HelpfulGardener.com

Hello, I recently purchased a Carolina Reaper plant from my local hardware store. The plant had a few of leaves that were showing black leaves to begin with but they’ve gotten worse during the plant week I’ve had it. I made a lot of mistakes like using soil left outside for years in a bag, using a plastic pot I hadn’t sanitized, and over watered the plant since I’ve had it. The leaves are beginning to yellow and are brittle along with showing more black along the edges and center of the leaves. I also recently purchased a fungicide to try and help the plant. The plant is also in full-sun in Southern California in the middle of July. Any idea what may be causing this and what I should do with it?

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I think you’ve raised valid concerns like possibly already diseased plant, possible contaminants/fungal spores, overwatering a stressed plant, and full sun.

Whether there had been existing fungal issues, unless you want to try to return the plant, let’s see what we can do.

First, potting mix —

• What was the composition of the potting mix/soil you used?

• What made you conclude/how was the plant “overwatered”?

• Does the pot drain properly?

• How big is that pot?

FULL SUN —

You never want to put newly purchased plants in full sun. They need to acclimate to intensity and duration of direct sunlight, especially if they had been in protected display areas.

Peppers in general tend to not need full sun. Especially stressed plant should be protected from sun exposure, extreme heat, and water stress experienced by container plants in full direct sunlight. Try

• protecting from mid-day sun (overhead shade, shade cloth, etc.)

or

• provide just morning sun from sun up to no later than noon or 1pm

or

• put in dappled shade of a tree

FUNGICIDE —

I looked it up and active ingredients are essential oils with glycerin as emulsifier. This means treated plant is susceptible to sunburn and may also be to high temperatures. You may need to keep even more protected until it shows healthy new leaves.

I would snip off and discard significantly damaged and yellowed leaves like some that are on the photos.

You can clip off the bottom most 2 or three (or more) branches altogether. They just divert water and nutrients. there should be a strong V branch that is naturally growing that firms the plant into Y shape. All lower side branches are unnecessary.

I started a regimen this year to just keep the leaves if healthy and cut or pull at the sucker shoots side ways to break off.

Thanks for the welcoming. Alright, so I guess I made more mistakes with this plant that I need to come clean about.

Potting Mix -

What was the composition of the potting mix/soil you used? - I used 1/2 Kelogg Organic Based Potting Mix, 1/4 Miracle Gro Performance Organics Potting Mix, and 1/2 Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix. Unfortunately, I filled the pot up in that order and did not mix the soil as I should have.

What made you conclude/how was the plant “overwatered”? - I watered it thoroughly using a water hose on low until I noticed water draining from the bottom of the pot. I did this once every third day or so since it's been so hot in southern California. From what I read, I should have done this once or maybe twice a week.

Does the pot drain properly? - It appears to drain properly as I would notice it draining from the bottom after watering it. It has several holes around the bottom sides as well as the bottom so as far as I can tell it's draining as intended.

How big is that pot? - I believe it is a 15-gallon pot. It was transplanted from a 3-gallon pot.

FULL SUN —

The plant was on display at the hardware store in full sun. It may have had a few hours of shade in the later afternoon due to a nearby display. Because of this, I figured full sun would be ok.

Would you still recommend I move the plant to a partial sun location?

FUNGICIDE —

Do you believe the discoloration and darkness on the leaves are due to sunscald from full sun, the fungicide, or a possible fungus I'm unable to identify?

I'm having a hard time diagnosing the cause of the darkening patches on the leaves. There is some yellowing of the leaves at this point but it is very minimal.

Welcome to the forum!

I can't add much to the advice apple gave you, but I see in that last photo that most of the leaves are gone! The ones left up top don't look that bad from a distance, but if those spots are visible on a lot of them, I would spray them with some hydrogen peroxide - a simple and cheap, as well as organic spray. 10-12 tb/gal of water makes a good solution using the 3% solution you can get in Dollar Stores. It kills most bacteria and fungus, and is fairly safe for beneficial insects, as long as you don't spray them directly on them. Don't spray it in direct sun - like most sprays, but unlike oil sprays, it isn't a problem the next day in 90+ temperatures - it sort of dissipates, or evaporates, and is does not remain on the leaves. Don't mix too much, and don't add anything else to it - H2O2 reacts with almost anything, neutralizing it.

Good luck getting that growing! A lot of times, new branches will start growing down below, once the plants regain their health.

Thanks pepperhead212. How often would you recommend I spray the plant with the solution?