My pepper plants got scorched after one afternoon in the June sun

I moved my jalapeno pots to a south-facing balcony edge in Phoenix thinking they'd love the heat, but by 4 PM the leaves were curling and turning white. Turns out reflective concrete walls bounce extra light onto the plants and I basically cooked them in 6 hours. Has anyone else dealt with sunburn on a hot balcony and found a shade solution that works?

2 comments

2 Comments

laura_knight5411d ago

Phoenix concrete bounce cooked mine too but @the_logan is wrong shade just makes them leggy.

the_logan11d ago

I used to think "hardening off" was just something overprotective gardeners did for seedlings. Then I put my habaneros on a white-painted concrete balcony in Tucson and they looked like crispy bacon by noon. The bounce off the walls doubles the light intensity and reflects heat from the ground too. What worked for me was a cheap bamboo shade I clipped to the railing with little binder clips, letting it hang like a curtain but leaving the top few inches open for airflow. The plants still get morning sun through the gaps and the shade cuts the worst of that afternoon blast. Now I keep them a foot back from the edge too so the wall isn't aimed right at them.