Bushy Pepper Plant -- but no Flowers!

[perrako]

I've got this wonderfully happy and bushy "Russian Healthy" pepper plant. It flourished where my Hatch Green Chile plant failed to take. I never topped it, and it's grown quite large -- it's starting to fall over!

However, despite all this growth, it doesn't actually seem to be making many flowers -- I only count four or five. Is this normal? Should I take off the top or do anything else to encourage fruit growth, or let it run its course? I'm in zone 9a.

Thanks!

 

[Chuck]

Some varieties of peppers, mostly hot peppers but some sweet as well, just take longer to bloom. Is the plant in full all day sun? What are you fertilizing with? Can you take a close up picture of the leaves? This variety was bred for the climate of Moscow which is different than Oakland.

 

[perrako]

Hi Chuck! Always lovely to get your advice

The plant is in full all day sun. It was planted in newish soil, and I've fertilized it only once this season with this fertilizer. I'll attach a picture of the leaves.

It doesn't look diseased or unhealthy to me -- perhaps I just need to be more patient!

 

[pepper]

Maybe a stupid question but are you 100% sure that is a pepper plant? I've never seen one that looks like that.

 

[Chuck]

Hi Chuck! Always lovely to get your advice

The plant is in full all day sun. It was planted in newish soil, and I've fertilized it only once this season with this fertilizer. I'll attach a picture of the leaves.

It doesn't look diseased or unhealthy to me -- perhaps I just need to be more patient!

Your fertilizer is excellent. @pepper may be correct although a few peppers have serrated leaves and even fewer have long slender leaves. Having both of these traits is very unusual. I have never heard of this particular variety before so I did a little research on it. Could not find a picture though. Supposedly it is an early maturing pepper of about 65 days. Some of the growers reported that it produced well in cloudy conditions and did not need the full sun of most peppers. All you can do is give it more time as the plant itself looks very healthy. I presume the flowers it has are small and white?

 

[pepper]

The more I look at it the more it reminds of of something like sawtooth wormwood or goldenrod, stuff like that. I honestly believe it's a weed of some sorts. If it turns out to be a pepper plant I'll eat my garden hat lol.

 

[YumYum]

I don't think it is a pepper plant either. I would let it bloom and then you will know better.

 

[pepper]

I think it's a type of horseweed. When it flowers if they look like this then you will know.

 

[MiTmite9]

I've got this wonderfully happy and bushy "Russian Healthy" pepper plant. It flourished where my Hatch Green Chile plant failed to take. I never topped it, and it's grown quite large -- it's starting to fall over!

However, despite all this growth, it doesn't actually seem to be making many flowers -- I only count four or five. Is this normal? Should I take off the top or do anything else to encourage fruit growth, or let it run its course? I'm in zone 9a.

Thanks!

Hello. I don't know what it is you have there, but I am betting the farm that it's not a pepper plant. Why not take a piece to your local nursery and ask if they can i.d. it? Or use iNaturalist app for i.d. OR send photos to your local Museum of Natural History. I'm thinking you have some type of weed and not the kind of weed you smoke.

 

[pepper]

not the kind of weed you smoke.

Lol!