July - Chile Flowers & Blossom Drop

Chile plants are fantastic. Not only do they produce a delicious range of peppers ranging from the smoky flavoured Poblano to the mouth blistering Naga Morich, as an added bonus and before setting fruit they produce some absolutely stunning flowers. I've even grown some plants this year (mainly from the Pubescens species) just to photograph the flowers. Sad or what!!

After sowing seeds in March, my chile plants usually start flowering in June/July. A flowering plant normally means that tasty pods are only a few months away. One area which can cause alarm to new chile growers is 'blossom or flower drop'. Chile plants produce many flowers prior to fruiting and it is common for some of them (even up to 60/70%) to fall off. If virtually all your flowers fall off without setting fruit, it will be due to one of more of the following problems :

1. Day time temperatures are too high (consistently above 95 oF)
2. Night time temperatures are too low (consistently below 60 oF)
3. Too much nitrogen fertilizer has been applied (check NPK ratio
of fertiliser)
4. Overwatering
5. Natural light levels are too low (reduces fertility).
6. Humidity is too low (also reduces fertility)
7. Air circulation is poor (good air circulation contributes to pollination).
8. There is a lack of pollinating insects.

Maintaining a temperature range of between 60-95 oF, applying a fertiliser low in nitrogen [N] but high in phosphorus [P] or potassium [K]), introducing insects or tapping plants to aid self pollination should help reduce the problem.