Serrano Pepper Leaves Curling After Transplanting to New Pot

[Bilbo2348]

Hi guys!

I'm growing serrano peppers from seed this year (I'm very new at this...). They were doing very well, until I transplanted them.





This is what they looked like 2 days ago (they're a bit worse now). There has been no change in colour -- they are still a nice vibrant green -- but the problem is that the leaves are curling up. The curling seemed to start from the bottom of the plants and work its way up. Currently the top leaves still look OK, but I have no idea what's wrong!

Plant History: Started them from seed in a sterile seed starting mix in small cells. Fertilized with a half-dose of generic Miracle-Gro NPK fertilizer about 2-3 weeks ago (they loved it). They were getting quite large for their containers, so I transplanted them around 5 days ago. Prior to the transplant, the peppers were looking great with no leaves curling. For the transplant, I used Miracle-Gro potting soil, which has slow-release NPK fertilizer already in it, but no calcium, magnesium, and a few other micronutrients I noticed. So I added a small dose of Cal-Mag to the water which I used to water the peppers after transplanting. A day or 2 after the transplant I noticed the leaves starting to curl. I have quite a few other plants that I treated the exact same way, and they are all nice and healthy.

There are no pests that I can see. I have read that overwatering can cause leaves to curl (although I heard the leaves normally yellow as well?), but I'm a little skeptical that I overwatered them... I always let them dry out before watering again. I'm not sure what else might be wrong with them... Is this just stress from the transplant? I would have thought they'd be recovered by this point if that was the issue.

Please help!

Thanks

[applestar]

I feel like this is likely combination of transplant stress and underwatering — soak completely when watering, then not until they need it again. (right now with the potting mix pulling away from the side of pot and the light color, I would say this needs to be watered — heft and feel the weight of the pot when fully watered and remember/use as indicator)

HOWEVER, curling leaves could always mean sucking pests like aphids on underside of leaves — but the leaves can break if you try to uncurl them. I would squirt water (or maybe very slightly soapy water) inside the curl to see if anything washes out.

Finally, if only the bottom-most true leaves, you don’t really need them anyway, and they tend to drop off, so it’s OK, let the plant outgrow them or clip them off when you plant in final growing location.

[Bilbo2348]

Thanks for the help applestar.

I examined them for aphids or other bugs, but didn't find anything. I'll try the soapy water that you suggested and see if that flushes anything out.

Unfortunately the problem is with more than just with the bottom pair of leaves. It's pretty much all the leaves other than the upper most ones. The top leaves still look healthy -- I hope they stay that way! The rest of the leaves are curling in on themselves and feel a bit limp.

I'll keep a close eye on the watering. I gave them a good soaking a couple days ago and the soil is still damp. No change with the curled leaves though.

[Gary350]

Curly leaves are often too much nitrogen. Potting soil often has very low food value for plants. Mix good soil from your yard with water then water plants with the muddy water. You need a larger 5 gallon flower pot or plant the peppers in the yard or garden. Small pot dries out quick that can stress the plant. Pepper plants need a large root system to grow best.

[imafan26]

I would be careful with soap on peppers. If it is too strong it will make the leaves worse. The plant does not look like pests. Pests would go after the youngest leaves first. I think it is as Applestar said, transplant shock. I would cut off the lower leaves. The soil is contracting from the pot, so it may be under watered. I don't like that kind of soil mix. I find it too heavy. I prefer a lighter mix that dries out faster, but won't cake up like that.

[Bilbo2348]

Thanks for the help Gary350 and Imafan26.

Duly noted about the nitrogen and pot size. When I transplanted them, the root systems didn't look too extensive and weren't close to root bound. So I think they should be OK at this point since the plants aren't that big as well. With the weather getting warmer, I'm hoping to get them out into the garden in the next couple weeks.

I tried the mild soapy water with no success. I agree -- I don't think it's a pest issue. I've examined them pretty thoroughly (with a magnifying glass!) and couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

I've been keeping a close eye on the watering and making sure they don't get too dry. I've switched to watering them from the bottom to make sure they're fully watered. No change in the appearance of the peppers though unfortunately. This is what they look like today:



So I guess it must be transplant shock. It's been 2 weeks now and they still haven't recovered from the transplant... Will the curled leaves ever go back to normal, or are they permanently damaged? What can I do to reduce transplant shock in the future?

Imafan26 -- you mentioned that you prefer a lighter soil mix for your plants... What do you recommend? Is there a mix I can get in Ontario, Canada that you think would work better?

Thanks

[Bilbo2348]

Doesn't look like the picture uploaded... I'll try again

[imafan26]

Peppers like a well aerated mix. I like to water a lot. They do better in peatlite mix. Which is 50% peat moss and 50% perlite. If you water less, you can go with a 60/40 mix. I add osmocote to my soil mix. About 1/4 cup to a five gallon bucket of peatlite. I mix my own. If you are using a potting soil, it may have some fertilizer in it already, but I would still add about a teaspoon of osmocote to the pot.

Peppers are moderate to heavy feeders. They grow slowly in the beginning and they won't hit their stride until things warm up past 70 degrees. Bell peppers have a narrow range where they are happy 70-80 degrees with a mean of 75 is the best. Hot peppers will usually be happy even higher.

Peppers grow slow in the beginning because they develop their roots first. So they prefer a fertilizer that is lower on nitrogen and higher in phosphorus and potassium. Pretty much tomato fertilizer 9-12-12 works as they are in the same family. If the wilted leaves are not up within a few days, I cut them off. The plant is willing to sacrifice leaves to save itself. Even though the plant was not pot bound, some roots were probably damaged in the process. If you get good at transplanting it is possible to transplant a pepper with no shock. I usually make sure the pepper is well watered before transplanting. I makes it easier to get it out of the pot and the media should be wet first. Dry media won't wet evenly and you will end up with dry spots. If you don't water right away thoroughly, you will leave too many air gaps that could dry out the root tips. You want good contact with the soil. People do bottom water, but you should only leave the plant in the tray for 10 minutes. If it hasn't taken up the water. Drain the tray and dry it. Don't leave a pool of water under the plants or the roots can start to decay which shows up as wilting on the plant.