Forum home› Fruit & veg
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Baby Chillis growing buds

paceybirdpaceybird Posts: 5
in Fruit & veg
Hi my brand new chilli plants (germinated this year) with only 7 or 8 of leaves have decided to bud. Is it me or this this a bit strange?

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Hi @paceybird and welcome to the forum :)

    It's the time of year for chillies to flower and produce fruit.  Most people grow them as annuals, sowing early so they're probably a bit bigger than yours by now.  Mine have a few fruit on now.  When did you start yours off?

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Hi and welcome to the forum
    As the hours of daylight begin to drop it sends a signal to you plant that autumn is approaching and it's time to produce seeds. So your plant starts to flower and produce chillies - so it's quite normal.
    The key with growing chillies is to start them early as they need a long season to grow into good size plants before they get the signal to produce seed.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • paceybirdpaceybird Posts: 5
    Hey thanks for the quick reply. They germinated really late because I didn't have any proper equipment so it was may time. Which is why I'm so surprised I usually grow them to overwinter and bud the following year. I've cut the buds off as they're only 2 inches tall. They wouldn't be able to support a chilli! 😕
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I  don't have any equipment other than a sunny windowsill ... some years I use a little heated windowsill propagator to germinate them, but I find it only takes a couple of days longer without.  As soon as they're germinated they come out of the propagator  and when they've got their first proper leaves they're pricked out into small pots.  They live on the windowsill until mid June when they go outside on the terrace ... that's where they are now ... they 'weathered' a violent storm yesterday ... still looking good tho'

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





Sign In or Register to comment.