What is the cure for flowers dropping, my peppers have flowered 3 or 4 times this year but have not produced the first fruit. I have 18 plants that are all over 5 feet tall with hundreds of flowers that all fall off. Please help!!
I planted my first vegetable garden this spring, so I am far from an expert on the subject, but I did notice something similar with my hot pepper plants a couple of weeks ago. Originally I had planted them outside under a clear plastic umbrella to give them some extra warmth and protection from drenching rains. They started flowering within a week; however after a few days some of the early flowers started to drop off. My gut feeling was that insects (bees) were either a) not being attracted to the flowers or b) prevented from getting to the flowers by the umbrella. So, I removed the umbrella and now both plants have at least 3 peppers starting to form. My highly uneducated guess as to why your flowers are dropping off without forming peppers, is because the flowers aren't being pollinated. Are your plants outside? in a grenhouse? Do you find many insects buzzing around your garden? Are other flowering vegetable/fruit plants in the area developing fruit? If this does turn out to be the problem, you could look into starting a bee colony in your garden or research hand pollinating pepper plants. Good luck!
thanks for your reply SBinNW, My plants are in the garden and have plenty of bee activity but since i'm located in the south (atlanta,ga.) it might be a rain issue, although this spring we have had plenty of rain the weather is starting to get very hot. i have tomatoes, green beans, sweet peas, okra, and lavender that are all flowering and heavy with bees so i can't attribute it to pollination, peppers are suppose to like the hot weather but i think the lack of rainfall is more likely the culprit, although i catch all the rainwater i can and water about every other day maybe its still not enough. thanks again for your reply, i'll keep hoping for an answer.
As SB says, flower drop can be caused by lack of pollination. This does not seem to be the problem, as your bee population is thriving. Flower drop can be caused by other factors, too, such as moisture and/or heat stress. I think that your instinct may be right, Bill---maybe too little (or inconsistent) moisture, combined with hot temps.
First year planter here as well. I have heard that peppers love the heat, not sure about the amount of water needed. I planted about 6 yellow pepper plants, which have not grown very tall, but have stayed bushy. These plants are producing an amazing amount of peppers. None have turned yellow yet though. Unfortunately, some of my peppers are getting soft spots on them far before it is time to ripen. One's spot turned into rot. The spot is a light color. Any comments or suggestions??
