Topic: droopy chillies

[Squash64]

I brought home some chilli plants from the allotments and they are growing really well on my kitchen windowsill.  They were only tiny seedlings of unknown Bangladeshi variety but since they've been in the kitchen they have more than tripled in size.  

However, I've noticed that every night the leaves droop, but pick up again in the morning.  Is this normal?  Of course, it could also have been happening in the greenhouse when they were there but I don't go in it at night.

[saddad]

I don't know, and I'm not nipping up the lottie in the dark to find out tonight!!  ;D

[w00dy]

I have a houseplant that does this, at a guess i would say its something to do with photsythesis.  Heres my guess, becuase most plants dont photosythesize during the night the stomata close on the leaf meaning the plants lose a little turgidity becuase they arent drawing up and respiring water.  Once photosythesis starts again in the light the stomata open again and the water is once again pulled throught the plant.  A bit like wind in a windsock it only striaghtens out when there is wind in it.

I must emphasize i have nothing to base this on, its just a theory and im sure ill be corrected if im wrong, please be gentle.

w00dy

[dtw]

I would have thought it was down to being cold, as they are right next to the window.
Move them away at night and see what happens.

[Squash64]

Since I first wrote about my chillies at the beginning of November, they have continued with their droopieness, but now they've got Daydroop too!

There are 4 of a tall type which all droop, and one different short variety which doesn't.  They are all on the kitchen windowsill.

I wonder if it's anything to do with being tall or short?

They have all got lots of chillies on, the chillies do not droop!

I'll take a photo tomorrow.

Thanks for your thoughts :)

[Vinlander]

I have an overwintering chilli that is drooping - I hope you're right that it might reverse itself.

I've been assuming it is a very slow root failure.

All I can think of is to give mine some bottom heat to in the hope it re-roots, and raise the humidity by putting a bottle over it to give it some extra time - assuming this doesn't make it rot from the top and die even quicker...

We'll see.

[ajb]

It's related to the cold. Some varieties are more cold tolerant than others - I've got some overwintering in an unheated conservatory, Mushroom chillies are droopy, Little Elf are fine, Hungarian Wax completely gave up!

[Vinlander]

I have lost all my C.baccatum in the last few weeks (surprisingly) including the one that was droopy in my last post, but I still have a good 'Black Pearl' sprouting well despite it being C.Annuum like Hun Wax (I think).

So far the best overwinter I have is a nice big potted manzano (C.pubescens) in my sunroom @ 4C - I trimmed off all the thin shoots but the stems are a nice fresh green. They do seem to be tough.

I lost a couple of manzanos I dug up from open ground but this one was in a 15L pot the whole season and didn't flower - that appears to mean it still has all its strength - the other good plant I have is similar in that way - a Habanero Arbol which was sown much later and so is still in a 1L pot. It is C.chinensis so I'm keeping it above 13C on a windowsill, but it seems 100% happy with all its leaves.

I think there's a big random element but it would be good to know what works for others.

I'm particularly annoyed about the baccatums because I deliberately bought some mild baccatum seeds this year when it looked like they would overwinter - but all my successes have been hot ones.

Does anyone know of a mild manzano/rocoto/pubescens?

Cheers.

[ajb]

I think all Manzano/Rocotos are hot (related to habaneros), they're grown at high altitude / cold regions.  Aji (rojo / yellow) chillies are milder, and also supposedly cold tolerant, something I'm hoping to prove out this year. Would love to hear how you get on with yours.  Little Elf are medium hot and surviving at a a min of about 5C with no ill-effects.

[Vinlander]

That's a shame there are no mild manzanos/rocotos - C.pubescens - all the other species have a wide range of heats.

Habaneros are normally a different species - C.chinensis - they have normal pale seeds and no hairs on the stems and leaves - they also have a wide range of heats though mostly at the hot end.

On the other hand Ajis are supposed to be all C.baccacum - but I've seen some attributed to other species so there may be some non-chinensis habaneros(?). I would say Aji Hot lives up to its name and it is a baccatum - but it's not atomic.

My baccatums looked good at the start of winter but ultimately failed - however none of them had the advantage of being late sown to avoid the stress of flowering and fruiting. The only ones that didn't flower were in open ground and it's a lot to ask of a plant to overwinter in an unfamiliar pot!

I may try late sowings again if they work (I've noticed lots of good looking plants die between Feb and Mar - a false dawn - not just peppers, also shrubs etc.).

On the other hand if I have some spares from the normal sowing I might try removing the flowers from the ones I'm hoping to overwinter.

Of course it was a really bad winter to start experiments!

Cheers.