what is wrong with my chilli plants? Help!

brians_daughter

I have some lovely, lush, green chilli plants. They look amazing! The flowering bit have grown and the flowers have started to appear on some.. now this is where i am in trouble. The flowers flower (well, open 3/4 of the way) then the stem they are on simply falls off..all of it so when i look at the plant there is a kind hole imprint where the flower and stem fell off

whats happening, why is it happening and how can i prevent it? I feed them with a feed for chillis (not a general one as i know the nitrogen is too high - or so i was told) they get just enough water twice a week max The only thing i can think is we had all that lovely suna dn now we dont - i did originally have them in the conservatory but put them out when it was so hot and brought them back in when the weather turned so i dunno if its related to weather or not.

Please help, i was sooo proud of them

wssla00

I get this on my tomatoes and find it's the ones that aren't pollenated that fall off. If they are in the conservatory they may not have been pollenated. You can do it yourself with a cotton bud or a paintbrush to make sure they are?

Not sure if this is what is happening but it is worth a try! My chillies have been outside since they were big enough and that seems to help them as the bees are out there

brians_daughter

oh i have had my paintbrush and cotton buds out trying to pollinate them, i will crack on and see how they go

Jake'sGran

I have got five very healthy and bushy plants. I can only tell you what I do with mine. These days I am tending to use tomato food for the high potash which makes them flower more and the flowers don't fall. Also, I water them daily and keep them in the small greenhouse, not outside. Finally, I pinch them out earlier to make the plant bushy. All this is for my son who is mad about chillies but, will they be hot enough? They are Apache and Jalapeno.

organic_wanabe

My red chilli plant did the same - flowers kept falling off a healthy plant. Then I watched a gardening programme which mentioned 'setting', not to do with chillis but some other fruit or veg. So I tried what they suggested - got a spray and started spraying the plant with water and it worked. I now have about 5 big chillis and I am very pleased. Try it, it might just work.

zippychick

Anyone help - i have the same problem. I had to bring 3 plants inside - they were getting eaten alive by caterpillars.

There are 3 adn they aren't producing much fruit and a couple the flowers are dying straight away , stem and all. Gutted and i don't know what to do? Anyone any ideas before they die completely? thanks

mrbadexample

zippychick wrote: »

Anyone help - i have the same problem. I had to bring 3 plants inside - they were getting eaten alive by caterpillars.

There are 3 adn they aren't producing much fruit and a couple the flowers are dying straight away , stem and all. Gutted and i don't know what to do? Anyone any ideas before they die completely? thanks

Good chance you still have caterpillars. They're really good at hiding. Made a right mess of my Purple Venezuelan. Check it really carefully - look for leaves stuck together with silk.