Do Anaheim & Bell Pepper Plants Need Cages or Staking?

[manomes]

I've never grown peppers before, but I planted (in pots) an Anaheim and a red bell about 3 weeks ago as seedlings. The Anaheim is now about 10" tall and the bell is about 6". Do pepper plants need staking similar to tomatoes?

I'm also now not sure my 10" pots are large enough.?

Thanks!!

[hendi_alex]

They do not need as much staking as tomato plants, but their branches will tend to split if not given some support at least 18-24 inches high. Sometimes I just use a single 3 foot stake. Short tomato baskets will work as will the ring type supports that have one or two rings and which are about 30 inches tall before stuck in the ground.

[manomes]

Thanks hendi - I'll try a single stake and see how that works first.

[luvthesnapper]

Sometimes I just use a single 3 foot stake

Same here. A single stake seems to work fine for the ones that need it. I let them tip to one side first, because some may end up not needing it.

[SPierce]

Keep a tomato cage handy, just in case... I ended up with a 6ft tall bell pepper last year, by some crazy freak of nature! Thing keeps growing taller, but the tomato cage support seems to really help.

[jal_ut]

I only grow sweet bell peppers and jalapeno. I have never staked them, but my season is so short, they don't get very tall.

[gardenvt]

I ususally put a couple of stakes around them and they are fine. It helps to keep them upright on windy days.

[SOB]

Since my tomato cages are worthless for tomatoes I have been putting them around my bell peppers. My bell peppers last year grew too big and two of them fell over with no stake or cage.

[greenstubbs]

I have about 6 plants in a large pot, I just use one in in the middle of the thing. When they get long and start to lean, I just take a piece of string and bundle the whole group of them together without crushing them together. Never had a problem with that method yet.

[albucsfan]

Most of my bells & jalapeños do ok without stakes, but my anaheims like to try to lay down once they get about 2 or 3 ft tall. Just a simple stake & a tie where they start to really branch out has worked out well (using a piece of rebar & a strip from my little girls outgrown ballet tights for the tie)

[manomes]

Thanks all. I'll be going out to get something to keep them upward.

From your comments, it sounds like these plant might get bigger than I thought. Do you think I should transplant them in bigger containers (they're in 10" pots)? Or since I transplanted the seedlings a few weeks ago, will it stress them too much?

[SPierce]

Thanks all. I'll be going out to get something to keep them upward.

From your comments, it sounds like these plant might get bigger than I thought. Do you think I should transplant them in bigger containers (they're in 10" pots)? Or since I transplanted the seedlings a few weeks ago, will it stress them too much?

for now they should be OK. Keep an eye out, and if they start to get root bound, then uppot them as needed! No need at this point to put them under extra stress I think.

[cwayland]

Mine always either break or flop over. I use the cone shaped "tomato" cages (that are worthless for tomatoes) to support my pepper and eggplants. I have found jalapeños don't need support.