What to Do About Drooping Leaves on Pepper Plants and Stop Wilting
Posted on July 19, 2010
Peppers, especially jalapenos, are starting to become just as popular as tomatoes these days when it comes to the home gardener. Unfortunately, both are picky plants that take a little more care than other The good news is wilting can be a real minor thing in most cases. It’s very likely that there’s an easy fix as long as the leaves are still green and don’t dry or curl up.
On particular hot days, it’s not uncommon for wilting to occur. This is a natural reaction to heat and the pepper plant should perk back up in the shade as the sun goes down. When there’s a number of hot days in a row it may be wise to shade your plants a little bit. Also, if you grow your peppers in a gardener’s pot be careful of what the pot is made of and where you set it. Placing a pepper plant on cement, or another material that stores and transmits heat, will essentially cook your plant’s roots on hot and not-so-hot days. Keeping the plant away from warm objects will better serve the growth process of the plant and keep the root system cool.
If the pepper plant continues to wilt or droop regardless of the temperature then it’s time to investigate further. The next thing to check is watering. Under watering will cause the plant to dry up and over watering can cause wilting (the plant is trying to get rid of the excess water). Yellowing leaves, in addition to wilting, could mean many things but is most likely a sign of either a fungus, disease, or bug. Bugs typically leave bite marks, holes in the leaves or other evidence of their existence. Figure out what insect is the culprit and use the appropriate insecticide or repellent.
A plant with fungus and disease issues is a tough one and, to be honest, this kind of problem is a little beyond me. Drooping leaves on pepper plants are most often the result of over heating which should be an easy fix. More serious issues will cause symptoms other then wilting
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