The roots usually die after the foliage wilts and dies. Some can go into a dorment state if it gets cold, but you usually need a full year to find out whether they are really dead or just hiberating. My French tarragon was doing great, then died in fall. I kept watering it, in hopes that it would return, and in spring, it suddenly sprouted many new plants. I carefully seperated the mass into 3 parts, and planted two outdoors, while keeping the third portion inside. By fall, they all had died back again, and I was hoping for another return, but none of the three ever came back. Fungus gnats, once flies, will infect every single plant/pot nearby it. Once they lay eggs, its just a matter of time when they start flying all around the area and doing even more damage. This is one reason many house plants die, as it just takes one infected plant to spread the fungus gnats. Some years ago, before I found out what the cause was, I used to pull up all the garden plants in the fall. Many had little to no roots left. I was always wondering why the plants would lose their growth, and ten die suddenly. Pulling them up easily, and finding nothing left in the ground told me the roots had been destroyed.

HabBob, The plants get plenty of sun. That's not the issue nor is the water. It has not been excessively wet here. It appears that the plants bell and pablanos have blight. I do grow jalapenos. Actually, I picked a couple pounds yesterday and plan to pickle them tonight. The reason that I'm looking for a good anaheim is that one of my favorite foods in the world is green chile chicken enchildas. I don't like the canned green enchilada sauce. I used to buy full bags of green chiles when I lived in NM and would peel and freeze them for use in these enchiladas. I have enough for two big batches of enchiladas already in the freezer but was expecting a lot more. The biggest difference is the size of the chiles that I'm getting. Any suggestions? Thanks, Rick

Well, compared with San Diego, anything is wintry ;-) NZ is a long country about 10% larger than Great Britain. The North is quite sub-tropical with very mild temps even in winter. The East coasts of both main islands have temp extremes mainly due to mountain range influences, especially in the South Island where I live. I'd say we have cool, dry winters and warm, dry summers. For Timaru, Canterbury, where I live, we have an historical low of -7.8c (18f) and a high of 40.3c (105f). We are only two weeks into spring and daytime temps are in the 14-18c range (57-64f). The problem facing a chile grower in my particular location is the cool summer nights we get. That's great for sleeping, but I often think it puts the peppers into stop-start mode. Although from what I can tell, our climate is very much like Northern California. Maybe it's just my technique :-)

The way you planted them is the problem. 1) You have them in buckets not getting sun and you have potting soil or garden soil on top of the native soil, which isn't necessarily bad but if you haven't prepared the native soil to allow the roots to make make an easy transition. You can try, but I doubt it will be a success, to transplant them into fresh buckets with holes drilled in the bottoms using a soilless potting mix. This time make sure you come to with a couple inches from the top with soil. If you want to protect them from dogs and children(whether in a container or in ground), throw a tomato cage around them. Note: Large fruited annuums, like New Mexican chiles, do much better in ground than in containers. So perhaps next year think about a raised bed or straight in ground or use containers that are bigger than 5 gal. buckets. Next, I have a few issues with chris051443's assessment. Sorry Chris :( I won't comment on the coco coir, since I've never used it but I've heard it's great at starting seeds. ----- 2) "I'd never use that amount its primarily used to retain moisture in smaller pots The degradation of the mulch will rob the plant of nitrogen as with any compost that still contains bark etc Mulcing is good for soil in small amounts it can also increase the soils bacterial content and the mulch will always be breaking down and releasing amounts of other nutrients and minerals. ----- Disagree entirely. a) It can be used in ground, in small pots, in raised beds, etc. to not only conserve water but to cut down on weeds, regulate soil temps, and add nutrients to the soil. b) Well aged mulch will NOT rob the soil of any nutrients. FRESH wood chips will, however, but even then it would have to be incorporated into the soil, which, at that time doesn't qualify as a mulch. Mulch is defined as lying on TOP of the soil, not be a part of. In any case, refrain from using FRESH wood chips on vegetables and other annuals and reserve them for perennials and tress. Better yet, age those chips. c) BARK does not rob the soil of nutrients. One reason why bark based soil mixes are so popular nowadays. Bark has great durability whether as the soil or as a mulch. The SAPWOOD(basically wood chips) found in many bags of bark does rob the soil of Nitrogen if used as a soil mix. Why it's always a good idea to sift out the sapwood when making a bark based soil. Used a a mulch though, the sapwood doesn't need to be sifted. 3) "Garden soil is always a must add component It contains a good biodiversity of bacteria and fungi" ----- This is true and should be reserved for just that--- the GARDEN. However, it's very difficult to maintain a healthy microherd bacteria and fungi)in containers unless they're very large containers. Stick to a soilless potting mix for containers or use large containers like half wine barrels. Something as large that temperature swings and water swings will still support the microherd. 4) "If I was you I'd repot with less thick mulch it can overload the soil with rotting type organisms which have been known to eat at the roots." ---- Thickness of mulch is not an issue and unless you're using diseased organic matter as your mulch, does not promote bad, unhealthy soil. I've mulched with a thickness of four inches or so before with no ill effects. However, you don't want mulch touching the stalk of your plants, so pull back on mulch about 3-4 inches from the stalk. 5) "PS mulch is no good for pots IMO if you want to cover the top to prevent mould etc you could use small pebbles" ----- Try telling that to my very healthy potted MULCHED plants. Also, I can see the merits of rocks as a mulch, but they heat up very high. And much like most of the growers in the U.S., we're looking to cool our soils a tad in the dog days of summer. I can see it's merits possibly in the spring when we're trying to warm the soil, but unless you live in a very mild climate or are an indoor grower, I just can't see it as an effective MULCH. Once again, sorry Chris. But mulch is your friend. Kevin