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Will these chile transplants survive?

Sundancer

Sundancer

Hello there! I live in the Sacramento area in California.
I got a community garden plot in April, and because it was too late to start from seeds I ordered some transplants online (because the local nursery didn't have what I wanted).
So I followed the instructions to harden them off, I put them 1-2 hours longer outside per day to get used to the sun. I even carried them to the community garden for this purpose, because my tomatoes that I started from seed suffered terribly from not being hardened off. After 8 days I put them in the ground. They were healthy and didn't wilt in the sun anymore so I thought they would be fine.
 
I soaked them with a fish emulsion/sea kelp emulsion as the instructions said and then planted them. 
But then they started wilting the next day and very slowly dropping leaf after leaf. I watered them only once a week, because the instructions said when in doubt not to water the chilis because they hate being too wet. I was very careful with the roots.
 
The varieties I planted are 2 fatalii, 2 chocolate habanero, and 1 mr. purple (a purple slightly spicy variety of the annuum species). 
While the habaneros and fatalii are wilting and not growing, my mr. purple turned purple (the leaves) even though I don't think they're supposed to. I read this could be a deficiency of phosphorous? I used the same procedure for all plants, and have since fertilized with some miracle grow tomato fertilizer, maybe that is more readily absorbed than the organic fertilizer. Although mr. purple has not wilted.
 
None of these transplants have grown at all in the 12 days they've been out now, but they don't seem dead either just really unhappy. I transplanted in the evening because we don't get any cloudy days anymore here once it's warm enough to plant out chilis. I'm wondering what it could be or what I could do to make them happy. I feel like I've babied these sensitive brats.
 
I made a raised row for them consisting mainly of compost from bags and only some of the natural soil (which is about 30% clay). I added the recommended amount of Espoma's garden tone for vegetables as organic fertilizer and watered them in a little. About a week later I mulched with straw.
The temps after I planted went in to the low 90s for a few days and now have been in the low 70s for a week. They get about 14 hours of direct sun now. The transplants are smaller than I would like them to be, but that's probably for shipping reasons. I would have started from seed, but didn't know that I would get a plot in the garden.
 
Will they recover? How can I help them? 
 
Here are some pictures:
 
Fatalii
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Fatalii

 
Chocolate Habanero

 
Mr. Purple
 
"Will they recover?"
Almost certainly. They may just be spreading out some roots and adjusting to their new conditions. A little sunburn will slow them down but they should be fine. Not looking dead is certainly a good sign.
 
"How can I help them?'
By not trying to help them too much. Let them recover. Babying a pepper plant frequently does more harm than good in my experience.
 
"I will post some pictures."
And you should. When you do, someone who knows better than I do can give you better answers. Without pictures that show otherwise, I suspect they will look much better soon.
 
If you can shade them abit it will help them recover as well as grow better over all
I deal with raging sun/heat all season and the super strains just dont like it when its over 100*F for months at a time
Ive learned 4-6 hrs of morning hard sun is all they need
 
Thanks BamsBBQ - I will probably check out that nursery! I've still never had a chance to taste fatalii.
It seems every nursery plant that was raised in a slightly cooler climate or got less than full sun will be half dead for 2 weeks after transplanting to my plot, then slowly recover. I have a much better chance with bigger transplants, but these mail order chilis were way too small in my opinion.
Last year I grew chilis from seed and they were already 2 feet tall at this time of year in a fully shaded balcony - what gives? (they never bloomed though) I thought with full sun this year it would be more prolific.
 
TNKS - I am considering that, just not sure how to build something that can withstand wind and not take up too much space. Luckily its been relatively cool since I planted them. It does get to the 100s here soon though once it warms again.
JoynersHotPeppers - I transplanted them an hour and a half before sunset.
 
you will need shade of some sort around here...the Sac area sun is to hot for them and will burn them...my plants are small as well but we have a pretty long grow season here so they should give plenty of pods
 
I missed the part where you planted them late...it could be many things outside of the sun. Mine look like that daily right now in their pre plant out containers but that will change in 2 days. 
 
Nursery here in Novato about 1.5 hours from you has some big fatalii about 14 inches and some chocolate hab same size. Bhut Caribbean red, red habanero also. Just a thought incase you needed to get new ones
 
you will need shade of some sort around here...the Sac area sun is to hot for them and will burn them...my plants are small as well but we have a pretty long grow season here so they should give plenty of pods

I was driving through sac area last summer in july and if was hot as hell. 100+. And I was used to the 100+ living in Socal inland empire but after 2 years up north you are no longer fitted for the heat.
 
LA 2 the Bay said:
I was driving through sac area last summer in july and if was hot as hell. 100+. And I was used to the 100+ living in Socal inland empire but after 2 years up north you are no longer fitted for the heat.
Click to expand...
i have worked here for years but my home base was in WA state....i moved here for good last June, it was a climate shock..lol
 
LA 2 the Bay said:
Nursery here in Novato about 1.5 hours from you has some big fatalii about 14 inches and some chocolate hab same size. Bhut Caribbean red, red habanero also. Just a thought incase you needed to get new ones
Click to expand...
Wow that's quite unusual. I wonder if they would deliver to my local nursery, eh probably not. What's the name?
I don't mind the heat anymore, now visiting the bay is like jumping in a cold pool lol
 
 
Hello there! I live in the Sacramento area in California.
I got a community garden plot in April
Click to expand...
 
 Hola :) I'm in Carmichael. I think they probably just needed a bit more protection from those long hours of direct sun. I would provide a little shade even now if you can..    Pretty rad about the garden plot. I had one in Davis myself before :)
 
If they don't recover I do have an extra seedling for chocolate habanero, and both yellow and red fatalii in 18 oz plastic cups. With our long growing season hopefully we have time for them to produce ripe fruit.

BamsBBQ said:
 i was at Talini's Nursery on Folsom today and they had some really healthy Fatalii's there that are in full sun.
Click to expand...
 
Nice! I'm going to go check it out. Do they have any other atypical varieties? Atypical in contrast to say the normal stock of Home Depot/Lowes.
 
I picked up my Caribbean Reds from Green Acres in Folsom. I didn't know about Talini.
 
Spicy Mushroom said:
 

 
Nice! I'm going to go check it out. Do they have any other atypical varieties? Atypical in contrast to say the normal stock of Home Depot/Lowes.
 
I picked up my Caribbean Reds from Green Acres in Folsom. I didn't know about Talini.
Click to expand...
they only had the Fatali's and a couple of bad looking Scorpions
 
Wow that's quite unusual. I wonder if they would deliver to my local nursery, eh probably not. What's the name?
I don't mind the heat anymore, now visiting the bay is like jumping in a cold pool lol

Armstrong nursery
 
Thanks for the tips guys. Yes I went to Talini's and bought 2 of those Fatalii. They are healthy and didn't seem to mind being transplanted into my garden. Although it has been cool lately, so that's helping.
Talini's had some bird peppers, cherry peppers, carribean habanero, fatalii.
They have really pretty and healthy plants in general though. Got some purple basil.
Fatalii was probably the most uncommon pepper I found there that's why I didn't buy any others. I found a single trinidad scorpion at the davis nursery the other day which is also doing great, and makes me think those chocolate habanero plants were simply shipped too young :/
Sadly my chocolate habaneros still look just as sad. I'm wondering if another nursery might carry chocolate habaneros. Carmichael is so far haha
 
I called Talinis and the guy that answered checked all the peppers he had and didn't mention fatalii nor do I think he knew much about that variety. I'm thinking those ones get snatched up pretty quickly after delivery. He said they get new deliveries on Tuesdays. I'll probably keep checking/calling. I have a bunch of fatalii seedlings but I'd love to have a larger/older plant too.

Pretty sure I have an extra chocolate habanero plant but it's still a youngin.
 
Haha probably BamsBBQ bought up the last ones. There were like 6 there when I got them. Yes I think many of the employees don't know their stock. The cashier had no idea what it was.
One of my chocolate habs suddenly perked up today with the few leaves it has left. the other one not
 
To follow up at end of the season... all my peppers turned out extraordinarily well and I ended up with more chillies than I know what to do with. 
The company resent my chocolate habaneros free of charge, and they ended up being slightly healthier and gave me the biggest yield... 2 plants produced 3 gallons of chocolate habaneros, and all of my pepper plants are still in bloom.
 
Below is a picture of the bushes in July, they still grew substantially from that, and then my harvest consisted of pequin peppers, fatalii, chocolate habaneros, and trinidad scorpions.
 
They did just fine in the heat and direct sun, didn't use a shade cloth.
 
Now I am wondering, can they survive the winter outside in the garden if I wrap something around them to keep warm?
It rarely freezes here, but I know they hate cold. Last year all my plants died overwintering them inside. It was a pain in the ass and bugs everywhere, so I'm not doing that again. Only the pequin survived, they seem indestructible.
 

 
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