Yellow leaves after potting?

[fiorya]

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting here, so bear with me if I am posting in the wrong place.

Yesterday I went to Lowe's and picked out an orange bell pepper plant. It seemed pretty healthy. The leaves were completely green.

But a few hours after I bought it, I noticed it starting to turn yellow. I thought maybe it was just a nutrition problem and that it would clear up once I gave it some space, water, and fertilizer. I potted it last night, and today the leaves are getting yellower and some of them have spots on them.

Some pictures:

Any idea what this could be? Is it a natural occurrence, or should I be worried?

[Lindsaylew82]

Hi! Welcome to The Helpful Gardener!

You may just be experiencing some shock from the store conditions or maybe some transplant shock. I would give it a week or two, and look to see how your new growth looks! If things are growing in nicely, I would trim away those older leaves. Best thing you can do right now is watch, wait, and make sure you're not watering it to death, but don't wait until it's droopy and wilted to water it either.

What size is that pot? Smaller pots can ultimately stress these plants as they get larger and begin bearing big peppers. The water requirements for them increases rapidly when fruiting, and try as you might, you can't keep up. I wouldn't go less than 5 gallons of dirt per large pepper plant like bells, unless it's a miniature or dwarf plant.

Hope that helps answer your question!

Lindsay