[CH] Red Savina Hab question

Brandon C Nuttall (bnuttall@kih.net)
Sat, 28 Aug 1999 09:11:19 -0400

Folks,

I have a three-year old red savina hab. This spring, when I put it outside, 
all looked rosy. It started to put on leaves, bloom, and set fruit. 
However, after the fruit set, everything just seemed to come to a halt 
except for the ripening chiles. The leaves curled up and it quit growing 
new ones. I tried all kinds of things: not watering, watering, feeding. 
Finally, around mid-July, I decided to repot. Here in Kentucky, we are in 
drought conditions, I've not had more than a total of one inch of rain 
since the first week of May. We were also headed into what would become the 
hottest part of the summer, weeks of 90+ temps. Anyway, the hab loved the 
repot and weather. It has simply exploded into a lush green four foot high 
bush.

The problem, here it is, almost September, and the hab is blooming and 
setting fruit like mad. I have only a few weeks until the end of the 
growing season; first frost averages mid-October. To ensure the maturity of 
some chiles before I bring the hab in for the winter, should I be pinching 
off some of the new buds before they bloom?

Brandon C. Nuttall
Frankfort, KY
bnuttall@kih.net