Bell Pepper

[girl47]

I am a first time grower & I have healthy bell pepper plants growing in pots on my windowsill - they are now about 12-15" tall & have many leaves.
When should I expect to see flowers & fruit?
Also, do I need to pinch out any foliage ( similar to tomatoe plants)?
Is there anything special that I should be doing to encourage fruiting?
Many thanks

[Kristen]

"When should I expect to see flowers & fruit?"

At about 12" to 15" I would have though - unless they are very leggy - e.g. if they don't get enough light on the window sill?

"Also, do I need to pinch out any foliage ( similar to tomatoe plants)?"

Only if they don't bush-up by themselves (opposite of Tom plants, you want a bushy plant, not a single-stem)

"Is there anything special that I should be doing to encourage fruiting?"

Feed them? I didn't think that was normally necessary until they started flowering, but that might help. Repot them? Ought to be in a 9" pot, or bigger, I would have though.

[girl47]

Thanks.......so, I dont really have to do anything? Just sit back & wait...anytime soon?

[Kristen]

I expect there is an adage like "A watched pepper never flowers"

[unconcerned]

Repotting is not a good solution if you want it to flower. Flowering is a pepper's way of ensuring it continues to survive (flower > fruit > seeds > new plants). If the plant becomes pot bound then it starts the process of reproduction. However giving it more room to grow will often have the opposite effect where it continues to produce greenery rather than flowers.

I'd say sit back and watch. As long as the plant/leaves looks healthy then you've nothing to worry about. As Kristen says though, a high potassium fertilizer could help too.

[Kristen]

"Repotting is not a good solution if you want it to flower"

I agree, but if its in an overly small pot, for whatever reason, then it isn't going to be able to sustain the plant through fruiting, so might be better to pot-on and take the delay that ensues to get to flowering + fruiting.

If that is your situation then maybe do half-and-half - leave half alone, but severely restrict the number of fruit you let them carry, and try the other half in bigger pots and allow them to carry more fruit