Peppers are all plants - no fruit.

[mvona]

Hello to all gardeners,
I am in Western New York State just south and west of Buffalo. We are in a drought but I keep my garden watered well with soaker hoses. Water bill is up there. I have planted 4 types of peppers: Sweet Bell, Cubanelle, Pablono, and Padron. The Bell peppers have begun to produce (there were put in 2 weeks earlier) but the rest of them are all plant and no sign of fruit. Is there something I can do to encourage the fruits to develop?
Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Mar

 

[Brandie]

Try watering infrequently. I've found my peppers prefer once or twice/week. Fertilized every 3 weeks or so.

 

[Chuck]

Be patient. Some varieties take longer and some a lot longer. Do you see any signs of buds forming?

 

[Beth_B]

What she said, plus how much sun do your peppers get? I am in a similar northern growing situation and after this year (despite near-drought conditions here as well and I water infrequently) I have not had luck with either sweet or hot peppers. They simply do not mature although I get bushy plants.

I think they need an insane amount of sun and infrequent water and possibly sandy soil (none of which occur here naturally.)

Sometimes I think you just have to consider where a particular plant naturally thrives and if you can't come close to replicating that, give up. Peppers generally are a desert/Mediterranean plant. That can be difficult to replicate in the Atlantic or Upper Midwest.

 

[mvona]

Thanks for the replies - they make some sense to me. There are no buds at all on the Pablano and the Padron, but there are a few here and there on the Cubanelles. As I said in the first post, the bell peppers are doing fine. Plants get full sun all day - it's a great location for vegetables. I did add sand to the soil this year. BUT - the soaker hoses hit them every day. So, I'm going to stop for a few days at a time start watering the other stuff by hand if it needs it. Let you know.

 

[Chuck]

I am growing 4 varieties of hot peppers this year. Peter Peppers, Hot Hungarian Wax, Ghost Peppers and Scotch Bonnet. I did not plant any sweet or semi sweet peppers this year because I still have a lot from last year. The only peppers I have so far are the Wax peppers and they are going nuts. Fruits every where. Of the others only the Peter Peppers have any blooms and there aren't many of them yet. The others have only a few small buds starting to show. You are starting to get hot weather so don't be surprised if the bells stop producing but the others will take off, especially the Cubanelles. I wait to water them until they are really wilted in the morning and then I soak them thoroughly, usually about every 10 days and as soon as the first blooms open up I give them a good fertilizing