The recent spell of warm weather has brought with it a spurt of fast growth from the chilli plants. Every year as Spring gets under way and Summer nears there is a flurry of activity as the batches of seeds I’ve sown over the last few weeks need re-potting.
When to Re-Pot Pepper Plants
A question we get asked a lot is ‘When to re-pot chilli plants’? As a general rule i re-pot my peppers when the roots start showing at the bottom of the pots. Below is a good example where you can see the thin white roots through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot.
How long it takes for the roots to appear will depend on many factors, the main one being the temperature and light levels.
Which Post Size is Best for Chillies?
It’s worth remembering not to move your pepper plants in to too big pots. Doing so may mean the plant concentrates its efforts on growing the roots system at the expense of foliage. For a healthy plant you need to try and promote consistent growth of both roots and foliage. To do this it is best to re-pot often into slightly larger sized pots until you reach the desired pot size later in the summer.
I typically like to plant seeds in small seed module trays then prick them out into 3″ pots once the first set of true leaves appear. From there I’ll move to a 5″ pot before moving to something around 10″ pots for maturity.
If the pots are too big for the root system of the plant, then the roots are not able to use up all of the moisture you add every time you water the plant because the roots simply can’t reach the water in the edges and bottom of the pot. This can mean the roots end up sitting surrounded by sodden wet compost which encourages fungus and rot, definitely not what you want.
Pricking out seedlings
I’ve had a large batch of Cayenne pepper seedlings inside my lightbox for the last couple of weeks. This has given them a great boost and they have been overdue to be pricked out for a while.
It can be a bit tricky to get tender young seedlings out of seed cells or trays without damaging them. However if you prepare ahead you can minimize any damage to the seedlings.
First of all water the tray about half an hour beforehand. Doing so will make it much easier to remove the root ball with the soil still attached which will minimize any damage. While you are waiting for for the compost to dry a little, prepare your potting on compost mix. Here is the recipe I use for potting my chillies.
When selecting the right sized pot think about how big your seedlings are and how deep you want to pot them. My cayenne seedlings (see above) here were looking a bit leggy so i chose a slightly deeper pot (i used old drinking cups with drainage holes cut in the bottom) so i could re-pot them at a deeper level than before. When you do so the plant will sprout more roots from the part of the stem that is buried beneath the surface. Once you know how deep you’ll be planting your seedlings partially fill your pots with compost mix.
After watering and leaving for thirty minutes i use a large lolly stick (a small teaspoon would do the job) to gently loosen the compost around the edges of the cells. Once I’ve done all four sides with one hand i’ll gently take hold of a leave while with the other I’ll scoop out the root ball from the tray with the lolly stick. Be careful and aim to keep as much compost as possible on the root ball to minimize any damage.
After placing the seedlings gently in the new pot and lightly filling with the potting medium I very gently firm down the compost. I then give the repotted plants a light watering (using a watering can with a fine rose) to help bed the compost around the roots.
As your plants move up into bigger pots, the larger volume of compost will mean you will not need to water as often as the growing medium will be able to store more moisture.
Hi,
I’m growing kashmiri chillies and getting a huge amount of good quality peppers, but I think they need re-potting because they need so much water and the soil level has dropped. Is it ok to re-pot during the fruiting stage?
Nick O,
Personally I wouldn’t repot them during fruiting. Doing so could stress the plants which MAY lead to adverse growth, leaf drop etc. Instead I would maybe top up the soil in the pots, keep watering as needed and lean the lesson for next year to pot them on before they start flowering. You’ll likely find that if you grow in bigger pots next year you’ll get an even bigger harvest of chilies. Good luck!
my chilli plant is about 2 weeks old and its about 5cm tall. Am i suppose to repot now or wait till grows more like 10cm?
Anis,
It depends what size pot it is currently in. As a rough guide once the plant is slightly higher than the pot it is in then you can probably pot it on to a larger pot. Good luck!
My chillies are flowering and still in 1 litre pots. Is it ok to repot them, or should I just take a chance?
Thanks
You might slow down the growth by repotting them when they are flowering but you’ll likely end up with a larger plant and more fruit.
At what point do you consider your seedlings “leggy?”
Mine look roughly like the ones in your last two photos, so I assume they’re doing ok? Also, for the last photo, did you plant the pepper deeper in the soil than it was in the original cell? I was told this was a step one could take to try and combat “leggy-ness” in addition to increasing light.
Yes, absolutely I always tend to pot on my peppers a little deeper than before. Like tomato plants the plant will produce more roots and ultimately lead to a healthier plant.
Have to say what a great and especially informative website. Im completely new to this but am now fascinated with the prospect of growing my own chillies. i recently bought some hot cayenne seeds which have are currently germinating What other tpes would you recommend to me to sow?. I live in the south of England but my garden isnt south facing but still gets quite good light. I like hot chillis but want ones that are good for beginners and suited for Uk weather. Thank you and keep up the good work
richard – Jalapeno are very easy to grow, and useful in the kitchen. Also try apache which are a quick growing nice compact plant which produces lots of small hot fruit. This year i’m trying ring of fire which are like a cayenne but hotter and are supposed to be easy. You could try a habanero, which are much hotter but produce wonderful flavour.
Hy, I live in Spain and have a terrible time trying to grow chillies. I don’t understand because it is nearly impossible to grow anything outside here because the sun is so strong and things tend to burn and die. What do you suggest I do, I really need to learn because I am so interested in growing my own.
Desparate Peggy
Peggy – What has been the issue? If they are drying out too much maybe try mulching around the base of the plants to prevent them drying out too much. If you are more specific about the problem maybe I can help.
I’m in my first year of chilli growing and have good variety of chillis on the go. Is it advisable to pinch the tops out or to just let them be?
Steve – This can be a contentious issue. If the plants are looking a bit leggy (tall and thin due to lack of light) then i’ll pinch out the tops. If they look reasonably healthy however i’d just let them get on with it! Good luck.