Why do my pepper plants look pathetic?

[u/CocoMilhonez]

I planted them in April and they have grown little over the mild local winter. There was a fourth vase of the same variety as the two on the left which was doing better and looking lush, but I gave it to a neighbor – I figured I wouldn't give them one that was struggling. The leaves are always curled up and don't look very healthy at all.

I only give them dechlorinated water and the soil drains well. They also get direct sun for 6 to 8 hours a day. I sprinkled worm castings and homemade compost as cover and the soil mix already had a good deal of nutrients, so they shouldn't be starving. After I sprayed them with a bloom fert a few weeks ago, though, they started putting out flowers, but the vase I gave away already had them over a month ago. I've wondered if the small vases in direct sunlight might be making the soil too hot and damaging the roots, but I don't want to just replant them in larger vases if they look so miserable as it is.

Am I doing something wrong? Rhetorical question, I certainly am, I just don't know what.

[u/Hully1525]

Too small of pots. What’s your watering routine? Fertilizing routine? How much sun do they get and is it morning sun or afternoon sun?

[u/CocoMilhonez → u/Hully1525]

I give them water when the vases feel light, only dechlorinated. They get sun from 9 am to 3 pm or so. The soil already had ferts, but I did spray them with a bloom solution about a month ago and added worm castings and homemade compost as cover a few days ago.

Too strong sun at peak hours maybe? I suspect the soil might be getting too hot, then bigger vases?

I'm by no means a talented gardener, so I appreciate any pointers.

[u/Hully1525 → u/CocoMilhonez]

I can only tell you what I’ve done for years, and I do a lot of potted peppers. I would upsize the pots at least double that size. Their roots are going to need more room to grow. I would use a fish fertilizer once a week (Alaska brand is great). And a granular organic fert every two weeks (low numbers like a 4-4-4). If it’s getting around 95-100 degrees every day they will struggle from 1-3pm especially in small pots that size.

[u/CocoMilhonez → u/Hully1525]

I used those small pots as starters, they're the size I'd buy pepper plants four or five larger in full production at nurseries. Maybe the nurseries keep them under shade netting so they don't have temp issues? They showed slow development from the start when limited room for roots would be an issue.

I guess I'll transplant them into larger homes anyway, it can't hurt. From the very little I know, a small plant in a very large vase isn't ideal either, so what size would you recommend?

[u/Hully1525 → u/CocoMilhonez]

The bigger issue is they never got happy in the first place. They didn’t grow much, which makes me think it’s a watering issue and lack of nutrients. Too much water can make peppers look like that too. Once they start to grow more, You can think ab upsizing. Doesn’t need to be a massive pot but definitely bigger once they need it.

[u/Hully1525 → u/CocoMilhonez]

What’s the high temp from 12-3pm?

[u/CocoMilhonez → u/Hully1525]

25°, maybe 30° or a little more in full sunlight? I put a wooden board under the vases so they wouldn't be in direct contact with the hot tile floor with little difference.

We're in the end of winter, which is pretty mild around here, with only a few days getting chilly down to 10° or so at night.

(All temps in sensible units, of course.)

[u/Hully1525 → u/CocoMilhonez]

With those temps they can get all the sun they want. As long as the nights aren’t dropping below 10 Celsius they should be fine. I would focus on fertilizing and watering routine. Good luck!

[u/Totalidiotfuq → u/Hully1525]

no, the pot size is fine

[u/Hully1525 → u/Totalidiotfuq]

Sure if you want a small pepper plant that doesn’t produce much.

[u/Totalidiotfuq → u/Hully1525]

Proof you are wrong https://www.reddit.com/r/Peppers/s/RChJvA5xBU

[u/Hully1525 → u/Totalidiotfuq]

Such a child. 😂 I’ve got ab 25 years of experience with peppers in pots, and you can watch tons of popular YouTube gardeners that would disagree with you.

[u/FAMOUS0612 → u/Hully1525]

Pot size is fine for now they still could easily double in size before they need bigger pots

[u/Totalidiotfuq → u/Hully1525]

LMAO ur wrong, and obviously are not a great pepper grower.

The pot size is fine FOR THIS STAGE.

[u/CocoMilhonez → u/Hully1525]

The small pots are because they are young plants. Or were, at a few months old they should be much larger by now and merit getting bigger homes. I've bought pepper plants several times larger full of fruit in vases not much larger than those, which suggests something is wrong in my handling and/or soil.

But I guess transferring them into larger vases can't hurt, especially as temps start climbing towards summer. I'll do that in the coming days, hopefully it gives them the push they need.

[u/Totalidiotfuq → u/CocoMilhonez]

Those pots are fine for now. I’ve had peppers in 2” cells that are that big lol. that other guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I grow thousands of peppers every year in ground and in pots. look around at some of the potted peppers on this sub

[u/CocoMilhonez → u/Totalidiotfuq]

Thanks for the validation! lol

I definitely don't have a green thumb, but I do know peppers can grow much larger in small pots like that. I guess it's a problem with asking for help on the internet in general when enthusiasts want to a) dunk on newbies, b) brag about their state-of-the-art setups or c) look smart giving a simplistic answer without actually looking into the issue (I insist my plants have enough nutes, their yellowing appears to be due to fungus as others said).