All my peppers lost their leaves. Why?
Almost all of my peppers except a couple of Thai peppers have lost all their leaves. Peppers don't normally do this in my climate. Older peppers usually get leggy and have to be cut back but most of the peppers from Shishito, Jalapeno, super chile, and Hawaiian have lost most of their leaves. Some are older, but some are from this year. Usually peppers slow production in the cooler months. Fruit will ripen but they don't produce blooms. This is the first time so many peppers are leafless. The winter has been warmer than usual with temps low 60 at night to 81 in the daytime. Could this be a disease or is it because the weather is also weird?
I have no idea... but when planting peppers.. (during transplant) I always ensure I add blood meal for foliage and bone meal for a bigger better root system...
they may be lacking the proper nutrients.. I doubt the weather had any effect on them unless they got really cold and then the leaves drop.. try adding some blood meal at your next watering..
maybe even add some fresh compost like "black kow" - (which I use specifically), and a dose of bone meal... it won't hurt to try.. but again, bone meal is for foliage and that seems like your issue atm
they may be lacking the proper nutrients.. I doubt the weather had any effect on them unless they got really cold and then the leaves drop.. try adding some blood meal at your next watering..
maybe even add some fresh compost like "black kow" - (which I use specifically), and a dose of bone meal... it won't hurt to try.. but again, bone meal is for foliage and that seems like your issue atm
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applestar
- Mod
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- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
I’m sure you know to check for pests, @imafan — so, what I’m saying may not necessarily apply….
As you know, I overwinter pepper plants in the house. I do this every year with varying success, and I keep doing it because ones that survive do so without too much trouble — I.e. ATTENTION. So, I don’t always know WHY for ones that didn’t.
That said, overwintered peppers are in various conditions — as low as 25°F or so, 55 to 60°F, or 62° to 68°F. Warmer areas have lower humidity and are more prone to pest activities — mostly aphids and mites — but they get more light (intensity and duration).
So, in my experience —
- Low temp leaf loss is usually result of exposure to 40’s or lower for extended periods in lower light exposure (this might have happened BEFORE being moved to warmer/brighter environment and leaf loss can occur subsequently), with inadequate irrigation and/or excessive soak for days.
- Higher temp leaf loss is usually due to low humidity and pests, with inadequate irrigation.
…right now, most of my peppers in the Family room Winter Wonderland (warmest range) — that have finished ripening their fruits and have been harvested — are practically all leafless with signs of aphid and mite infestation… whereas the COMPLETELY neglected peppers in the low temp (medium range), dimmer but longer exposure, and more moderate (higher … in the 40’s%) humidity Green RM are lush and green and bursting with overly enthusiastic number of flower buds that are constantly needing to be pinched off… one of them is even sporting runty new fruits.
Note: Another difference is that the Green Room plants were ALL ones that had been dug up and potted with adequate fertilizer and one earthworm in each pot. The ailing ones in the Family room had spent the summer in containers and may be starting to need more fertilizer.
…I’m in the process of planning to prune down the leafless peppers to main scaffolds and to move them out to the lowest temp range Garage V8 Nursery area to take a break and rest up before putting them back on track for the new season.
…did that help at all…?
As you know, I overwinter pepper plants in the house. I do this every year with varying success, and I keep doing it because ones that survive do so without too much trouble — I.e. ATTENTION. So, I don’t always know WHY for ones that didn’t.
That said, overwintered peppers are in various conditions — as low as 25°F or so, 55 to 60°F, or 62° to 68°F. Warmer areas have lower humidity and are more prone to pest activities — mostly aphids and mites — but they get more light (intensity and duration).
So, in my experience —
- Low temp leaf loss is usually result of exposure to 40’s or lower for extended periods in lower light exposure (this might have happened BEFORE being moved to warmer/brighter environment and leaf loss can occur subsequently), with inadequate irrigation and/or excessive soak for days.
- Higher temp leaf loss is usually due to low humidity and pests, with inadequate irrigation.
…right now, most of my peppers in the Family room Winter Wonderland (warmest range) — that have finished ripening their fruits and have been harvested — are practically all leafless with signs of aphid and mite infestation… whereas the COMPLETELY neglected peppers in the low temp (medium range), dimmer but longer exposure, and more moderate (higher … in the 40’s%) humidity Green RM are lush and green and bursting with overly enthusiastic number of flower buds that are constantly needing to be pinched off… one of them is even sporting runty new fruits.
Note: Another difference is that the Green Room plants were ALL ones that had been dug up and potted with adequate fertilizer and one earthworm in each pot. The ailing ones in the Family room had spent the summer in containers and may be starting to need more fertilizer.
…I’m in the process of planning to prune down the leafless peppers to main scaffolds and to move them out to the lowest temp range Garage V8 Nursery area to take a break and rest up before putting them back on track for the new season.
…did that help at all…?
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pepperhead212
- Super Green Thumb
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- Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b
I've never kept my peppers over the winter, successfully at least, so that's the only times I had all the leaves fall off, not while they are growing in the summer. But I'm sure you have diseases and pests there I've never seen! The strange thing is that the Thai peppers aren't being bothered, while all the others are. And usually diseases are more slow acting things, and visible - like yellowing or mottling of the leaves.
I think you may be right about the fertilizer. If it takes 40 degree temperatures for them to have cold problems, it only got down to 57 degrees and that was cold enough for me.
I pulled out the older pepper and the roots were fine and the leafless peppers have live branches. There weren't any leaves, so no pests. Most of these were being grown organically and I gave up on the organic supplements, so they may indeed be starving.
One of the Hawaiian chilies recently started making more leaves since I started feeding it with MG and granular fertilizer. I'll cut the others back. I have fed them MG a couple of times, but they probably need a maintenance fertilizer. Or, I can just plant new ones.
I did plant a few chili seeds and surprisingly, they grew. Not fantastically, I only got 2-5 seedlings to sprout, but peppers don't like to germinate when the night temps are in the low 60's.
I pulled out the older pepper and the roots were fine and the leafless peppers have live branches. There weren't any leaves, so no pests. Most of these were being grown organically and I gave up on the organic supplements, so they may indeed be starving.
One of the Hawaiian chilies recently started making more leaves since I started feeding it with MG and granular fertilizer. I'll cut the others back. I have fed them MG a couple of times, but they probably need a maintenance fertilizer. Or, I can just plant new ones.
I did plant a few chili seeds and surprisingly, they grew. Not fantastically, I only got 2-5 seedlings to sprout, but peppers don't like to germinate when the night temps are in the low 60's.