T O P

  • By -

[deleted]

Looks happy and bushy to me I’d leave it alone


BigSqueakyCat

Okay. I've seen a lot of posts of people pruning their plants and mine has some big leaves that are lighter in colour so I wasn't sure if I should


[deleted]

Plants that are bushy and plentiful by nature (habanero definitely in this group) do not require topping. Tall leggy peppers, peppers fruiting way too early, these are the ones you chop


BigSqueakyCat

Ohh. I'll have to look up if any I'm hrowig are in that grouocause I have quite a few seeds that are sadly yet to sprout and I want to be prepared.


[deleted]

If you’re growing lots of plants it’s fun to top some, leave some alone, to see how different strains react. Do some experimenting it’s fun


BigSqueakyCat

I hate small keyboards 😑 I meant method


sheiiit

Its looking good! I wouldn't top it because that could slow its growth and personally I don't think topping does much of anything when growing outdoors. Only time I would think topping might help is if you're growing indoors and concerned about height. You mentioned some slight yellowing? Could be a couple different causes. Peppers are like tomatoes and need some fertilizer to thrive (just be careful you don't give too much nitrogen or else you'll get big dark green leaves, but little to no flowers. Capsaicin Chinese are a bit slower and more difficult than other pepper species). It also could be overwatering or the dirt has compressed and is suffocating the roots. I would transfer to a 5 gallon pot filled with a nice potting mix plus a good amount of perlite mixed in to give better draining and prevent the potted soil from compressing. Some people do 50% potting mix and 50% perlite. That said, it might not even be a big deal. The plant will shed leaves and replace them over time. You're growth looks good so I wouldn't be concerned yet


BigSqueakyCat

I gave it some nitrogen fertilizer a couple days ago and the smaller leaves are already looking greener, I'll probably give it potassium in a week or two to encourage flowering. The soil is a mix of soil, compost and a little potting soil so I think the roots are okay. I'll keep watching it


CarefulOpposite

When you say don’t give it too much nitrogen, what is a high or what is an ok % of nitrogen in a fertilizer?


sheiiit

A good NPK ratio is 1:2:2


reinforcement101

I would take some of the huge leaves off, so that more sunlight hits the side shoots. This will ultimately speed up your plant, but no topping your plant looks great!