Leaves browning and falling off, peppers miniature and premature

9 years ago

Over the last few weeks I've started noticing my pepper plant is in serious distress. I planted it in a good sized container with regular potting soil and a drain. It sits in full sun all day, and I water it about once a week or when the soil is no longer moist 2inches down. For Feb-March the plant flourished with no issues under these conditions. Now, with no other changes, it has started to slowly die off first by losing its pepper buds, then now all the leaves are browning on the edges before falling off completely dead. The peppers that are still viable are very small in size and ripen very quickly. I thought the plant was rootbound two weeks ago, so I repotted it into an even larger pot with a drain. It turns out that the plant had plenty of space to grow in the old pot, and the roots were very damp. Since repotting, the plant has continued to wither away. I can't figure out the cause. There are no pests. The only thing I've noticed is that the soil retains moisture for a good amount of time. Could this be root rot? Any advice?

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Comments (12)

stoneys_fatali
9 years ago
How often do you fert?

I would use some miracle grow water soluble fertilizer and that should help.
That's what I did to a similar looking plant and it looks 100% better.

Stoney
jean001a
9 years ago
What did you use to fill the container?
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woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
9 years ago
More info please. Like jean asked, what type of potting mix, fertilizing regimen, have you done any foliar spraying, etc. The more info, the better.

Kevin
DMForcier
9 years ago
Could definitely be root rot, but it could be something else too. Actually looks to me like herbicide damage.

Dennis
jottle
Original Author
9 years ago
So I've used miracle grow on it once about 8 weeks ago and again two weeks ago. The potting soil is called "Kellogg garden organics patio plus premium potting soil"

No herbicides ever used.

This post was edited by Jottle on Tue, May 27, 14 at 17:46
stoneys_fatali
9 years ago
Could be bad fertilizer burn.

Stoney
woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
9 years ago
I'm still flummoxed. Root rot, herbicide damage, etc.

Jottle: Did you happen to water it a ton and leave it unshaded during the recent Santa Anas?

Kevin
jottle
Original Author
9 years ago
@woohoo

I did water it well before the santa ana's, but then immediately put it on my porch for the duration of the winds. So it had partial shade each day. I've been continuing to water regularly, but this thing is just dying off with not obvious cause.
jottle
Original Author
9 years ago
Any other ideas anyone? This hasn't gotten better.
woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
9 years ago
Are there drain holes in that container?

Also, can you take a pic in the shade or evening? What variety is it?

Kevin

This post was edited by woohooman on Tue, Jun 17, 14 at 17:22
jottle
Original Author
9 years ago
@woohooman

Drain holes are in the bottom. The good news is the plant hasn't completely died off. It's still producing very tiny peppers, but it does have some new growth at the very top (see pics). Anyone have other ideas? I've been watering regularly, keeping the soil damp 2inches down.
alynne68
9 years ago
Hi Jottle,

Maybe too much water? This year I have been sticking a chopstick 4 - 6" into my 24" pots and have not watered until it comes up dry all the way at the bottom. I've had great results.

Alison