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Dry brown patches and few purple stems- bhut jolokia (pics)

13 years ago

I got these as 3-4'' plants and lost a few leaves from the slightest wind blowing or rain (from a heavy potting mix I first started out on, and the from the original stress from being root bound in the tiny square pot they came in)...

Now my soil mix is 45% perlite to a 30% of ph balanced organic soil and 25% peat moss. I also put a thin mulch layer overtop to conserve some moisture. They are about 6-8'' now. Damn, they are slow, but they seem to be doing much better besides these issues.

I started them out 4 hours of direct light for a week. Now they are in 10.5 hours. I don't see any pests or traces on the leaves. I water once a day when the moisture meter reads 4 or below about 8'' down in the container. They are in 5 gal white containers (with adequate drain holes) and get 1 gal split watering between 3 plants normally sometimes more if they are really dry. I don't mist.

I haven't fed them anything besides some drops of Superthrive in the waterings because of the beginning stresses and root boundedness. The FIRST ISSUE is the brown dry spots. We had some pretty heated weather lately, but some were there before the heat wave so I'm not sure if that's a case here or not. I'm really stumped on what's causing these dry brown areas. The SECOND ISSUE is the purple stems, I'm guessing this is a phosphorus deficiency, no?

10-5-14

5-15-14

2-45-28

These are the nutrients I have: a grower, bloomer, and bloom booster. I hope this is detailed enough for a proper diagnostic. Do you think I have enough time for maturing outdoors (Eastern US)- 6-8'' tall now?

Thanks for your help

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Comments (8)

resj
Original Author
13 years ago
Ok... Here's a leaf that just fell off with the slightest touch. I just fed with a 1 part 10-5-14 to 1 part 5-15-14 for more P since that may be an issue. These nutrients have Mg/Iron/Cal, ect in them so keep that in mind if that helps any. Well, take a look

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cheeze2002
13 years ago
1. Throw away the moisture meter.

2.Take them out of the ph balanced "soil" / sterile bucket and plant them in the ground.

3.Stop dumping chemicals on them and wait on mother nature to fix all your mistakes.
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trfanatic
13 years ago
What cheeze2002 said is dead on. I have about 30 Bhut Jolokia plants in my yard right now, some of them 5 years old. I pot them in any kind of soil once it is not "heavy" ie dense. I water with water and very infrequently fish emulsion/seaweed mix - or not. Occassional epsom salt spray - or not.
Once these plants get going they are hardy and prodigious producers, my seedlings are full of peppers.

Just let the plant grow.

Hope this helps.

Ravi
napalmxv3
13 years ago
What cheeze said may sound harsh but it's definately the truth.

My potted bhut is in standard Miracle Gro potting soil with a bit of bonemeal and fish emulsion. That's it. I water it when it goes dry.

The rest are in the garden with plain garden soil and a little fertilizer and I may have used bonemeal upon transplanting.

They're all prolific.

Fact is, too much attention can be worse than neglecting the plant. Especially when you start throwing in chemicals without being positive of what the problem actually is.

I've had quite a few pepper plants show purple stems, especially where they branch off near the top of the plant. I believe that's just from the sun.

As far as the leaves go. They could be overwatered. Personally, I water when the plant starts showing stress.
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
13 years ago
Purple stems?
I've noticed that my Arbol and my Thai's have striped purple stems as well as distinct purple nodes.
My Hungarian has purple node-joints, too. My Choc Hab's have a brownish tinge where the stem joins the leaf.

I agree...cut back on the watering. If you're watering because the containers are hot, I would
recommend shading/moving the containers.

Josh
felipebarroeta
12 years ago
I agree with everyone here.

I tried with four or five seeds and only when I let the plant by itself did it grow to be the strong plant it is now. Only that today I noticed a flower was on the floor. Did someone know why that happens?

That's the only thing, because the plant has given plenty of peppers. I love it!

Regards from Venezuela!
mcuk
12 years ago
felipebarroeta: plants abort their flowers for lots of reasons, it's mainly because they haven't been pollinated (such as it being too hot and dry), but can also mean that too many flowers are already pollinated etc.
esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
12 years ago
Sometimes flowers drop off because they are tired of getting stared at by their owners.
Bruce

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