Green Bell Pepper Plant Flowering but not Always Producing Fruit - Ask Extension
Hi there, I potted a green bell pepper plant back in the end of May/beginning of June. All was going well and it started to flower and produced two pe...
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Green Bell Pepper Plant Flowering but not Always Producing Fruit #843281
Asked July 30, 2023, 10:16 AM EDT
Hi there,
I potted a green bell pepper plant back in the end of May/beginning of June. All was going well and it started to flower and produced two peppers as seen in the pictures. However, in the past 2ish weeks, there have been multiple flowers but then they either just fall off or get brown and fall off. I'm not sure if this is due to the extreme heat we've been having, the intense rains (and sometimes winde) that have happened this summer, or if I'm under watering/overwatering. The plant itself seems to be pretty healthy, but I wasn't sure if I should remove other leaves to give the plant more energy to keep flowering. Thanks so much!
Best,
Morgan
Arapahoe County Colorado
Expert Response
Thank you for your question and for sending pictures.
Your pepper plant looks healthy, the leaves have some hail or wind damage but not enough to affect the health of the plant. When we have days/weeks over 90 degrees the plant will drop flowers as a way to conserve moisture and energy. Hot pepper plants can survive the very intense afternoon sunlight while sweet peppers can benefit from some light afternoon shade.
Since the plant is in a pot, a little afternoon shade will help reduce the temperature of the soil in the pot as well. This may lessen the flower drop.
I would not remove any leaves, the leaves are needed for photosynthesis, plus leaves can provide some cover for developing peppers so they do not get sun scald.
Happy Gardening!
Your pepper plant looks healthy, the leaves have some hail or wind damage but not enough to affect the health of the plant. When we have days/weeks over 90 degrees the plant will drop flowers as a way to conserve moisture and energy. Hot pepper plants can survive the very intense afternoon sunlight while sweet peppers can benefit from some light afternoon shade.
Since the plant is in a pot, a little afternoon shade will help reduce the temperature of the soil in the pot as well. This may lessen the flower drop.
I would not remove any leaves, the leaves are needed for photosynthesis, plus leaves can provide some cover for developing peppers so they do not get sun scald.
Happy Gardening!
