"I also have a habanero, two jalapenos, hot banana, sweet banana, two kinds of bell pepper, and a gypsy pepper in the same garden, and have had no problems with any of them. Just the cayenne."

I posted something on here clled "never grow cayenne" or something like that :)

Mine are just turning red now, were I had plenty of red pods from varieties that are supposed to take longer. From what I have seen, never grow Cayenne ever again and you should be happy :)

MG-

I wish I had read that a few months ago. :-)

The only reason I am not growing cayenne this year is because I have lots of dried ones already. So, I made room for something else this year. But, I can guarantee, I will be growing cayenne again once my supply starts to dwindle or I have more gardening space.

Chisey - I know I just saw a post recently with a link to a variety of molds/bacteria's and symptoms..I just can't find where it is hidden at the moment. Another possibility is blossom end rot. I have had quite a few cayenne peppers where the tip shrivels up / turns brown. Probably the same as what you are seeing. If it isn't too bad, you can cut the end off and the rest of the pepper is ok. If it's bad, it really stinks having to ditch the whole pepper.

Chisey - I know I just saw a post recently with a link to a variety of molds/bacteria's and symptoms..I just can't find where it is hidden at the moment. Another possibility is blossom end rot. I have had quite a few cayenne peppers where the tip shrivels up / turns brown. Probably the same as what you are seeing. If it isn't too bad, you can cut the end off and the rest of the pepper is ok. If it's bad, it really stinks having to ditch the whole pepper.

Any pepper that even begins to change color gets softening/rotting/brown spots before even 2 inches of the pepper is turning red. I suppose I could wait and see what it looks like when the rest of it ripens, but to this point I have found that more and more of it rots and there is no hope of using it.

Yes, don't blame the pepper. There's something going on there. I grew a ton of cayenne's last year, and they made fabulous vinegar hot sauces. I didn't have any issues with browning. What are you using for a soil mix?

Another variety that can be a substituted for Cayenne are the Super Chili's. They are larger, and more productive, but similar in taste and can be used wherever you would normally use cayennes. If there is something about your locale or climate, this might work for you.

Hi Capoman,

I'm trying not to blame the peppers! :-) I'm a pepper (and gardening) newbie, so my first instinct would be to blame myself . . . but my other peppers are doing great.

I'm in East TN (Zone 7a), and all of my peppers (9 plants) are growing in a 4x8 foot raised garden bed in a mix of topsoil and compost. I have fertilized with a slow-release synthetic, as well as alfalfa meal and fish emulsion. The cayenne lives between a jalapeno plant that has done well (I haven't had the patience to wait for them to ripen, though), a Big Bertha bell that has been slow but given me some nice peppers, and a habanero that is producing ripe fruit like mad.

I will say, if it matters, that I sustained some frost damage a couple of weeks after planting, and growth was stunted in all 9 plants. But they all responded and took off in June, and have looked very healthy ever since. None of the others have shown any signs of disease or stress.

Thanks for any input.

Hi Chisey,

At my work they have raised garden beds made of topsoil and compost and all the tomatoes and most of the peppers have a bad case of BER. Even though raised beds are supposed to drain better then containers due to wicking, they can still have drainage problems due to soil that's too fine textured and water retentive. BER, (blossom end rot) seems to be more common in water retentive soils then soils that are sandier or faster draining.

It might be too late this year, but I would suggest doing a couple of things for next year. One is to put a bunch of course organic matter in the bed such as pine mulch to give it better drainage and aeration. Another alternative is to do the cayennes in containers in the 5-1-1 mix discussed in the container forums. I already know they grow great in that stuff.

Would I not also see problems in my other plants if drainage were an issue?

I do have some more course material in there . . . a soil conditioner product that is mainly small chunks of bark (and a small amount of gypsum). I'd say there are 2.5-3 bags of it mixed in. Drainage hasn't appeared to be a problem in any other way, but maybe this cayenne is just sensitive.

At any rate, all I can do now is just be patient with all those green ones and hope they start to ripen (and not rot) sometime this month.

Thanks for your help!

I think Capoman got it right on. Your other varieties maybe can stand the heavy soil. I found cayenne to have pod drop and end rot easier then other varieties. They also put out a lot of peppers to though.

I agree with Capoman though. Plants that are in heavier soil have more end rot and pod drop.

I planted these cayenne in topsoil. I notice here and there I get pod drop. Also, I had one of the peppers rot too. When roots die from compaction that is what happens.
This was about 2 months ago give or take.

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This was taken maybe 1 month ago, they are growing nice, but still am getting some pod drop.
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Now They are doing fine, but compaired to the Cayenne in potting mix they are a little behind and have more pod drop.