[CH] Re: Staking Plants
George Nelson (70431.3065@compuserve.com)
Sat, 24 Oct 1998 15:26:56 -0400
Brian Thompson asked whether chiles needed staking like tomatoes. Tony
Lill indicated he needed stakes to keep his plants upright due to shallow
roots in clay soil making them prone to being blown over. Michael Bailes
added that heavier peppers, like bells needed stakes for support.
This has been my experience as well. The smaller, really hot peppers do
not need much staking, but the larger-fruited varieties like the ancho and
long green New Mexico ones tend to bear so much heavy fruit that their
branches can break.
I recommend putting in a stake as a matter of course at planting.
Sometimes I use tomato cages or multiple bamboo sticks (I have them readily
available). Putting them in at planting keeps roots from being disturbed
later by putting in a stake in reaction to heavy growth on the plant. Use
of more than one stake allows the plant to spread a bit. It sometimes is
tough to plan how many to use or how tall a stake needs to be: some of my
ancho 101 plants have gone over 6 feet tall, while other plants (like
rocotos and habaneros) have a low, spreading habit getting no more than 2
feet off the ground.
George Nelson
70431.3065@compuserve.com