those stupid peat pellets... I don't know. I also realized at the last minute that the light bulb I was using was way in the red spectrum, but by then it was too late.

Never mind the fact that I just don't have the proper lighting (or the ability to set it up) for the plants as they grow, so I'm screwed on that. And due to the bad luck last year, I'd rather just buy live plants again (a lot less trouble).

 

[franzb69]

bulbs for growing are supposed to be white white. 6400k. i use 4 foot 6400k 36watt philips flourescent lights.

i stopped using those peat pellets ever since i realized that i couldn't get the watering right either. i use seed starting mixes, coco coir and compost, stuff like that. always get excellent germination with it and i never kill them.

i've read on here that you should only water plants when they're slightly wilting. i use about 15-20ml per seedling per hole. i only water when the growing medium is somewhat dry or the seedling wilting. some folks here bottom water, i water directly on the medium.



good luck with the live plants. if i could buy live ones out here, i coulda done so myself. a lot less trouble for me too. since there isn' a single one out here that sells the stuff thata we grow, i'll grow mine from seed. it's all i do, lol, start from seed. haven't even had a harvest yet afer all this time. started growing may, got my first pod now, waiting for it to ripen. ah well. lol. none of my chinenses have even flowered at all. all i got flowering are the annuums.

yep, chinenses take a million years before they germinate. the longest i had before it germinated was 9 freakin' weeks! annuums take 2 days. pubescens take 2-4 weeks. frutescens also germinate quite fast.

 

[roadhouse]

bulbs for growing are supposed to be white white. 6400k. i use 4 foot 6400k 36watt philips flourescent lights.

i stopped using those peat pellets ever since i realized that i couldn't get the watering right either. i use seed starting mixes, coco coir and compost, stuff like that. always get excellent germination with it and i never kill them.

i've read on here that you should only water plants when they're slightly wilting. i use about 15-20ml per seedling per hole. i only water when the growing medium is somewhat dry or the seedling wilting. some folks here bottom water, i water directly on the medium.



good luck with the live plants. if i could buy live ones out here, i coulda done so myself. a lot less trouble for me too. since there isn' a single one out here that sells the stuff thata we grow, i'll grow mine from seed. it's all i do, lol, start from seed. haven't even had a harvest yet afer all this time. started growing may, got my first pod now, waiting for it to ripen. ah well. lol. none of my chinenses have even flowered at all. all i got flowering are the annuums.

yep, chinenses take a million years before they germinate. the longest i had before it germinated was 9 freakin' weeks! annuums take 2 days. pubescens take 2-4 weeks. frutescens also germinate quite fast.

Must be your conditions because basically all of about 40 varieties of C. chinense except Douglah have germinated for me within 2 weeks with most within one week. I just keep the temp around 85 and mist the top of the soil once or twice per day.

 

[franzb69]

Must be your conditions because basically all of about 40 varieties of C. chinense except Douglah have germinated for me within 2 weeks with most within one week. I just keep the temp around 85 and mist the top of the soil once or twice per day.

\\

must be. good thing i'm patient. =D

and the fact that i have a crappy germination mix. hehe.

 

[Indiana_Jesse]

In my experience battling aphids is just part of the overwintering process. I always inspect my plants before bringing them inside, but those aphids seem to spontaneously generate a few weeks after being brought indoors! I meticulously inspect my plants at least 3 times per week and take the time to physically destroy them by squishing them with my fingers. Yes, this takes time! If they get completely out of control I have used purchased lacewings with decent success. I have had no luck with insecticides, the plants end up dropping all of their leaves after application, fortunately they grow new leaves eventually.

 

[Burning Colon]

Like Indiana, I just accept the fact the aphids are going to be part of the overwintering process. I make about 15 minutes every morning to check my plants and manually squish any aphids that are on the plant and to check for soil moisture - have a couple of natural insecticides should I find I am getting overwhelmed, that work fine for about a week. Leaf drop is just a normal part of overwintering, some plants drop almost every leaf and some just a few, my ceyenne is bald but I also cut it back, I have a hot portugal that's large, full of leaves and green pods. I try to keep the container soils on the dry side at this time.

Here are 2 habaneros, the 1 on the left is now entering its 3rd year, the one on the right is almost 1 year old. I will do everything I can to keep the left one alive, the right with the ripe pod can die today and it wouldn't bother me. The reason, flavour of the pods. The left plant I purchased a package of seeds about 10 years ago, the right was grown from seeds from a local grocery store. The left plant has intense heat and flavour, the right has heat but bland in flavour in comparison(its fine for making powder). The left plant I have cut back branches, the right just stopped growing a that size and produced about 6 pods.

 

[megamoo]

nice pic with the site in the background lol

I've had an idea. (I applaud myself because it rarely happens)

If you really want to overwinter because you have a rare chili and not grow from seed next season why not take some cuttings and clone the plants.

That way you have the exact same plant, you can clean them completely of aphids just once, and when they've started a few roots you can stick them in new soil that doesn't have any bugs hiding in it. You can up the temp in your house to get them to grow and put them under a regular fluorescent bulb because small ones don't have huge lighting requirements.

Someone who has actually cloned a plant before will be able to provide instructions on how to do it. There are threads on THP about it and it sounds quite easy.

 

[Burning Colon]

nice pic with the site in the background/I've had an idea.(I applaud myself because it rarely happens)

Ya, I had one of those bright light moments, now I have to go lie down and recuperate.

I agree Mega, I am still trying to select which 2 branches that I think will best clone from my fav orange hab and when I do, I will use 2 techniques in a cloning attempt, first is to put cutting #1, into soil and I think I will cover it with a water bottle to make a mini green house it will get mid morning/afternoon sun, cutting #2 I will place in my DWC with the cutting secured by rockwool and approximately 1/4" in the super oxygenated water (thought I would embellish a little - while my light is shinning)-it will have CFL exposure, light #1 is 6500k and #2 is 2400K(so some blue and red light exposure).

Here is a quick peek of my DWC, the existing plants are 2 Hot Lemon and a Red Carribean - they were test plants to see if the seed where viable, they were started in my mini heated green house in rockwool. I have 5 locations avaiable. I would have moved the DWC infront of my computer monitor with the main hotpepper screen but my light fizzled out.

 

[megamoo]

Hey are those yoghurt containers with slots cut in them by you, and covers from mcdonalds sundaes?

I'm feeling like an idiot for buying my slotted pots at the hydro store where they charge high prices cos of stupid high druggies

 

[franzb69]

i use yogurt cups all the time for my gardening. =D

 

[Burning Colon]

Hey are those yoghurt containers with slots cut in them by you, and covers from mcdonalds sundaes?

It would be hard to find another, who is cheaper then myself - I am sure they exists but you would have to find them and I'm right here, yep, mini yogurt cups, I washed the labels off them, put a rounded piece of 2X2 in the cup for support, then with an Exacto knife cut out the little wedges, including slits on the bottom. They wanted $3.50 for the little baskets - that's $30 with taxes.

The tops, are you kidding MacDonalds - that would be far too expensive, I would say Dole fruit cup containers but I don't buy brand name, so whatever the clone fruit cup is called. Pack of 4 Dole fruit cup $ 3.87, generic $ 1.50.

The pump attacted to the 6" airstone, I am guessing could be 25 - 30 years old (including the tubing), the container I bought several years ago. My neighbour lent me the gadget that attached to my drill to cut the holes - he said the gadgets where purchased probably around the time I was born. I wanted the clean cut from the gadget because I only had one lid and didn't want to take a chance on slipping.

Okay, I did buy the rockwool $11.99 for 45 on clearance from $19.95. I think next time I am going to switch to the coconut coir pellets, I couldn't find them before but I since found them for $ 3.29 for I think 10 or 12.

The light holders I bought at walmart for $1.99 in a seasonal clearance bucket. The CFL lights are generic but did tell me the light spectrum.

For the water and nutrients, I boiled tap water and let it sit for a day. Then I topped it up with my aquarium water, added diluted molasses and some generic 10-52-10 fertilizer I have had for several years. I may add a sprinkle of 15-15-30 or 20-20-20 next time I top it up. No way will I spend $25 for a small container of brand name hydroponic nutrients. I also added about a cup of homemade seaweed fertilizer that HawaiiAl walked me through making ...... let me look in my atlas(that I took from highschool in the '70's) to see where Perth is... looks like you could collect seaweed for free, I purchased dried seaweed for $ 2.49 from a local Korean/Japanese grocery store that is minutes from my house(I am land locked). Oh look, my altas has Zimbabwe listed as Rhodesia and Namibia listed as South West Africa, guess the russian block countries are still listed as one, let me check Germany - yep still east and west(amazing how the world has changed).

I love lifting the baskets and looking at the roots, that is cool!

 

[megamoo]

Yes sir I agree... you are cheap I applaud your cheapness

I had the thought of cutting up some pots myself but my laziness trumped my cheapness

I did however raid the recycle bin outside of Bunnings (hardware store) and get about 100 free plastic pots