Why Is My Ghost Pepper Plant Not Flowering

The ghost pepper plant is an exciting addition to your home garden, as it is well known for producing extremely spicy ghost peppers. These peppers are so spicy that people often do taste tests to see if they can handle the spice level, and they can be difficult to find at stores! Trying to understand why your ghost pepper plant is not flowering can be frustrating, especially if you feel like you are taking good care of your plants.

If you are experiencing difficulty with your ghost pepper plant not flowering, the main factor to consider is if your plant is getting the correct level of humidity and heat. Those two elements are essential for the ghost pepper plant to thrive in your home.

For your ghost pepper plant to grow to its maximum potential, you will need to recreate an ecosystem similar to where the ghost pepper plant is traditionally grown in India. Read on to learn more about how you can help your ghost pepper plant flower so you can enjoy a healthy crop!

How do I get my pepper plant to flower?

The best way to get your ghost pepper plant to flower is to plant it in a place where it will have optimal growing conditions. The process of getting your ghost pepper to flower starts with the first day you plant it in the soil. You need to ensure your plant is set up for success by getting six hours of sun exposure a day and ensuring the temperature is in the right zone for your plant.

If it’s too hot or cold, your ghost pepper may not start growing, and if your plant doesn’t grow, it will not sprout flowers. You also need to double-check that the place where you planted your ghost pepper has the proper nutrients in the soil.

If you think the soil is the weak link in your garden, consider adding fresh, healthy soil with good minerals or consider fertilizing your garden. Fertilizer can speed up the rate at which a plant grows, which may lead to your ghost pepper plant sprouting flowers on a faster timeline.

How do you get peppers to fruit?

Your ghost peppers should naturally begin to produce fruit on their own as they reach full maturity in their plant-growing life cycle. Typically this stage of your plant’s life will take place around the 90-day mark, but it often takes up to 150 days for a pepper plant to produce its best fruit.

The key to gardening is being patient with your plants and constantly checking back on them to evaluate their progress.

If you want your peppers to produce fruit, you must ensure that it grows properly and remains healthy at all stages of its lifecycle. A plant that stops growing, turns brown, or begins to shrivel up is unlikely to start producing fruit. The stages leading up to the harvest of your pepper plant will determine the quality and quantity of the fruit you harvest!

What is the right temperature to grow a ghost pepper plant?

All pepper plants need a warm climate to grow, and there is a sensitive range of temperatures at which they will thrive. If the temperature drops below around 60 degrees F, the plant is unlikely to keep growing and producing flowers.

Ideally, a pepper plant should live in a warm climate between 70 degrees F to 85 degrees F during the day, with slightly cooler temperatures at night (Gardening Know How).

However, the ghost pepper plant is pretty sensitive to that temperature range, and it may also stop growing if the temperature begins to exceed 90 degrees F.

Overall, it’s important to keep your ghost pepper plant in the recommended temperature range. Avoid trying to grow these peppers outside during the winter, as the cold weather will stunt their growth, and it is unlikely they will ever produce fruit.

How long does it take for a pepper plant to flower?

Most varieties of peppers, including the ghost pepper, have a growing season of around 60 to 90 days before you will see the first flowers begin to spring up (Almanac). This is considered a longer growing season than some other plants, so be patient as you grow your ghost peppers! By the 90-day mark, you should have flowers popping up on your pepper plant. If you do not, consider if your garden is set up for optimal pepper growth. 

What prevents a pepper plant from flowering?

Another factor that will hurt a ghost pepper plant from flowering is poor soil conditions, specifically a pH imbalance. Soil can have a pH balance that is too high, where you may need to reduce the soil’s acidity, or a pH balance that is too low, where you need to add calcium carbonate to help it reach its optimal zone. (Green Upside).

You can easily figure out the pH balance of your soil by purchasing a soil testing kit. Once the soil pH balance is corrected, you should start seeing blooms on your plant. 

A lack of sunlight or water will also cause a plant to stop growing or seriously impede its growth. You do not want your ghost pepper plant to be in an area mostly shaded all day long, where the sun isn’t reaching it. You also can’t underwater or overwater your pepper plant, as those actions will also stop a ghost pepper plant from flowering.

It’s easier to tell when a plant has been underwatered, but the way to evaluate if a plant is being overwatered is to put your hands in the soil and check if it is staying moist for several days after you last watered it. Root rot will set in if the soil remains too wet, as this causes a lack of air to get through to the soil (Green Upside). 

Gardening is a game of getting the environment just right for each particular plant to meet its specific needs, especially if you are attempting to grow a plant that is not native to your area.

If you have tried a couple of times and are still struggling to get your ghost peppers to grow, consider opting for an indoor greenhouse garden, which allows you to better control almost all of the factors that matter for a plant’s health. These practices will majorly up your gardening game and lead to a successful harvest season after season!