Peppers and chillies advice please!

[Yasminh14]

Hi, I am growing peppers and chillies for the 2nd time this year (the first time was a write off due to lack of space and bad weather) and would like to know people's tips and comments. I'm kind of experimenting this year with growing them in different positions and pots, so I know what works best for next year. I'm growing Sweet Romano peppers and Cayenne chillies.

I started them all off in seed trays back in March and then pricked out to 3" pots. When about 4" tall I potted them on into bigger pots. Unfortunately there is quite a lot of variation in pot size, as I just used what I had. A couple of the smaller ones are in 1l plant pots, others in various bigger ones up to about 10l. In a couple of the biggest pots I have 2 plants. What are others' comments on pot sizes? I've seen on other threads that a lot of people use Morrisons flower buckets, but as I'm in France I can't get these, and also don't know exactly how big these are.

Most of the pots are are in a cold frame which I've put in a very sunny position (so far the lid is high enough that they don't touch it), which I've been opening fully during the day (been hot and sunny for a month here) and closing at night. A couple of the pots are on the patio against a south facing wall. One of each plant is also planted directly in the ground with my Roma tomatoes, in a very sunny and sheltered spot.

All seem to be growing OK, although some of the chillies look a bit stunted and on one of them the new leaves seem to be curled and misshapen. One of the chillies (in a 5l pot on its own) is drooping quite a lot and I can't figure out why. It doesn't seem sick and is starting to produce flowers, but the whole stem is drooping over as if it needs water. However, I've been watering daily, and the soil is damp now. I've moved it to a shadier spot, but it's still drooping. Could I actually be overwatering? I don't imagine it's pot bound as it's in a pretty large pot and I can't imagine its grown to fill it yet. All the others have good sturdy stems, so don't know what is wrong with just this plant.

Also, have a question re. side shoots - I read in one book that you should allow the crown fruit to develop and that the plants bush out naturally. However, others say that you should pinch out the growing tip to encourage it to bush out. All the plants are now getting their first flowers at the crown, but the plants vary in size from about 6" to 15". Some do seem to bushing out naturally, but the 2 tallest and strongest looking Romano plants have no side shoots at all yet. However, I am loathe to pinch out the tops when they are starting to produce flowers. What is the correct thing to do?

Sorry for such a long post and all the questions, hoping for some useful hints!

[Philthy]

It's generally good practice to increase pot size in several stages, rather than go straight from a small pot to a large one. Chilli plants particularly don't like being in overly damp soil for a prolonged period; a small plant in too large a pot means this is inevitable, as it has more water than it knows what to do with, and will suffer accordingly.
(I appreciate you only used the pots that were available to you at the time).

Personally, I start at 75mm dia (3"). Once roots start poking through the bottom of the pot, I move plants to 150mm dia (2L), then to 220mm (5L). This is for one year old plants, and is fine for the duration of that year. Anything I've overwintered from previous seasons will usually be in a 5L pot already, so around April/May these'll be transplanted into 15L pots (the plants can then grow to 1m+ tall, with a good degree of bushiness). They'll already have a well developed root system, which is the big advantage to overwintering.

I think Morrisons flower buckets are about 8L (?)

I'd cut back on the watering. The top 25mm or so of compost/soil should be dry to touch. You want to keep it in it's sunny spot as well. Outside, the temperature will rarely if ever be too hot. In Britain at least, it's usually not hot enough to grow chillies outside.
In future, you could try standing the pots in a deep saucer or tray, and filling that with water rather than adding from the top. That way you can gauge how much the pot needs day to day, plus it encourages the roots to go looking for the water.

With chilli plants it is a good idea to remove the top at about 200mm high. Long term, they will bush out and you'll get many more flowers (and chillies )
The sweet peppers I'm not so sure of, but I'm pretty sure you just leave them to get on with it, and support as required. This is what I do anyway.

[ButternutSquash]

I have never pruned a chilli, except Tabasco which grew at an astonishing rate. I'd leave them, but you could experiment with a few. Capsicum annuum will grow and ripen in Britain outdoors if in a sheltered sunny spot. Strong winds will stunt them. But they must be started indoors in warmth. Bigger pots are better, 12 inch preferably, but even 8 inch for one plant is enough, although they will dry out quickly and need lots of watering. I find when I go from a 4" pot to a 12" one, growth slows while the roots fill out the new pot. I have Capsicum annuum and Capsicum pubescens in pots, in the ground, and in the ground under a cold frame. I see little difference in the growth, perhaps the best are the pots on a path next to the house, which releases heat collected during the day during the night. We are having a mild spell with no strong winds, so the cold frame is needed less if at all. I also have Capsicum chinense in a pot outdoors, from last year, which has pods ripening. I have a bad habit of not feeding chillis enough!

[Yasminh14]

Thank you both for your answers, lots of useful info there.

Judging from what you've both told me about pot sizes and growth patterns, I think I can see the best way to pot on now. Philthy, I think most of mine should be OK for this year as although I perhaps missed out an intermediate stage, they are mostly in 5 and 10 litre pots (with the bigger ones containing 2 plants) and looking pretty strong, if not as big as I might have expected. But this is explained by ButternutSquash's experience with growth slowing when moved to a bigger pot. I guess they will catch up.

Re. drooping chilli - thanks Philthy, I think I've definitely been overwatering these. Unfortunately my husband watered the plant again last night, after it had started to look better (probably drying out)! I've told him to leave them alone now! Will also put it back in the sun.

Also interesting that you both have plants from last year, I'd never considered that they could be kept going, but why not? I don't have a greenhouse as yet, but I will see if I can overwinter any that seem particularly productive and healthy and see how they get on.

Many thanks to you both.

[ButternutSquash]

To overwinter you need to bring the plant indoors. A greenhouse will still get too cold. Most species die if exposed to ~0C, the exceptions being C baccatum (which will survive a light frost) and C. pubescens which will survive several frosts, but long term cold will kill all of the commonly grown Capsicum species.

I overwinter by bringing a plant indoors, near a window. It will drop leaves. In early january I pune to a 6" stem and a 6" wide rootball, and pot up with new compost. It starts regrowing as the days lengthen. You do get an early harvest, and sometimes even two harvests in the same year.

[Yasminh14]

OK thanks ButternutSquash. So you trim the rootball down as well as them stem, I'll give it a try. Don't have much space indoors where I could do this, but will try to find a good spot, as it sounds easier than growing again from scratch. Can you keep doing this with the same plant indefinitely, or will the plant eventually die?

[Gemizzel]

To overwinter you need to bring the plant indoors. A greenhouse will still get too cold. Most species die if exposed to ~0C, the exceptions being C baccatum (which will survive a light frost) and C. pubescens which will survive several frosts, but long term cold will kill all of the commonly grown Capsicum species.

I overwinter by bringing a plant indoors, near a window. It will drop leaves. In early january I pune to a 6" stem and a 6" wide rootball, and pot up with new compost. It starts regrowing as the days lengthen. You do get an early harvest, and sometimes even two harvests in the same year.

Great, thank you for that. I have been terrible with chillis both times i have tried this year i know what i have done wrong (too many things to list) so as a back up I have just bought a already flowering plant!
how do I bookmark your post so i can refer back to it? is there a way?
TIA

[Philthy]

In my experience, the crop in year 1 is usually moderate at best. Year 2 crop is much better, and Year 3 is when it peaks. Beyond that, though the plant may come back for another year or two, productivity drops right off, to the point where it's not really worth the time and effort keeping it going (especially when there'll be loads of other varieties you'll want to try in the meantime , and you're short on space). The life span of potted chillies is not an exact science, there are too many variables to consider; location, environment, temperature, watering regime, severity of winter pruning etc etc. But it is definately worth doing if you want plants to really fulfil their potential and give you top quality produce.

[Yasminh14]

Thanks again Philthy, this has been an invaluable thread for me, glad I asked these questions. Feel a lot more confident growing these plants now.

[Philthy]

No worries