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tomato ferts to stop habanero flowers dropping???

6 years ago

Hi folks I have 4 habanero plants wich are super healthy indoors 2of them have one pepper each and that's it. they were absolutely coverd in flowers and buds and I made sure I went around each and every one of them with a very soft artists paint brush twice!!! I checked them the next day and to my absolute horror they have shed the lot !!!!! I went to my local garden centre looking for numexs twilight seeds ( I recently posted a request on here asking if anyone had any spare but as no one answered my post I think I must have offended folks for asking so therefore I apologise and I won't ask for seeds again) anyway the guy at the garden centre said that tomato food will STOP flowers dropping on my habs. Is this true or do I take this with a pinch of salt? I would appreciate some feedback as this is doing my head in TG

Featured Answer

willardb3

6 years ago

Flower drop probable causes:

1. Day temp too high >95F

2. Night temp too low <65F or too high >85F

3. Too much nitrogen fertilizer

4. Too much water

5. Low light levels (reduces fertility).

6. Very low humidity (reduces fertility)

7. Poor air circulation (air circulation contributes to
pollination).

8. Lack of pollinating insects.

9. Size of pot

10. Too much mineral in feedwater.

11. Too much grower attention/anxiety.

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Comments (10)

green_passion
6 years ago
Flower dropping may cause by many reasons, I have no idea tomato fertilizer can stop it but tomato fertilizer is good for chili plants too.
isgen
6 years ago
I don't think fertilizer by itself would stop the blossom drop. I think most C.chinense peppers like quite a bit of humidity for their pollen to be fertile, which is probably hot as high as they would like in a normal household environment. There could be other factors as well.
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I've read many research studies on the subject of blossom drop with a unanimous conclusion that night time temps and humidity effect the rate of blossom drop more than day time conditions. I'm confused why you're focused on more watering in the day than addressing conditions during the night or looking into other potential causes, but the humidity/temps recommended are considered "Ideal" and doesn't mean they won't produce well outside the "ideal" parameters. If you calculate the VDP based only on Temp/RH the results will be skewed if leaf temp isn't used, and a 1 degree difference could change you VDP from low to a healthy transpiration rate and daytime conditions could be just fine. If your concerned of day time conditions use your shade screens, the photoprotection process plants use will adjust and reduced photosynthesis will be negligible or not even change and the Temp will drop slightly which will raise RH and lower leaf temps making things "Ideal". Or properly positioned fans will achieve leaf temp drop again changing your VDP to a healthy level. Lastly you could use a "swamp" or evaporate cooling to raise RH and lower temperatures in the greenhouse. Night time conditions could be causing your blossom drop but you don't mention the night temps, and there are other reasons for blossom drop you may of missed. so read this: Blossom drop & reduced fruit set in tomatoes I lived on Oahu for a few years and never remembered oppressive humidity at night, and nothing compared to Georgia or Florida (and hated) so I'm scratching my head here. If you want to learn how they do it in these locations read this and search out other publications for each state, you will find them with all the information needed. Controlling the environment in greenhouses for tomatoes
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Terry Gaffney
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks ffor answering my post so quickly green_passion I'm gutted about the flower drop and I'm just looking for something that I can do to help my poor plants :-(. So do you think I should just go ahead and use the tomato fertiliser? I had used miracle gro ferts when they were smaller but I read on a few posts on here that mg can cause to much nitrogen and that could cause flowers to drop? any way thanks for any feedback it's appreciated TG
Terry Gaffney
Original Author
6 years ago
Hi isgen thanks for your answer I do spray them every morning with a fine mist spray of water they seem to enjoy that another thing that I've been very careful with is watering Im paranoid when it comes to watering as I don't want to drown them I seem to have been good with that lol. maybe I should just stop worrying about them and try the tomato food once a week or whenever they need it. Thanks again guys for your input TG
Terry Gaffney
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks willardb3 I will take all that onboard. Especially number 11!!!! Lol that one describes me down to a tee :-) TG
isgen
6 years ago
Any chances the plants could go outside at some point in the near future? It's generally much more favorable to fruiting.
Terry Gaffney
Original Author
6 years ago
I'm in SCOTLAND in the UK so I wouldn't dare put my precious hot chillies outside!!!!!! there's a well known saying in Scotland we get 4seasons in one day only yesterday in the west coast of Scotland where I live we had HAILSTONES!! and now today it's freezing cold with some sunny spells with a couple of heavy rain shower thrown in for good measure our weather is rubbish every year in Scotland we are all pale blue skin wich is the norm ha ha lol cos it's always freezing TG
isgen
6 years ago
Oh, I see, yeah, it might be somewhat brutal for peppers out there!
Scott Parker
6 years ago
Love #11, Willardb3! I'm afraid I'm becoming a helicopter pepper grower.

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