Transplant while peppers are growing?

[sniffs]

So I have a Cayenne pepper plant that is about 2 feet tall and producing a ton of buds.. issue is that the pot is real small. I need to transplant it because I'm worried it's root bound.. will doing this cause the pods to fall off prematurely? Should I wait until after I harvest it to transplant?

[pepperhead212]

The reason it is producing a lot of buds may be due to being rootbound - stress causes peppers (and other plants) to put out a lot of buds. I would definitely put it in a much larger pot, or the ground, as those peppers will not grow very large. And maybe even pluck some of the buds, unless the peppers are a small variety of cayenne.

[sniffs]

So the peppers are about 3 inches long and maybe half an inch thick. None are ripe yet as they are all still green..The pot is a 6" pot. The reason I haven't transplanted is because I was worried it would just abort all the peppers.

I have a much larger pot available just wasn't sure if I should do it or not. If it's going to cause them to abort, I'll wait until these are red and ripe and then I'll transplant it.

Here's a picture I took a few minutes ago.

https://goo.gl/photos/yuPQbSL1GtLXonJ29

[Lindsaylew82]

Heeeeeeeeeeeey!

I think it'll be fine. Glad to see you up potting!

[applestar]

Soak the pot in bowl or bucket of water so the entire root ball is well watered, then slide the rootball out. Only unwind roots wrapped around and tease out the bottom not sides -- I prefer to use a fork or sharpened bamboo chopsticks, skewers for little seedlings -- only cradle the rootball and handle the roots minimally with moistened hands, do NOT hold by the stem -- then plant in pre- moistened potting mix (not sopping wet,must moist enough that a handful will hold shape then crumble).

I've transplanted with green fruits before -- they were not aborted. Flower buds and just pollinated/set flowers may abort -- they are more sensitive.

[pepperhead212]

I'm sure that you are correct about it being rootbound in a six inch pot! Following apple's dirrections should get it in the new pot with no problems.

If those peppers are the "long hots" - six to eight by about one inch - but you find them ripening very small, you might want to pluck a bunch of those buds off. I had a similar thing happen years ago with a pepper I started early, but had to get it out of the main lighting, to make room for the seedling, so I stuck it under a high pressure sodium light - the only other bright light I had. I didn't know, at the time, that these lights are used to "force" plants to bloom, due to the high amount of red. I got over two hundred blossoms on that one plant! I tried plucking them, but gave up; the peppers ended up one third normal size, though very numerous.

[imafan26]

Peppers can be uppotted easily. I do soak the pepper well first since then the roots are more supple. I do not tease them apart. Instead I will score the sides of the rootball to cut the roots and I remove any mass of roots from the bottom of the rootball. Then pot it up and water well. It is best to do this on a cool evening since to give the peppers a little extra time in the dark. It may wilt or it may not if you are lucky. Most of the time they are up by the next morning. It is best not to do the repotting in the heat of the day since that would be an extra stressor.

[sniffs]

Thanks everyone for the tips. This is my first real go at gardening and I've been reading(and watching videos) SO much and asking for so much advice, I really appreciate it. This is turning into a real hobby for me.. I've purchased a ton of stuff lately to feed my soil and assist with growth. Can you guys let me know what you think of this stuff?

Super thrive - I read that this stuff is good for stimulating growth after a transplant, recommended to use it on the Cayennes?
Fish Fertilizer - Once a week I take a tsp and put it inside a gallon of water to water all my plants with
Worm Castings - Once a month I toss a couple pinches around the top of the soil
Compost Tea - Haven't used it yet, just got it yesterday
Gro Power Plus(Hummus fertilizer) - I've had this stuff for about a month and haven't really used it yet

All my peppers look extremely healthy. None have bugs, none have any leaf issues..

[sniffs]

Any thoughts/recommendations on the above items?

[imafan26]

Super thrive is a root stimulator. One drop per gallon of water. Only use it once. It can be like round up, forcing a plant to grow till it is exhausted. Only use it on a plant that has room to grow and is well fed.

My friend uses it to grow his orchids faster so they bloom earlier, but if those orchids are not continually fed they starve and die.