For reference, these are all my producing plants... 8 BP & 1 Thai Dragon (plz excuse the darkness of pic, they're in the shade during this part of the day)

When the heat us too high my flowers drop quite a but and won't fruit so maybe that's why or a high nitrogen fertilizer does the same thing to my flowering peppers.

It's been super hot here... Heat index above 100° for several weeks now. All my other plants are producing beautifully, except these 3. I don't know if maybe the others have become tolerant of the heat, being they're last year's plants that I overwintered (half of which I left outside to die off, but they made it thru ). These 3 are young, just bought them a couple months ago. I'm hoping I get a few pods off these guys soon, but we do have a longer grow season here... I may have to wait til fall on pods

I'd say it's the heat. Are you fertilizing them with a high nitrogen fert? Those typically cause flower drop, too.

It looks to me like your plants could be suffering somewhat from too small of a container. I would consider potting up to something a bit bigger. At least three gallons.

Yes, not only are the containers too small, but the plants aren't receiving enough light....which I can discern by their exceptionally tall and lanky growth habit.

Josh

I'm guessing heat. Whether it's too small of a container(larger container means better chance for the soil temps to be regulated) or the constant daytime temps over 95F . ALthough I believe Josh about the lankiness and not enough light, weeks on end of high 90's will just shut plants down. Do what you can to shade(not complete shade but dappled shade) the plants AND the pots. Heavy mulch can also help.

Perhaps invest in some shade cloth.

Kevin

Btw, Hey Josh!

I think those plants are indoor plants (as discerned from the photos) which leads me to agree they are probably not getting the sunlight they need. But as far as temps, that would tend to take most of the high heat issue away.

Best case is to pot up and then start hardening them off for the outdoors while there is still summer left.

No, they are not indoor plants. I live in an apartment complex, so I have a covered balcony garden, which gets full sun in early morning & in the evenings, which is the best I can do on sunlight. The rest of my plants are not lanky like these 3, with the exception of my Thai Dragon, that shares space w/ a BP. The plants were already tall & lanky when I got them, they've just grown bigger, but aside from fuller canopy, look the same as day 1. I'm not using fertilizer, I've always just used MiracleGro potting mix & had great results. The mammoth jalapeño is already in a 3gal pot, and I intend to pot up the other 2, as soon as my hand heals from my surgery 2weeks ago 2day. The Tabasco is actually fuller than it looks in the pic, but I had to support the branches w/ tape until I pot up & stake it

Potting up should help. Some types, Jals included will grow taller and lankier than other plants. The Thai Dragon should definitely be a fuller plant though. I don't think fertilizer deficiency is a significant cause either. But, a little shot later in the season wouldn't hurt. The built in MG ferts will dissipate after 2-3 months.

Here is one of my Thai Dragons and one of my Hungarian Wax peppers that show how different the foliage can be on two different varieties.

Both are doing great, producing lots of fruit and both getting the exact same growing conditions.

The lanky Thai is kinda my fault, lol... It was growing at a faster rate than the BP it is planted with, and the canopy was covering the BP, so I pruned back some of the lower growth, and then a severe t-storm last year snapped 1/2 of it off at the 1st y. It never fully recovered from that bad break off, or it would be twice as full now.

Hey, Kevin!

We've been in a heatwave of 100F+ temps for over a week now, and we've been over 95F for several weeks. There's no relief! I've actually had to water plants twice a day in some cases, which is quite labor intensive. Thankfully, pods are setting!

Josh

Ok... I think I discovered the culprit of the flower drop on my mammoth jalapeño... Spider mites. I have removed the badly infested foliage, then sprayed the entire plant with Worry Free. However, after careful inspection, as with the rest of my pepper plants, there is no visible sign of infestation on the other 2 plants in question, unlike my multiple others, they just aren't flowering at all.

My jalapeño has also caught spider mites... I think because I had it below my impatiens that became heavily infested (and I've thrown away as a result). I pinched off all of the leaves that showed any sign of infestation, and sprayed the rest of the plant with Worry Free. I've been keeping a close eye on both the mammoth jalapeño & this jalapeño, and hand squished anything suspicious. Hopefully these 2 plants will bounce back quickly... My Tabasco on the other hand is healthy, vibrant green & flourishing. I'll be potting-up all 3 plants this weekend. I'm debating topping the 2 jalapeño plants, since they've already lost so much foliage.... Do any of you think this is a good idea? Or should I wait & let nature take its course?

Flower drop probable causes:

1. Day temp too high >95F

2. Night temp too low <65F or too high >85F

3. Too much nitrogen fertilizer

4. Too much water

5. Low light levels (reduces fertility).

6. Very low humidity (reduces fertility)

7. Poor air circulation (air circulation contributes to
pollination).

8. Lack of pollinating insects.

9. Size of pot

10. Too much mineral in feedwater.

11. Too much grower attention/anxiety.

Also if you have lack of bees and insects in the area you should find the biggest flower touch the pollen on the inside with a makeup brush and touch every other flower with this brush and lastly touch the biggest one you started with you won't forget as it's the biggest flower.

This will pollinate the flowers and further minimise the chances of the flowers falling off.