Why Are My Pepper Plant Leaves Turning Yellow? Stop Discolor!

A lot of us love to grow peppers because of their low maintenance and cost-effectiveness. But what happens when you notice that their leaves begin to yellow, especially when you feel like you’ve been doing everything right?

Don’t worry, you aren’t alone! I’ve had many fellow gardeners ask me, “why are my pepper plant leaves turning yellow?” If you’re wondering why as well, read on as I show you the top four common reasons why and the remedies to it!

Why Are My Pepper Plant Leaves Turning Yellow?

No one likes seeing yellow leaves on their pepper plants, as this may indicate serious problems! Find out why it happens and how you may be able to remedy them with these points:

1. Watering Stress

Watering too little can have your plants wilt and yellow, but the same goes for watering it too much! Yes, water is a vital ingredient to help your plants grow, but they need to have the right amounts.

When growing pepper plants, you only want them to have the right amount of water for moist soil. You don’t want it soaking wet!

Furthermore, the soil should have enough drainage, especially if you plant in pots. If not, then water gets trapped to the pot and the roots become water-logged, eventually rotting and lowing oxygen. The result: Yellowing leaves and smaller plants!

Water only the right amounts that keep the soil moist, not too wet, or completely dried out. Water meters can help to measure amounts of water in the soil and pH levels to have pepper plants reach optimum acidity levels.

When watering your plants, make sure that the soil dries out slightly between your waterings. This prevents overwatering. You can feel the soil first and gauge whether it’s dry, watering it only when needed.

2. Diseases

Did you know that plants can suffer from diseases, too? Common pepper plant diseases include wilting, bacterial leaf spot, or phytophthora blight, which cause pepper plant leaves to yellow.

Unfortunately, if your pepper plant suffers from a disease, it may be untreatable and you must discard the pepper plant. Furthermore, you will have to wait for at least a year before you can start replanting nightshade vegetables like the pepper plant to avoid the diseases from resurfacing to new ones.

3. Any Pests?

Of course, those pesky pests can mooch up nutrients your pepper plant needs! Pests such as aphids, psyllids, and mites would stick and suck on your pepper plant, diverting its nutrients and water. As a result, the pepper plant leaves begin to yellow.

If you see any pests or suspect that your plant may have it, then you can treat your plants with insecticide or Neem oil, which is a natural alternative that kills harmful pests without negatively affecting beneficial insects, people, and animals.

Read more: When Is It Too Late To Prune Pepper Plants? (Exact Time)

4. Nutrient Deficiencies

One of the top nutrient deficiencies in bell peppers (and other plants) is nitrogen! This is a mobile nutrient, so plants shift Nitrogen from different parts of the plant.

If your pepper plants run low on Nitrogen, it moves any of the remaining nutrients from older leaves to newer ones. That’s why you can see larger and older leaves at the bottom of your plant begin to yellow first. Eventually, the leaves will fall off and the top leaves look green and healthy.

There may also be other nutrient deficiencies, such as:

• Magnesium, which is essential for pepper plant health. Leaves will begin to yellow but its veins remain green, compared to a Nitrogen deficiency
• Calcium helps plants absorb nutrients better and when pepper plants don’t have enough of it, leaves begin to curl and show brown spots

Fortunately, some sprays and fertilizers can help give your plants the nutrients it needs. And if you can, replanting pepper plants with new and richer soil will do wonders. If you can’t replace the soil, you can use Epsom salt in your soil for a healthier magnesium uptake, as well as eggshells and crab shells to increase calcium and magnesium content.

Do you want to learn more about how to remedy yellowing plant leaves? Find out helpful solutions from this video:

Wrapping It Up

You’ll be surprised that one of the top culprits of yellowing pepper plant leaves is from overwatering it! You should check your pepper plants and its soil quality as well, ensuring that it isn’t too wet or dry and that the soil has a good compost and fertilizer. That way, you won’t have to worry about pests and nutrient deficiencies in the long-term.

I hope that this article answers your question, “why are my pepper plant leaves turning yellow? Now that you know the reasons why, evaluate your pepper plant and follow the right remedies for healthier leaves.