Pepper Plants Wilting – What It Means And How To Fix It
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Pepper plants are notorious for frequently wilting leaves. Why is my pepper plant drooping? Don’t fret! This is common and usually nothing to worry about. In this article, we’ll discuss the possible reasons for your pepper plants wilting, and how to fix it!
Wilting Leaves (Video):
Dried Out Soil (Time to Water!)
By far the most common reason for pepper plants wilting is a lack of water. When plants become dry, the first sign will often be drooping leaves. This is especially noticeable in pepper plants.
The reason leaves wilt when a plant is dry is simply a lack of available water within the plant. Through the process of transpiration, water is evaporated from the leaves of your pepper plants. If the plant is losing more water than it is taking in from the soil, the plant leaves will begin to droop. Environmental elements play a major role in how quickly a plant uses water.
While it isn’t ideal to allow your plants to wilt between watering, it is a clear sign that it is time to water. Give your peppers a good, deep watering, allowing any excess water to drain away.
If you want to keep better track of the soil’s moisture, try using a water meter like this one from Amazon. While not highly accurate, it can help you understand the moisture level deep below the surface of the soil.
Tip: Many growers intentionally water stress plants during fruit production to achieve higher levels of spice in peppers.
Learn more about watering pepper plants in our detailed article here.
High Temperatures (Heat Stress)
Low water is not the only potential cause of pepper plants wilting. Overly intense heat, or heat stress, can cause significant leaf wilting.
If the weather in your area is forecast to be over 90°F for a few days, expect to see some heat stress. Though peppers are known for thriving in warmer climates, they are still vulnerable to excess heat.
Here are a few tips to help peppers through a heat wave:
- Water. Without enough water, the effects of heat stress will be amplified. In hot and/or dry weather, pepper plants will use significantly more water. Keep the soil moist!
- Provide shade. The afternoon sunshine is the most intense, so if you can, provide some shade on extremely hot days. You can move potted plants to a shaded location, or provide some temporary shade with shade fabric for in-ground peppers.
- Avoid pruning. When your pepper plants are dealing with high temperatures, the last thing they want is physical trauma. Avoid pruning at this time. The plant may have difficulty taking in nutrients during a heat wave, too, so cut back on fertilizing when it is hot.
- Monitor temperature. Be prepared for a heat wave! Use a simple thermometer and keep it near your plants. We use a cheap clip-on thermometer for our plants. You can get a more attractive thermometer/hygrometer for outdoors.
Heat stress will cause wilting, but just know that your plants will rebound after the heat has subsided. Simply do your best to care for the plants while it is hot!
Transplant Shock
As peppers grow, they are typically transplanted into larger containers. When it is time for them to move from indoors to outdoors, they may experience some transplant shock.
If you have recently moved your pepper plants outdoors, it is possible that they are wilting due to the new conditions. Provide extra shade if necessary during the first couple of weeks after transplanting.
Be patient and allow the plants to adjust. Once the root system has acclimated, the plants should resume normal growth and stop drooping.
You may even see some some plants drop leaves if the transition outdoors is particularly drastic. Be sure to harden your peppers off properly by gradually introducing direct sunshine.
We have seen some of our pepper plants have a tough time coping with transplant shock, even with proper hardening off. The intensity of the sun is just that much more than any indoor grow lights. Be patient, and they will rebound!
Bacterial Wilt
If you are still having issues with your pepper plants wilting, it could possibly be due to bacterial wilt. While this condition isn’t all that common among home gardeners, it is possible.
Bacterial wilt is a soil-borne pathogen that can infect peppers and many other garden plants. It causes wilting and dying leaves, and is usually irreversible.
Take a look at some images of bacterial wilt here. This article also shows some ways to test for bacterial wilt.
Bacterial wilt also spreads from one plant to another. Remove suspected infected areas of the plant immediately and discard far from your garden, or burn them. If you are certain that your plants are infected, remove them from the garden entirely.
Prevention
The best way to prevent bacterial infections in peppers is to keep the leaves off of the soil. Remove any low leaves early on to keep the plant a few inches from the soil. Bottom pruning is easy and prevents any soil-borne diseased from entering through damaged leaves.
Another option is to mulch around the base of the pepper plant. This helps by preventing rain water from splashing soil onto the plant’s leaves. As a bonus, it can also help with water retention and weeds. We have liked using straw, shredded leaves, or wood mulch.
Be sure to try other solutions before giving up on your pepper plants. Wilting is usually caused by high temperatures and lack of water, so don’t jump straight to bacterial wilt!
Insects
Some insects can cause distorted or wilted-looking leaves in pepper plants. These include (but are not limited to) aphids, thrips, whiteflies, spider mites, and slugs.
There will usually be noticeable damage to the leaves in addition to wilting or distortion. Look for any brown spots or holes in the leaves. If you suspect pest damage, check underneath leaves and on new leafy growth to spot them.
Solution
Planting alyssum has been a game changer in our garden, attracting a diversity of beneficial insects to eat the pests. Aphids can be particularly active in early spring, but it is usually best to wait for nature to take care of the problem for you.
If your pest problem is indoors, use a solution of neem oil, water and a mild soap in a spray bottle. During the evening, spray the leaves thoroughly, top and bottom. This can also be used as a preventative measure against soft-bodied pests.
You can also consider purchasing live beneficial insects, like green lacewings, into your garden. These can be expensive to source, but may be worth it depending on your situation.
Learn more about dealing with aphids on pepper plants here.
I hope this article helps you figure out why your peppers plants are wilting. The problem is usually an easy fix: Water thoroughly! If the problem persists, I hope you find the cause and still get a great harvest!
Calvin
One of the original Pepper Geeks! When Calvin isn’t gardening or learning more about peppers and botany, he might be traveling new places or playing some music.
Hi,
The leaves in my sweet pepper plant are wilting. I sprayed it with a solution of Neem Oil because I was seeing what looked like white flies and I’m afraid the plant is having a bad reaction. (The bugs are gone, though.)
The humidity reader indicates the soil is still wet, so no watering for the moment. I do spritz the leaves with water in the evening.
Our temperatures here are over 90-degrees. Should I bring the plant indoors by a window for a few days? Or would this be a shock?
Thank you!
I wouldn’t bother spritzing the leaves in the evening, they will transpire water naturally to cool down. If you notice the wilting reversing at night, it is likely a temperature issue. 90 is fairly hot, even for peppers, so it’s possible the leaves are wilting in the heat
I should probably set up grow light again
I’m in upstate New York. I started some hot carribean peppers indoors on a heating mat in June. I purchased the fox farm trio you recommend. Then I put them under a grow light until they were big enough to transplant into 3 gallon pots. They were staring to flower just before I brought two plants in the house, while battling white flies and aphids with neem oil with limited results. The flowers wilted and fell off. No signs of fruit. Is there something I can do to make them flower again or do I just start again indoors in a couple of months?I appreciate your help.
Thanks,
George
I have a Carolina reaper that was fine until I picked the first pepper. Now the leaves are drooping. I have watered the plant but the leaves are still droopy. Is there something I can do?
I have 18 mature Bell Pepper plants in 5 gallon buckets, I grew from seeds, they began fruiting about a month ago. A few weeks ago I moved them indoors under grow lights. This Past week I notice many of the peppers have lost their sheen. About 1/2 of them are dull, some are still shiny and healthy looking. I am working on the height adjustment of the lights. Was wondering if you have any suggestions for dull, not shiny bell peppers. Thanks for what you do.
I found my pepper plants wilting, curling, with brown dried leaves. Most all the leaves on my shishito peppers are dying. Serrano leaves are starting to yellow out. I had applied a copper fungicide to all my plants including tomatoes, it was light on the peppers. Any suggestions?
My pepper plants are breaking my heart , my pepper beds are just separated by a thin layer of net , one side is doing perfectly fine and the other side is wilting so bad , the leaves are getting yellowish , getting curly , and dropping all it flowers , though we are having high rainfall right now , what should I do please reply fast 😪😪
I have a jalapeño pepper plant growing in a large clay pot on my patio. It is in direct sunlight most of the day. I water in the morning until water starts draining out of the bottom. It is 98 degrees here this afternoon and all the leaves are wilting. Should I try to give it more water right now or wait and see if they survive and water again in the morning. They are producing just fine and this isn’t the first hot day of the season. My tomato plant is right next to it and it’s also wilting.
With temps that high, wilting is to be expected. The plants should be okay, but that heat will likely cause some flower/fruit drop
I’m curious how Connecticut’s climate is this year. It’s been under half normal rainfall this spring in Northern Virginia and a full-on drought in much of the Midwest. I barely need to water most years so I’m not used to having to do so much of it
Different pepper species react differently to the dryness. Capsicum Annuum peppers seem the most affected. I’ve always noticed Cayenne and their relatives are the first to droop their leaves, but respond well once they get water. Of course larger more established plants can survive a lot longer without watering, and in-ground peppers fare better than those in containers, especially small ones. My original garden is at the south side of the house in part shade, and even in these dry conditions still needs a lot less watering than my “new garden” which is more exposed.
I have a couple of pepper plants that the leaves have turned black. What causes this to happen?
If they are dark foliage varieties, it is normal. If they are not meant to have dark foliage or fruits, then you may have disease. Definitely check the variety and whether or not dark leaves is normal before taking action!
Hi, I have issue for the first time on my chilli plants in a container. The Bell Peppers and the Capsium White Chillis have a curly leaf and brown new leaf. While the Purple and the Thai Chillis are all fine and fruiting. I have the same Potting mix, the same watering method and the same place. Right now I separated the sick plants from the fine ones. the purple chilli and the thai chilli have lots of fruits while the other don’t even grow good leaves. I don’t understand the problem. as its been 3 years since they were all planted.
@ShardBytes, A lot of mysteries here, some you could clear up. 1) are you growing indoors or in a warm climate? 2) do you know what species the non-Bell peppers are? 3) what sort of direction of leaf curl and what pattern of leaf browning are you seeing?
While peppers are perennials in environments without frost, they are not usually long-lived and I’ve heard 3 years is a common lifetime for at least some species.
I ordered seedlings online and had them delivered 3 days ago. I put them in 6in pots but used a soil called Glee All Purpose Potting Mix. We watered on day 1 and they’re still drooping, but have maintained a decent amount of moisture around the plan itself. Could it be the soil is too dense/not draining well enough? Thanks!
I would avoid watering and give the plants plenty of light and airflow
Aji charapita, 3 week old seedlings, 5 or so minutes exposure to cooler massachusetts temperature today . Leaves seem to be effected , slight wilting . Do you think they will survive. I know I’m going to find out . Thanks. Paul
Yes, should be okay with just 5 minutes of exposure, just keep them warm for a few more weeks!
Hey Peppergeek. I’m stumped and could use some advice. Several of my seedlings / young peppers have lowered their leaves and arch inward (different varieties). They’re not dried out or wilting per se, but they have plant by plant the leaves began to curl downward. This is getting worse. This is my 4th growing season and I’ve never experienced this. I’m careful with watering, temps ~70F and use a care dose of fox farms fertilizer.
Here are some pictures: https://imgur.com/a/wawOw5s
Any advice you have would be really appreciated.
This happens naturally when plants go to “sleep” at night. It could also be due to over-fertilizing. However, to me, these plants look A-okay, especially for being indoors. Maybe cut back on fertilizer until they have grown to size, a single dose of fox farm is usually enough to get the plants to transplanting size.
@peppergeek, Thank you!
I have peppers in containers. The leaves are wilting and drying from the tip of the leaf and back towards the stem. They were hardened off properly and have been in the permanent containers for a week before this began. Any suggestions as to what may be happening?
Over/under watering would be a first guess. If they don’t need water, make sure the pots are draining properly. Otherwise, it could be a disease, temperature (above 100°F or below 55°F), or just temporary sun stress (if you notice the leaves recovering at night).
I grew some pepper plants last season in pots. They stayed outside all summer and fall. They did nicely. So I brought them inside for the winter and they start drooping in a day or so. I water them but doesn’t help. I put them back outside and they perk up looking fine. Now its too cold so I brought them in again and theyre dropping and losing leaves again. Is this normal? I grew them in pots intentionally.
My peppers are really wilting in this 95 plus heat of NC. Is it ok to water everyday?
Definitely, it is probably going to be necessary for potted plants during the hot summer months.
I have some pepper plants planted in soil and some planted in containers. They are in the same raises bed area but the container plants are a deeper green color. Why could this be so? Both types have blooms.
It likely has to do with the nutrients in the soil, and the soil’s composition. Better nutrient content will usually lead to deeper folaige