Could be due to a lot of things. Here's just a few things to think about:
How old is the plant?
How big is the plant?
In what size container?
What is the potting mix?
How often do you water?
Temperature in growing area?

Please post pictures.

The plant is 1 1/2 feet tall, about 2 months ole, in an 8" container, unfortunately it is in miracle grow moisture control soil, i water it when the soil gets dry, about every other day, temperature is probably around 70 degrees, maybe colder on cold nights. Id post a picture, but it didn't sag tonight.

I am thinking that watering every other day is too much. Are you sure the soil is dry? Just because the surface is dry, doesn't mean the middle to bottom is dry also. The temps sound good unless the light is putting out a lot of heat.
Bruce

Yeah, cut back the watering. Rule of thumb for any pepper is "Don't water until it starts to wilt". If the leaves aren't droopy and wilty from lack of water, then its fine, leave it alone.

I'm new in the pepper growing area but I have cayenne that I started from seed and just had the sagging leaves on all of my plants yesterday.. I thought they were goners.. I had been hardening them off to an outdoor patio greenhouse last week and they have been looking great! Yesterday our temperatures dipped into the low 30's and I had to bring them back inside. I wasn't sure I had to since they were in a greenhouse but then finally I decided I couldn't let them stay outside. I didn't get them in until later in the evening though. It was as if they had experienced a shock coming back into the warm house.. they all drooped after being inside for a little while. Their containers and soil were all freezing cold still so I figured I'd give it a shot and try to warm them up (think hot cocoa during a snowstorm..) I watered them a little with warm water, and put them under a light to warm up some more. That did the trick believe it or not.. they all straightened up again after about an hour. Today they look normal again.

Hmmm, sounds like you did give them a case of temperature shock. That is good to know. I had never experienced that before but I don't think I ever let them get down into the 30's and then brought directly into a house at about 70. Something I will keep in mind when I start hardening off my plants.
Bruce

Sounds like the roots got too cold. Peppers like warm roots. The fact they drooped when you got inside might be because the roots were already damaged by cold, and when you brought them inside, the leaves started transpiring in the warmer environment but could not replenish the water in the leaves due to damaged roots.

Edymion: There's an adage about watering that says to wait until the plant wilts, then water the day before... Sounds funny, but I think that it is healthier to water just before it wilts, then waiting for it to actually wilt. The reason to hold off is to have the plant do a bit of searching for water to build the root system, but not to stress it. By the time the plant wilts, you are already causing damage to the plant. With experience, you'll know when to water just before it wilts.

True, but two things factor into that.

1) If someone is overwatering, they already don't know the proper time to water. The wilting leaves are a good visual indicator that is impossible to miss. Being a day late on water is less damaging than constant overwatering, so lesser of two evils.

2) If you are growing hot peppers, stressing the plant will produce hotter peppers. Waiting for the leaves to wilt a bit before watering is a very easy, reasonably safe way to stress the plant without doing any real harm to it.

Yes, a new grower may need to see wilt a couple of times to get the feel of the time just before wilt, although I think picking up the pot and testing weight is one of the easiest to learn.

Not convinced that allowing a plant to wilt gives you hotter peppers, I've seen no proof of this, but I would think it can affect yield if done as a rule from the time it's a young plant. I've had very prolific and hot peppers by not stressing plants at all. But I've certainly seen reduced yields, flavor and heat in plants that were stressed. My peppers in the ground are never as healthy and hot as the plants I keep in pots where I can control and reduce environmental stress.

So, in general, do pepper plants need to be watered less often then tomoatoes?

Could any of you post pictures of your pepper plants at the right point of wilt prior to watering? I need all the help I can get with my pepper plants, which are still in small seedling size.

Thanks!

melfield, you probably dont want to be forcing your little seedlings to a point of wilting. That would probably be a fine line between showing signs of dryness and keeling over dead. I would use the wilting method for more mature plants unless you plant to keep a real close watch on them.

Here is what I suggest. Depending on what size containers you have your seedlings in, find an appropriate size wooden stick. For those tiny starter kits, a toothpick would work. For 3-5" pots, I use pieces of those bamboo skewers you can buy in bags of 20-30 for a buck or two. carefully push the stick into the soil starting near an edge away from the plant stem. Angle it down towards the bottom center of the container. Push it in to the bottom. Now, leave it set anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour or more. Carefully pull it out and if there is soil particles stuck to the stick, there is moisture in the soil. If the particles are only on the tip, then you know the top part is dry and bottom is still a little damp.

The dampness of the wood will also tell you how wet the soil is. If it is dry all the way or down to near the bottom of the stick, then it is time to water. You can use this method all year long. You just need a long enough stick.

Once your peppers are in the summer spots, you can use the wilting method and not worry too much about killing them if you are checking them every day.
Bruce

I use the bamboo skewer method as well. But, I just leave it in there for a minute or so. If you try it a few times, you'll get a feel for it.

melfield, you probably dont want to be forcing your little seedlings to a point of wilting. That would probably be a fine line between showing signs of dryness and keeling over dead. I would use the wilting method for more mature plants unless you plant to keep a real close watch on them.

I'll re-enforce this since I think I've probably lost at least one plant today. :(

Yesterday would have been the day to water my plants, but I got sidetracked with my daughter and a trip to the ER.

I remembered to check them today, most looked wilted but one was really bad looking. I quickly watered them and most seemed to rebound OK, but the worst one still looks shriveled up. Fortunately it was one of four (NuMex Twilights) so I'm not completely devastated.

Thank you so much for your advice. I will try that method. Here in windy Wyoming everything is dry, dry, dry so finding the right balance between enough moiture and keeling over dead is a hard one. I grew peppers successfully a few years ago with nursery-grown seedlings, but since I have begun starting my own seeds, by peppers have been pretty lack-luster, so I appreciate any help I can get.

Mbellot: I hope your daughter is OK. I've been to the ER myself alot lately ;).

It is all about experience. I really struggled with it last year but I am much better about it this year. It just takes time and and a chance to see your containers go from saturated to nearly dry a bunch of times and then you can just kind of tell. Once you start getting a feel for when they are dry, you can just pick one up and test the weight and pretty much determine how dry it is.

Bruce