Too hot for peppers

13 years ago

I planted oodles of peppers this year, I've had good results in the past, and wanted to can a lot of salsa. I've got Anaheim, Jalapenos, and a bell mix of colors.I've mulched them and am keeping them evenly moist, but it's been in the 90's here (And according to a thermometer I placed under them, it's gotten up to 120* where they are!), and they are all dropping their blossoms! Before the buds even blossom, most of the time. They just dry up and fall off. I haven't had a single one turn into a pepper yet. I'm debating pulling them and putting in something else (Suggestions as to what I can plant in front of Tomatoes in this kind of heat, this late in the season?) Or I could stick it out and see if anything happens. Thoughts?

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Comments (5)

Poppy Mark
13 years ago
I live in Texas, where our temperatures regularly hit the mid to upper 90s in the summer, and were 100+ for more than 60 days last summer. I've never had problems with peppers setting in heat. The walls seem to be thinner (less "meat") and the hot peppers seem hotter, but I think that's just a water retention thing. I grew anaheims last year and they set like crazy but were almost too thin to use, since I roast and skin them. This year we're "cool" in the mid-90s but I have a ton of jalapeÃ±os and poblanos; more than I can use.

I'd personally stick it out. How do the plants look? Maybe there's another issue.
happyintexas
13 years ago
Yeah, I'm with mflocco...peppers LOVE heat. It's been over a hundred here and mine are setting fruit like crazy.

Make sure they are getting deep waterings and help out with pollenation. Shake the plant or dab a blossom on other blossoms to help with pollination.

I'd kept them regardless. If it is too hot, then the peppers will kick into gear as the weather breaks.
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todds_sweetpea
Original Author
13 years ago
Well, the problem is that the blossoms are shriveling up and dropping as buds, before they even open! A Google search on the subject found a lot of links indicting that they like it no higher than 90*, which is where I came up with that. Like I said, it's been in the 90s, however the bed is in front of a wall of windows in a sun room, and my little digital thermometer revealed temps of 120* at times. Hot they might like, but THAT hot?

I have great compost in there, and there shouldn't be a nutrient deficiency, but I added a little Epsom salts to 1/2 the plants to see if that was needed. The plants look healthy, other than a few of the lower leaves have fallen off on a couple plants, which I attribute to inconsistent watering at the start. It's just frustrating, because they are taking up about 1/3 of the space in that bed that could be growing (and actually producing!) something else.
wordwiz
13 years ago
A buddy in another forum has a few hundred hot pepper plants, growing in containers in the Ft. Worth, TX area. Every year, his plants "go dormant" for a few weeks in the middle of summer. But once temps cool down, they burst into blooms again and they turn into ripe fruit.

Mike
Scott
3 years ago
I too have the same problem. I'm here in Dallas TX and have nothing but pepper plants. Jays Red Ghost Scorpion, Reaper, 7-Pot Pueblo, Red Savina Habeneros etc. The plants are tall, luscious and seem to be very healthy. I use organic tomato fert and water every other day with CalMag. I get tons of flowers - they just fall off. They get morning sun, noon shade and a few hours of afternoon sun.

I see folks posting pictures of their hearty mid-summer bounty and its deflating. I dont have one set fruit.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯