Habanero pictures

Thai chile plant photos

On the Thai chile plant, my guess would be the roots. Does that pot have drainage holes? I would check that and if so, repot. Welcome to the site!

Thanks for the response. It does have a drainage hole but for 2 years it has lived on top of a plate the pooled the water. Do you think it might be root rot? I think the soil might need a change. Any tips on how to change the soil and when 2? It has 7 chillies on it at the moment

The hab doesn't look bad. Keep up the aphids treatments.

The thai looks vigorous at its core. (Sometimes it's easier to toss the plant and start over, but this one looks savable.) Clip off those dead branches and it won't look so bad.

If there is water pooled in the plate, then drainage isn't the problem - over-watering IS. The soil in the pic looks too wet. Peps need water, but too much will kill the roots. Let the plant tell you when it's thirsty.

Fresh soil wouldn't hurt at all. There are two ways to go - 1) Basic re-pot. Put your hand flat around the base of the plant and invert the pot, popping the whole thing out. Knock off the excess dirt - as much as you can get, and don't worry about hurting the peripheral roots. I use a pruning saw to shape the ball. Then set the ball in a pot with some good dirt, like Miracle Grow Potting Soil, and you're good to go.

2) Full re-pot. Trim the foliage down so that the roots don't have much to support. Pop out the root ball and wash the roots off with a hose so that they are bare. Trim them down to 6" or so. Place into fresh soil or grow medium such as 5:1:1. Do some research before trying this.

And where are you?

I'm in Melbourne. I re-potted the plant in fresh soil. I got most of the old soil of the roots. I clipped the dead branches off. Fingers crossed. I think I do overwater it. I water it pretty much every day. How often do you think I should water it?

Thanks for your help

This post was edited by tubes00 on Sun, Dec 16, 12 at 2:53

Basic rule of thumb is water when it is fairly dry, how long that takes depends on a lot of factors- plant size, type, light intensity, air temperature, relative humidity, pot size, soil type... You get the idea. Most plants do better getting to the edge of too dry in between waterings rather than always having wet feet. Get in the habit of lifting the pot a little to feel its weight, if it still feels heavy, even if the surface looks dry, it still has plenty of water. With practice, you will get better at knowing by looking and a little shifting, and you get a feel for how much water in which season.

The plant will tell you. If it gets too dry it will go into full droop mode, but before that it will just look "not too happy": the sum of a little wilt on each of a hundred leaves. You'll get to where you can spot it just by looking. When in doubt, don't water.

Pot weight is a good indicator too. Also gives you a workout.