Prune Pepper Plants This Way for Maximum Harvest
07.06.2024 - 10:51
/ balconygardenweb.com
/ Ralph Astley
Do you have a pepper plant with lush leafy growth but barely any peppers? Pruning, as we suggest in this article, helps. It’s like giving your plant a much-needed haircut to encourage it to grow more peppers.
To prune or not to prune–that’s the big question. Pruning pepper plants can definitely increase your harvest. Here’s how:
As a rule, avoid pruning compact and ornamental varieties; they only need light pruning.
If your pepper plants are already stressed due to extremely hot or cold weather, have recently been transplanted, or are not getting enough nutrients, wait until they’re healthier before pruning.
Now that you know when to pick up the pruning shears and when you shouldn’t, here’s how to prune your peppers to get a better harvest.
First Things First, when your pepper plant reaches 6-8 inches tall, pinch off the top stem just above a node (leaf junction) with 2-3 sets of leaves below to encourage more lateral shoots. This way, you’ll have a bushier plant with more pepper-producing potential.
Also, skip the early flowers. It might be tempting to keep those blooms, but resist! You should pinch off the first few flowers if you want more peppers later in the season. What this will do is it will give your plant some more time to establish the roots.
Pro Tip: Prune on a dry, sunny day to avoid spreading diseases.
Once you’ve taken care of the first two, pay attention to the suckers, just like tomatoes, especially if you’re growing heirloom and perennial pepper varieties.
These are the little shoots that sprout between the main stem of the pepper plant and its branches and never flower or fruit.
Most people wait for long, but we recommend pinching off these suckers with your fingers when they’re just tiny nubs. This helps divert