What's wrong with my pepper plants?

14 years ago

I have four yellow pepper plants in different locations and none of them are flourishing. What is wrong with them? They've hardly grown at all.

Here it is June 12. I had them all in this raised bed and moved three of them because they weren't growing. For reference, see how much the squash has grown.

Here it is over a month later. See how big the squash is? Why can't my pepper plant look so good? ;(

See one of my voluntary tomato plants?

And here are the one's I moved. Not much better.

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Comments (9)

veggiefaery
14 years ago
Your pepper plants look the same as my chocolate bell pepper plant. I moved it to a sunnier location and into different types of soil. Out of frustration, I went and bought two other pepper plants that were much further along. Hopefully I'll at least get something from them.
jnfr
14 years ago
Have you had a chilly summer like so many of us have this year? Peppers won't really take off until they get steady heat.
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virraszto
Original Author
14 years ago
Tne one in the raised bed is in full sun. I thought it was burning up, so I moved three of them. The other ones get of sun where they are at, in fact everything I put in containters is doing great along that wall, except the peppers.

The little pepper is outlined in red. Everything else looks good. ( Well, with the exception of my pickling cukes, they are puny too. )

{{gwi:66894}}
veggiefaery
14 years ago
I read over a few websites, and found the following website to check out. Not sure if it will help you, but I think I might try a different type of fertilizer after reading it.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Grow Peppers
veggiefaery
14 years ago
I definitely had a cooler spring. Then at the very end of spring we had a heat wave. The temps ranged from 89 to 95 degrees on a daily basis. Now the weather has gotten cool again. The weather report said 70 degrees today, but I suspect it hasn't made it out of the high 60s yet. I'm sure these extreme weather conditions aren't good for any plant.

Hopefully July will have more constant temperatures, which will allow my pepper plants to thrive.
hercules
14 years ago
virraszto:

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your peppers may never recover their usual vigor. They'll live and bear fruit, but don't expect your usual robust plants. Here's why.

Peppers are of tropical origin. When exposed to night temps lower than about 50 degrees, it tends to permanently "stunt" the plant. People with the patience and ability to do so wait several weeks after planting, say, tomatoes before setting out their pepper plants (tomatoes don't suffer this same characteristic).

If it's any consolation, my peppers are in the same boat as yours...just sitting there doing very little. I, too, planted them and took the chance. I lost! ~smile~ This Spring has been a cruel one here in PA, with temps bouncing all over the place...including too many cold nights.

Good luck...I hope this sheds some light on your original question.

Regards,
Hal in PA
kestrel_3
14 years ago
My peppers look similar to yours. They seem sort of stunted and I am guessing it is because of the cool weather we've been having. We had a cool spring, then one warm week and now it is cool again.
tammysf
14 years ago
I have an ace bell pepper thaty did NOTHING until the weather got warmer. I planted it out with my tomatoes and it did get in 40's some nights.

Finally when weather warmed up it grew a bit and I even have about 10 small peppers even though the plant is only about 18 inches.
jbann23
14 years ago
Peppers, especially bell peppers, are one of the slowest things I've ever grown. They really try your patience but later in the Summer they put out the fruit and then things perk up. They prefer steady heat and consistant water. Just like growing a tree IMO.