I keep picking off the flower buds weekly because there’s a long growing season ahead and want the plants to grow to at least 4 feet but I don’t understand why they keep producing flowers instead of using energy to grow leaves and branches? Any help would be appreciated.
by areyouthewind
5 Comments
Yes, can be normal. Probably they didn’t polinate and the plant is cutting them loose. Super hot varieties like 80 degree nights. Try adding some powdered calcium sulfate aka gypsum, I add about a 1/4 cup to a 2 gallon watering can. Calcium good for you, good for plants.
I mean honestly, if you have a long growing season I’d let them fruit and then pick the fruit early to tell it to keep going. Also you could go a bit heavier on nitrogen to get a bigger and bushier plant while still leaving the flowers on. I accidentally gave too much nitrogen for a while this year and got big, bushy plants that wouldn’t flower. Eventually I figured out what was going on and gave them some other nutrients and they produced but not as much as I wanted given I’m in a colder area.
Peppers are perennials in hotter climate. If you are in a hotter climate, you can just leave the flowers to become peppers and the plant will still keep growing and growing and growing as long as your soil the nutrients the plant needs and ample sunlight and heat.
I think Taking off flowers is a waste of time. The plant can grow tall and lots of fruit at the same time. Just give it enough light and fertilizer
For up-and-coming plants, a lot of the time the flowers are going to shrivel up and die without being fertilized anyway. I would ignore the flowers and just pinch off any burgeoning peppers if you are focused on growth.