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andy28617

blossom drop

andy28617
13 years ago

I am growing 2 bhut jolokia plants in containers on my second floor balcony, they are growing fine and get plenty of light, but the blossoms keep falling off, it was 90-plus degrees yesterday and 2 fell off, but it was about 88 degrees and 3 fell off. Should I move them out of the heat when it tops 90 degrees, Or is it normal to lose a few blossoms when the plants begin flowering?

-Thanks Guys

-andy28617

Comments (12)

  • andy28617
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    And I'll gladly trade seeds for good advice

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    13 years ago

    Totally normal to lose the first blossoms...

    However, high heat is one reason for flower loss.
    Willard has a great list posted here.

    Josh

  • charlesnyc
    13 years ago

    Assuming you're getting hit by the heat in Boston just like we are in NYC, you're blossoms are just not going to set. If temps are above 95deg during the day or below 60deg at night, you're gonna have big trouble getting the peppers to set fruit.

    Don't worry too much, it's already starting to cool off. I lost a few flowers on my Habanero too.

  • andy28617
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Phew, good to know, Thanks guys

  • andy28617
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    One more question Charles.. Should I stop with the plant food now that they're beginning to blossom? I read that adding plant food to the water at this stage would promote leaf growth and stunt the blossoms.
    Thanks-
    andy28617

    ps. I hope the Knicks get LeBron, Would make a good rivalry

  • charlesnyc
    13 years ago

    Chiles are a bit different in that they don't have two distinct flowering and growth stages. flowering and growth continue at the same time (it's a perennial sorta thing). At least this is what I've read.

    As long as you aren't using an N heavy fertilizer, I'd keep doing whatever you're doing.

  • richardk_ny
    13 years ago

    Just make sure they don't dry out and wilt too much, and if the temps are in the high 80s, to 90s they wont set very much anyway.

    When the temps are 68F Night and 78F or lower Day, this is the near perfect ideal temps for flowers to form and set.

    Note: If you have a bunch of flowers develop in a period of bad heat or during a bad nutrient deficiency, chances are they wont set very well when it comes time to blooming. If that's the case, you will have to wait for that batch of flowers to drop and wait for the next batch to develop and bloom before you get any decent setting.

    For example, I had some C. Chinense's growing indoors under VERY hot conditions, and when I placed them outside under perfect ideal temps, they would not set AT ALL for a week or more, that is until all the old flowers bloomed and dropped and a whole new set of flowers grew and developed *outside* under the ideal conditions.

    Hope that helps :)

  • willardb3
    13 years ago

    Flower drop probable causes:

    1. Day temp too high >95F
    2. Night temp too low 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

    1. Too much mineral in feedwater.
    2. Too much grower attention.
  • sleekit
    13 years ago

    Well put Willard. Low humidity has been one of my biggest problems, last summer was exceptionally dry. Also, I wasn't getting many pollinating insects. I added both fennel and marigolds (both are really easy to grow) to the garden and noticed a significant increase in productivity, while at the same time noted a marked decrease in non-beneficial bugs. I'm seeing lots of hoverflies and green lacewings in the garden now. I'm considering making a mason bee houses as well, as mason bees might save all our crops if the european honey bee population continues to decline at it's current rate.

  • wordwiz
    13 years ago

    Willard's info, at least low temps, is not true. Last summer, for almost every night in July and many in August, our overnight temps were in the mid 50s to low 60s yet I had a fantastic crop of tomatoes and peppers. This winter, I had a huge amount of fruit set among my tomato plants in the GH and the target for overnight temps was 52 but it varied from 49-58, depending on how well I adjusted the heaters and how close the forecasters were in their prediction. It never was above 62 degrees for the low temp.

    Mike

  • moffetts
    13 years ago

    And our daytime temps are always above 95 degrees, and yet I have peppers coming out of my ears.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    13 years ago

    How do you know that those flowers set when the temps were above 95°F?
    Couldn't it have been during the morning?

    I happen to think that a lot of the "magic" happens as the temps are rising and falling -
    not when they're at the peak or in the trough.

    Josh

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