Losing Leaves from Habanero Plant

Question

My Habanero plant is 12″ by 12″ in a pot and is full of peppers. It has produced for the last two years. All of a sudden it’s beginning to lose all its leaves. It looks as if I will lose it. What do you suggest I do to prevent this? Thank you.

Answer 1

While there are a number of possible causes – temperature and/or water stress, insects, disease – I’m thinking that it’s possible your peppers have some sort of root or soil fungus. Most of these things are awfully hard to treat. You could try simply cutting back on water, watering with some neem oil, which knocks out some types of fungus (https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/pesticides/neem-oil-uses.htm ) or you could try pulling them out of the pots, washing off all the old soil, and repotting in fresh. You might also try rooting cuttings, in case you lose the whole plant. Here’s some more info on pepper diseases: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/pepper/common-pepper-plant-problems.htm