Far right is my Carolina reaper. It is even taller and bushier now. But no flowers.

by Jesus-is-Lord-Lord

15 Comments

  1. DrDoggDog

    My reapers have been taking forever to flower too. I’ve heard that some varieties like reapers and ghosts really take their time through the grow season, so probably nothing to worry about yet.

  2. stewd003

    They take ages. Even longer to ripen too!

    Don’t be too concerned if your reapers drop leaves or drop early fruit as well. I find they seem to have a phase of dropping the first bunch until they’re really ready. Then once the first ones set, the rest are good to go.

  3. I’ve noticed this too, my reaper has a ton of buds but by the time they’re ready to flower they tend to drop. Still waiting on fruit but I’m also in zone 5 so I had a way later start

  4. Gomer_Schmuckatelli

    They all take forever when you are waiting.

  5. beccaboom

    If you google the peppers “days to maturity,” you’ll get a better idea of how long it will take for the plants to fruit and ripen. The hottest peppers take the longest.

  6. KembaWakaFlocka

    Yes, super hots take a notoriously long time to reach maturity.

  7. MWTB-DLTR

    This is my first year growing carolina reapers, so im still learning. I dont exactly know how long it took them to flower, but I was looking back through my photos and this is what I got.

    – May 14 they were less than a foot tall and I began hardening them off outside.
    – First flower bloomed June 10.
    – First pollinated flower I noticed was June 29.
    – The first pollinated flower I noticed on June 29 is now fully red after almost a month.

    Between 3 plants, I now have about 59 more peppers I’m waiting on to grow and rippen.

  8. BearGuyBuddy

    I find the hotter the pepper the better it is in a pot and not the ground. Sweets and bells do great and early in ground but have always had better luck the hotter they got to have them in a pot. How many hours of direct sun do they get?

  9. ellindsey

    I started a reaper last spring, grew it all summer, overwintered it, and I’m only getting a decent crop of peppers now over a year later. They take a while.

  10. tripXtraMeduim

    Yes. But you’ll have a ton of them right up to the frost!!

  11. EricPetro

    Your best bet is to overwinter them and next year they will be massive producers.

  12. DigitalUndertow

    This is my experience too. They take forever and I’m in zone 7b

  13. my_dancing_pants

    I have a ghost pepper plant I bought from Lowe’s a month ago and while it’s grown a lot, it still hasn’t put out a single flower yet. Meanwhile, my jalapeño has been flowering for the past week or so and just starting producing peppers a couple days ago.

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