Cayenne Pepper leaves problem

[andy2019]

Do you know what's wrong with my pepper plant? The leaves look different. Not sure if it's because of disease, over water, under water or just because it's cold.

I added the christmas like seeds ( I don't know what it's called) in the pepper plant pot as mulch since I have a lot of those falling in my backyard, not sure if that's the cause of why my pepper's leaves look the way they look now.

Thanks

 

[Chuck]

Do you know what's wrong with my pepper plant? The leaves look different. Not sure if it's because of disease, over water, under water or just because it's cold.

I added the christmas like seeds ( I don't know what it's called) in the pepper plant pot as mulch since I have a lot of those falling in my backyard, not sure if that's the cause of why my pepper's leaves look the way they look now.

Thanks

You have an infestation of sucking insects, either thrips, mites or aphids. That black stuff you see is insect feces called honeydew. That pepper plant is an annual and it is getting old. You might get a few more months out of it but the production will become less and less and more and more prone to disease. To get rid of the insects spray both sides of the leaves, the trunk and stems with a spinosad based insecticide. IIWM I would pull it up, sterilize the soil and plant something else. Those pinecones aren't doing anything to the plant.

 

[andy2019]

do you know what kind of pepper plant I have? I thought all pepper plants are perennial. Yeah, I got a lot of production out of it in the summer and fall. I can see production is getting less. There are still some peppers on the plant but not as much as before. I thought it's because of the cold so it slows down.

Also how do you sterilize the soil?

Thanks

 

[Chuck]

do you know what kind of pepper plant I have? I thought all pepper plants are perennial. Yeah, I got a lot of production out of it in the summer and fall. I can see production is getting less. There are still some peppers on the plant but not as much as before. I thought it's because of the cold so it slows down.

Also how do you sterilize the soil?

Thanks

I have no idea what kind of pepper it is. Technically peppers are perennials if in a warm climate where it never freezes and stays warm year-round like in the tropics. They can have a multi-year lifespan although in a good climate 5 years is about maximum with 3 years about average, but every year that they live their production goes down and they become more susceptible to disease. It doesn't even have to freeze to affect them. Anything below about 45F is detrimental. That's why they are treated as annuals. I sterilize my soil over an open fire but most gardeners are not allowed to do this. Probably in your case just putting the soil into a casserole dish and baking it in the oven would be easier. Even easier is just buying some good sterilized potting mix at a real nursery.