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Peppers losing leaves at tops, not growing well...

Posted by HighlanderNorth 6b Delaware (My Page) on
Thu, Jul 10, 14 at 21:44

I planted just 2 pepper plants in late May. They were about just under 1.5 feet tall when I bought them, and one is a yellow bell type and the other a mild hot pepper.

Anyway, from the start they were slow to grow. Also from the start, they began losing all their bottom leaves. They have even lost their mid height leaves as well, so that all they have now is the top 40% of the plant with leaves. They do have a few peppers growing on them, but they are smaller than they should be at about 2 feet tall now. They also have not really gotten thicker.

They get about 5 hours of sun, maybe 6 at the most per day, but its direct sun. They get watered 2-3 times per week and now have mulch covering the bases to keep the moisture in hopefully. The temps have been in the low 70's to low 90's from the time of planting til now.

I also have some tomatoes planted among the peppers, and I just opened a thread about a few of the tomato plants' leaves curling, as well as not being very thick. Any ideas as to whats going on here? I planted peppers a few years ago with about the same amount of sun, and even less as the year progressed and the sun dropped lower in the sky, but those plants grew pretty well and didnt lose a lot of leaves.....


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RE: Peppers losing leaves at tops, not growing well...

Well first of all, 1.5 foot tall peppers are much too large to be transplanted, in my opinion. Bigger is not always better when it comes to transplants. The bigger the transplant, the more stress it undergoes when it's roots are disturbed. That's why they took a while to start growing and were having issues from the get go.

Second, the reason they continue to have issues is because of your watering. Peppers don't need watered 2-3 times a week, especially when they are mulched. You're probably drowning them. Deep, infrequent watering is best. Once a week should be sufficient. Check down a few inches in the soil and see if it's moist before watering. If it's moist, wait a day or two. If it's dry, water. If you correct your watering practices your peppers should survive.

5-6 hours of sun a day is less than optimum but it should be enough. And they might need some fertilizer.

Rodney

Edited to add link to the OP's tomato thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato plants' leaves curling. How much sunlight needed?

This post was edited by theforgottenone1013 on Thu, Jul 10, 14 at 22:56


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RE: Peppers losing leaves at tops, not growing well...

Agree with Rodney, but you got some pics?

Kevin


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