Last year I had a Hab plant on the deck in full sun (12+ hours at the height of summer). It worked out pretty well, yielding more habs than I could use, which is a shame. So I tried the same setup again this year. I also have 18 other pepper plants (14 Cayenne, 4 Jalapeno) that are planted in the ground. The ground plants seem to be doing much better. The Hab is yielding a good amount of pods, don't get me wrong, but so far it has thrown off more flowers than it has kept on. The leaves also seem to whither in the heat. But we haven't really hit the 90s for a few weeks now except for sporadically. Every day I come home from work, and the poor thing is sitting on the deck practically crying for some shade. At least, it seems that way to me. The ground plants on the other hand have taken off!! The Cayenne are super tall, drop very few if any pods, and look green and healthy. The Hab is sitting there alone by itself in the pot, looking thirsty as all get out, even though I water it almost every day.

My grand plans for next year include a raised bed of peppers that will put them in the same sun conditions as my struggling Hab. The only difference between the Hab (12+ hours) and the ground plants (8+ hours)is the amount of sun and the location. The ground plants are also right next to the house, so I'm sure I've got some microclimate going on with the "desert" deck and the "not so much desert" ground next to the house. Is my raised bed idea adviseable for Cayenne, Serrano, and/or Jalapeno, or will they struggle with dropped pods and an overall look of "WATER ME!!" like the Hab this year. Or is this just what they look like this time of year? I will say that when I got home and watered the Hab today, it stayed withered looking until I noticed that the shadows had crept over it, althought that could have coincided with the water making it's way up the roots. Thoughts?