Peppers in Pots?

[greengenes]

I have a three year old chili plant in a pot the green house. I think it has out lived it's annual status.

 

[Smart Red]

I have a three year old chili plant in a pot the green house. I think it has out lived it's annual status.

Peppers are sold as annuals, but are actually perennials in their native habitat.

 

[greengenes]

Ahhh. That makes me feel better. I can rip it out now. I thought I had some sort of Methuselah pepper. I never really wanted it, but I felt obligated since it would not die.
But now I will put in some poblanos and some sweet bells.

 

[digitS']

In Southeast Asia, peppers will grow to be chest-high after several years.

The only way I could grow a chest-high pepper is to set it on a picnic table.

:/

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

Wouldn't it just be easier to kneel Steve?
And while you're down there, pick some weeds!

 

[Smart Red]

 

[HotPepperQueen]

I have come close to belly button high pepper plants but with only a few varieties- Lemon Pepper, Cayenne, Poblano, and Anaheim. My Poblanos always get out of control so I will NOT be putting those in pots!!!

 

[Dave2000]

I mostly grow peppers in pots. The size pot you need depends a bit on what your limitation is, whether it be # of plants, # of pots, or sunshine.

For someone with a short growing season I would recommend a greater # of smaller pots IF you have to choose, because not only will the plants not get as large but also if you have 20 plants in a space where you'd otherwise have 10, for the first couple months they're catching almost twice as much sun in total. You end up with smaller plants and fewer peppers per but the larger # of plants makes up for that. However, towards the end of the season you may have to water and fertilize more often, especially if it's much above 85F towards the end of summer.

By smaller pots I mean 2 to 3 gallon filled nearly to the top. I wouldn't bother with anything smaller than that. 5 gallon could be considered a standard size that's common due to the # of 5 gallon buckets existing in the world, and just adequate for a medium length season of about 6 months from last frost to first frost if starting with nursery plants or sprouts started inside a month or two before the last frost of spring.

If they get a lot of sun and some fertilizer there are gains to be had from 10 gallon, even 20 gallon pots. The latter is particularly beneficial in hot areas where you cannot water more than once every day or two. I can only get my container grown peppers to be as large as counterparts in the ground if using pots 10 gallons or larger.

The main problem I see people having with container growing is their soil isn't fluffy enough, compacts too much, drains poorly, and causes root rot. The plant may still look ok but growth is stagnant, they may only get a few dozen peppers instead of hundreds. Of course this also depends on what size the peppers were supposed to be, hundreds of bells or other larger varieties would be an unusually healthy super-plant.

I find that my potted peppers almost always need staked, otherwise when a big gust of wind comes along the roots can't support it well in the fluffy soil.

Another issue is amending the soil. I reuse the same soil every year but keep adding composted yard waste including leaves, pine needles, wild grasses, spanish moss, coffee grounds, egg shells, small twigs, the shredded remains of last year's crop, etc. Just about anything brown but not a lot of fresh lawn grass clippings because too much at once seems to promote fungus.

 

[jackb]

I have grown peppers in pots, in the greenhouse, for years, and much prefer to grow them that way as opposed to in the ground. They do need some shade when the sun is really hot, and right after I finish this post I am going to give them a little shade using a shade cloth. They are wind pollinated, like tomatoes, so if you grow them in the greenhouse be sure to tap the flowers when they are open to pollinate the plant. This year I am growing cubanelle peppers.
jackb

 

[HotPepperQueen]

Wow, looks great!