Help save my habanero pepper plant
July 28, 2018 11:03 AM Subscribe
I have a container garden on my deck with different peppers. We had crazy rainfall yesterday and I just went outside to find that my habanero pepper plant was in the one container that I failed to punch in drainage holes. Sigh. Plant is covered in blooms but is now droopy/weepy. Leaves are still green, not yellowing. Can I save it?
I’m concerned that the plant became waterlogged just as it was starting to really bloom. I am also concerned that the plant is now “shocked” by having so much water after being on a very disciplined and precise water schedule, and that I’m at risk of “shocking” it again by transplanting it to new, dry soil.
How do I save this plant? Should I just punch in the drainage holes and let it drain? Should I remove the plant, clean the container/insert drainage holes, fill with fresh soil and repot? Add perlite/etc?
If I have to let the plant go, I will, but I really want to believe there’s still hope. It’s disappointing because the plant had otherwise been so happy, stimulated and on the verge of fruiting.
Thank you in advance for your help!
I’m concerned that the plant became waterlogged just as it was starting to really bloom. I am also concerned that the plant is now “shocked” by having so much water after being on a very disciplined and precise water schedule, and that I’m at risk of “shocking” it again by transplanting it to new, dry soil.
How do I save this plant? Should I just punch in the drainage holes and let it drain? Should I remove the plant, clean the container/insert drainage holes, fill with fresh soil and repot? Add perlite/etc?
If I have to let the plant go, I will, but I really want to believe there’s still hope. It’s disappointing because the plant had otherwise been so happy, stimulated and on the verge of fruiting.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Drainage holes for sure and then wait. It might be too far gone- but it might totally be savable.
Peppers are much heartier than tomatoes in that regard. Also is there a way to dry out the leaves/flowers? I’m not saying use a hairdryer that’s nuts, but maybe put it in the sunniest spot for a while? If the plant can dry out and the soil drain you deffo have a good chance of saving it
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 11:10 AM on July 28, 2018
Peppers are much heartier than tomatoes in that regard. Also is there a way to dry out the leaves/flowers? I’m not saying use a hairdryer that’s nuts, but maybe put it in the sunniest spot for a while? If the plant can dry out and the soil drain you deffo have a good chance of saving it
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 11:10 AM on July 28, 2018
a very disciplined and precise water schedule
is not something your habanero evolved to deal with. Chili bushes are essentially weeds. A thorough soaking from rain followed by the draining of any reasonably sandy soil is fine for them. The only way this kind of thing will hurt your plant is if you persistently keep it wet enough to skip the draining and drying out part, or if the soil you're using contains enough clay that it doesn't need your help to stay soggy for days on end.
The way excess watering kills plant roots is by denying them oxygen and promoting overgrowth of hostile fungi. The occasional flood does them no harm and may even do some good, as it will pull air into the soil behind it as it drains.
When people kill potted plants with overwatering, they're generally doing that by administering small amounts of water so often that the soil never gets time to drain properly. Just don't water your habanero again until the soil is completely dry to the depth of the first knuckle on your index finger, and it will be fine.
posted by flabdablet at 11:14 AM on July 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
is not something your habanero evolved to deal with. Chili bushes are essentially weeds. A thorough soaking from rain followed by the draining of any reasonably sandy soil is fine for them. The only way this kind of thing will hurt your plant is if you persistently keep it wet enough to skip the draining and drying out part, or if the soil you're using contains enough clay that it doesn't need your help to stay soggy for days on end.
The way excess watering kills plant roots is by denying them oxygen and promoting overgrowth of hostile fungi. The occasional flood does them no harm and may even do some good, as it will pull air into the soil behind it as it drains.
When people kill potted plants with overwatering, they're generally doing that by administering small amounts of water so often that the soil never gets time to drain properly. Just don't water your habanero again until the soil is completely dry to the depth of the first knuckle on your index finger, and it will be fine.
posted by flabdablet at 11:14 AM on July 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for the responses so far. Going to punch in drainage holes and move to more direct sun. flabdablet, you made me realize a detail I left out: the soil now has a strong manure (swampy/rotten) odor. Any chance this is a sign that hostile fungi is already taking over?
posted by nightrecordings at 11:19 AM on July 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by nightrecordings at 11:19 AM on July 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Getting it effectively drained and aerated will fix it even if the smelly anaerobes are currently doing relatively well.
posted by flabdablet at 12:05 PM on July 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by flabdablet at 12:05 PM on July 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
In my experience the swampy smell goes away as the soil dries out again. I wouldn't worry yet.
posted by amf at 1:38 PM on July 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by amf at 1:38 PM on July 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Update: I punched drainage holes in it yesterday (around 2:30pm EST). I also moved it so that it would get direct sun to help dry it out. A lot of water came out (I set it on top of a metal deck chair that has a large mesh design, so the water could drain more effectively than if it was on the deck surface) but the plant is still wilty and drooping. Soil is still damp but not waterlogged. Yesterday and today have both been sunny.
Is it normal for a previously waterlogged plant to still be wilty after 24 hours of draining, or is the fact that it’s taking this long still okay? I am guessing yes, since the plant needs time to adjust and the soil is still damp, but if this is a clear sign the plant’s roots are already rotting beyond the point of return, I figure it’s better to know now.
posted by nightrecordings at 9:14 AM on July 29, 2018
Is it normal for a previously waterlogged plant to still be wilty after 24 hours of draining, or is the fact that it’s taking this long still okay? I am guessing yes, since the plant needs time to adjust and the soil is still damp, but if this is a clear sign the plant’s roots are already rotting beyond the point of return, I figure it’s better to know now.
posted by nightrecordings at 9:14 AM on July 29, 2018
If those roots actually are rotting beyond repair, they're doing that from having festered away in an anaerobic sludge pool at the bottom of their undrained pot for a lot longer than just the one day's flooding.
Never hurts to get a backup plant on the go in another pot, but don't give up on this one just yet. Chili plants are pretty hardy. If it ain't browning, it didn't drowning.
posted by flabdablet at 12:38 PM on July 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Never hurts to get a backup plant on the go in another pot, but don't give up on this one just yet. Chili plants are pretty hardy. If it ain't browning, it didn't drowning.
posted by flabdablet at 12:38 PM on July 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by flabdablet at 11:06 AM on July 28, 2018 [1 favorite]