I just deep watered yesterday and a lot of my peppers are already looking droopy. It’s in the 90s in Atlanta. Does they need more water or could I have possibly overwatered?
by Givingitmybest12
38 Comments
Doom2pro
Tilt the pots, are they water logged and heavy or light and dry? Pots in summer can dry out every day, if they are dry soak them again. Try adding mulch above the soil to help with water retention.
sizziano
Probably need to water everyday when it’s that hot.
Practical_Staff_7434
90+ and no shade would probably do it.
beermaker1974
I have to water everyday now sometimes twice even with deep watering. Lift them up to see but they look like they are thirsty
fd6944x
Like others have said it does look like they need water and that is most likely the problem. My plants do tend to look alittle wilted when it gets really hot even if they are really well protected. I think it’s how they protect themselves
emac1211
From my experience, grow bags are pretty forgiving about overwatering too, especially in this type of heat. They won’t end up too waterlogged because the water can just run out of them.
Pineapple_Spenstar
I’ll tell you the same thing I told the lady in the Philadelphia sub a few weeks ago: most potted plants that receive full sun will need water twice daily to thrive when temps are 87-94. If temps are 95 or higher, they may need water thrice daily
theegreenman
Give them some shade, 50% shade cloth over the top. Then water more frequently until they perk up. I water my container nursery/shadehouse 3x per day in the summer if it doesn’t rain. 7am Noon and 5pm. Transpiration is a killer in the summer in full sun.
When do you water them? I water mine in the early morning before it gets hot. I drench mine and make sure they’re saturated. And check back again towards the evening. If they’re dry again, give them some more water. It doesn’t need to be a lot of water for overnight but they shouldn’t be dry.
Possible_Emergency_9
It’s hot out, they need afternoon shade. The afternoon sun will scorch them. Don’t water until after sundown. They’ll be fine.
Leading_Impress_350
Its gonna NOTHING to do with your watering!! Put up some shade cloth! I am north of you, 100miles. Yes you need to up your water in hot days but that’s not what your peppers need!
DopeCookies15
Because you touch yourself at night
swunt7
Are you asking why only the ones with no shade look like… they have no shade and are begging for water?
JellyAny818
“It’s hot out here pop”
ElectricalWalk457
90 plus u water every day
superbugger
I find that heat like that makes them wilt regardless of how watered. They’ll be fine this evening. If not, water them, then water them again in the morning and every morning.
carroll65
They need water. When mine do this, I water roots only and two hours later they are fully recovered.
Esnik
The pots dry out quickly especially in this heat. Adding mulch or pet shavings will be a huge help on water retention.
RPsgiantballs
It’s hot
MrSouthernknights
Water in the early morning and a hour after sundown so the water actually absorbs
alex55063
If too much water they wilt up, if not enough they wilt down such as in your case.
Few-Secretary-7280
peppers are so dramatic
thomasech
You’re probably not watering enough, combined with heat.
Haunting_Name6188
Same here.
veggiedudeLA
Get a shade cloth! Theyll be beautiful ❤️
Due_Platform_5327
Probably heat stress, some late afternoon shade would be beneficial.
Sandscarab24
🌞
Mt_Rainier_Mountain
I’m having the same problem with a few varieties of peppers that I’m growing. Of the 26 varieties 23 are doing well and the others look like your plants. We are having 90 to 98 with a heat index of up to 113 at my house. I have my plants on the shady side of my house to help best I can. Also I’ve noticed when I push them together on the hottest part of the day they do better. This is how close together I’m setting my plants until it gets a little cooler. At least in the mid to upper 80s. Also I water in the morning before the sun comes up and often in the evening when the sun is no longer on that side of the house.
In gwinnett here. Here are a few things that have helped containers for us in the past. Morning sun afternoon shade works great to help this if you can relocate them. Mulch on top for water retention. Shallow tray to hold a little water (~1″ high, or a 1020 tray if it fits)- for the plastic pots, for the fabric i am not too familiar. May need to use mosquito dunk if you have a problem with them or if the water sits too long. Shade cloth may also help – but too much shade can also be a problem. Potting mix also comes into play – but there’s plenty of opinions on on that topic.
Equal_Plankton_4234
Its that time of the year (depending in zone) where you’ll have to water daily. They get thirsty, especially when fruiting
dammit-smalls
This is a hot take, but peppers don’t grow as well under direct sun. They prefer dappled shade.
Equal_Plankton_4234
OP, ill also add that peppers are hard to overwater. They are pretty hardy when wet. They will give you a hint that its too much with leaf yellowing, but if the leaves arent yellowing, they’re fine. Ive heard (idk if true) that more water kills the spice of the pepper but I’ve never noticed a difference. The hottest jalapeños I’ve ever eaten have all been from my garden
raiinboweyes
Put some mulch in those pots, that will keep them from drying out dang fast!
Choice-Judge-1809
Since they are in pots, is there a better place you can drag them to, that gets a bit more shade? At least during very hot days…
My tomatoes are too big to move around, but when we got up in the mid 90’s for a week, I moved all my potted peppers a little deeper into the shade. I like potted gardening more than I thought I would.
Raidersfan54
I have same containers Im not sure how you can deep water those cloth containers I water till it comes out the bottom it’s different watering then raised beds or not raised beds I give mine a little extra at dusk , if you think about the time in AM that you water and at dusk not water from dusk to dawn is like 12 hours to me that’s kinda tuff on my plants , that’s how I water , I do have 5 gallon/raised beds/ ground,5 gallon always wants more water at end of day at my place. It takes time to figure all this out tho that’s what gardening is all about and why some people give up ,good luck
brenhaas
Too hot… I have one in my dome that got to about 102*F – not happy. I moved it to the shade and with in a few hours it perked back up!
Everythingmotorcycle
You need to get a shade net, that allows filtered light in. This happens to my tomatoes in Las Vegas.
Curious-Kumquat8793
As long as you aren’t over watering it’s fine. Be very careful watering in the summer heat because root rot bacteria is much more likely. Make sure they have good drainage on the bottom . Its easy to overwater when they get like this. If you leave them they will perk up when it cools down. You can also invest in a sun screen to hang over them if you want to protect them from the worst of the sun but I don’t.
38 Comments
Tilt the pots, are they water logged and heavy or light and dry? Pots in summer can dry out every day, if they are dry soak them again. Try adding mulch above the soil to help with water retention.
Probably need to water everyday when it’s that hot.
90+ and no shade would probably do it.
I have to water everyday now sometimes twice even with deep watering. Lift them up to see but they look like they are thirsty
Like others have said it does look like they need water and that is most likely the problem. My plants do tend to look alittle wilted when it gets really hot even if they are really well protected. I think it’s how they protect themselves
From my experience, grow bags are pretty forgiving about overwatering too, especially in this type of heat. They won’t end up too waterlogged because the water can just run out of them.
I’ll tell you the same thing I told the lady in the Philadelphia sub a few weeks ago: most potted plants that receive full sun will need water twice daily to thrive when temps are 87-94. If temps are 95 or higher, they may need water thrice daily
Give them some shade, 50% shade cloth over the top. Then water more frequently until they perk up.
I water my container nursery/shadehouse 3x per day in the summer if it doesn’t rain. 7am Noon and 5pm. Transpiration is a killer in the summer in full sun.
https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/products/50-aluminet-shade-cloth-grommeted-panel?_pos=5&_sid=535cd61e8&_ss=r
When do you water them? I water mine in the early morning before it gets hot. I drench mine and make sure they’re saturated. And check back again towards the evening. If they’re dry again, give them some more water. It doesn’t need to be a lot of water for overnight but they shouldn’t be dry.
It’s hot out, they need afternoon shade. The afternoon sun will scorch them. Don’t water until after sundown. They’ll be fine.
Its gonna NOTHING to do with your watering!! Put up some shade cloth! I am north of you, 100miles. Yes you need to up your water in hot days but that’s not what your peppers need!
Because you touch yourself at night
Are you asking why only the ones with no shade look like… they have no shade and are begging for water?
“It’s hot out here pop”
90 plus u water every day
I find that heat like that makes them wilt regardless of how watered. They’ll be fine this evening. If not, water them, then water them again in the morning and every morning.
They need water. When mine do this, I water roots only and two hours later they are fully recovered.
The pots dry out quickly especially in this heat. Adding mulch or pet shavings will be a huge help on water retention.
It’s hot
Water in the early morning and a hour after sundown so the water actually absorbs
If too much water they wilt up, if not enough they wilt down such as in your case.
peppers are so dramatic
You’re probably not watering enough, combined with heat.
Same here.
Get a shade cloth! Theyll be beautiful ❤️
Probably heat stress, some late afternoon shade would be beneficial.
🌞
I’m having the same problem with a few varieties of peppers that I’m growing. Of the 26 varieties 23 are doing well and the others look like your plants. We are having 90 to 98 with a heat index of up to 113 at my house. I have my plants on the shady side of my house to help best I can. Also I’ve noticed when I push them together on the hottest part of the day they do better. This is how close together I’m setting my plants until it gets a little cooler. At least in the mid to upper 80s. Also I water in the morning before the sun comes up and often in the evening when the sun is no longer on that side of the house.
https://preview.redd.it/ux2n5j3m0kbf1.jpeg?width=2296&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c7f853439d8f385737645cbd02a8aec93e731bba
In gwinnett here.
Here are a few things that have helped containers for us in the past.
Morning sun afternoon shade works great to help this if you can relocate them.
Mulch on top for water retention.
Shallow tray to hold a little water (~1″ high, or a 1020 tray if it fits)- for the plastic pots, for the fabric i am not too familiar. May need to use mosquito dunk if you have a problem with them or if the water sits too long.
Shade cloth may also help – but too much shade can also be a problem.
Potting mix also comes into play – but there’s plenty of opinions on on that topic.
Its that time of the year (depending in zone) where you’ll have to water daily. They get thirsty, especially when fruiting
This is a hot take, but peppers don’t grow as well under direct sun. They prefer dappled shade.
OP, ill also add that peppers are hard to overwater. They are pretty hardy when wet. They will give you a hint that its too much with leaf yellowing, but if the leaves arent yellowing, they’re fine. Ive heard (idk if true) that more water kills the spice of the pepper but I’ve never noticed a difference. The hottest jalapeños I’ve ever eaten have all been from my garden
Put some mulch in those pots, that will keep them from drying out dang fast!
Since they are in pots, is there a better place you can drag them to, that gets a bit more shade? At least during very hot days…
My tomatoes are too big to move around, but when we got up in the mid 90’s for a week, I moved all my potted peppers a little deeper into the shade. I like potted gardening more than I thought I would.
I have same containers Im not sure how you can deep water those cloth containers I water till it comes out the bottom it’s different watering then raised beds or not raised beds I give mine a little extra at dusk , if you think about the time in AM that you water and at dusk not water from dusk to dawn is like 12 hours to me that’s kinda tuff on my plants , that’s how I water , I do have 5 gallon/raised beds/ ground,5 gallon always wants more water at end of day at my place. It takes time to figure all this out tho that’s what gardening is all about and why some people give up ,good luck
Too hot… I have one in my dome that got to about 102*F – not happy. I moved it to the shade and with in a few hours it perked back up!
You need to get a shade net, that allows filtered light in. This happens to my tomatoes in Las Vegas.
As long as you aren’t over watering it’s fine. Be very careful watering in the summer heat because root rot bacteria is much more likely. Make sure they have good drainage on the bottom . Its easy to overwater when they get like this. If you leave them they will perk up when it cools down. You can also invest in a sun screen to hang over them if you want to protect them from the worst of the sun but I don’t.