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Naturalized Capsicum in Virginia?

Spicegeist

Spicegeist

As an experiment I left seed from a couple of different Capsicum varieties and species out in the soil (unprotected) before this past Winter.  Well, they're popping up now and while the slugs have been eating most of them, the fact that they even came up is interesting in itself.  I'm in about a USDA Zone 5 or 6 (it varies because of the hilly terrain and slight local microclimates in this part of the state).
 
Has anyone else seen Capsicum on its way to being naturalized in similarly cold climates?  Here are some pics taken today (slugs will probably get them tonight or soon):
 

 

 
 
 
 
Seemed like too much of a shame to leave it to the slugs... Looks like C. chinense, could be TS Morouga Blend, Cumari do Para or some others, I just threw a bunch of seed in that spot.

IMG_20130523_162545_zps23b3f0c5.jpg
 
I've had some chiltepins come up from seeds, I had decided to leave the plants go with pods still on them most were eaten by blue jays and winter birds but what hit the ground sprouted in the spring and though it had crossed with another pepper I kept the seeds. I haven't planted them since I moved, but I'm sure that they would self seed so long as the birds didn't eat all the seeds up. Where I'm at is Z5b to 6a I've had a Rocoto make it to February with protection but we had a long hard snow and that killed it. 
I hear that C. flexuosum is very cold hardy, but I have no idea how cold hardy it is as I haven't been able to get any seeds of it.
 
I have had many pepper volunteers. Tomatoes come up easier than peppers but I haven't seen a variety yet that struggled to come up in the spring. I have had quite a few come up and then get killed by a frost when they came up too early.
 
I had a few of what looked like C. praetermissum seedlings pop up too, I wonder if wild varieties woud have the best chances of naturalizing here.
 
Nice SG!
 
It would be interesting to protect and grow some, i do similar experiments.
If you carefully grow strongest and cold resistant seedlings and save seeds year after year you will end up with something fully naturalized or at least really hardy. I've sowed outdoors for the most part this year and those acclimatized varieties are really useful!
 
Cya
 
Datil
 
Datil said:
Nice SG!
 
It would be interesting to protect and grow some, i do similar experiments.
If you carefully grow strongest and cold resistant seedlings and save seeds year after year you will end up with something fully naturalized or at least really hardy. I've sowed outdoors for the most part this year and those acclimatized varieties are really useful!
 
Cya
 
Datil
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That's a great idea, I'll think I'll try it again this fall.  This seedling is such a late start that it might not be able to produce mature fruit before the next freeze comes along.  I'll try doing this with some of my faster-to-fruit varieties...


Maybe I'll sow a bunch of Chiltepin, Florida Wild, C. chacoense and C. pubescens in the fall.
 
Wild peppers have a better chance of naturalizing as they grow in extreme conditions where most peppers would not come back up from seeds. I have found with the exceptions of Chiltepins from Mexico, Arizona and Texas that the ones best suited to come back from seeds would be from Peru or border lining the Andean Mountains  some small Rocotos, C. exmium, C. cardenasii, C. praetermissum and from Eastern Brazil C. flexousum and maybe C. lanceolatum or C. parvifolium.
By the way if anyone has some seeds of the last three species that they could share or for that matter sale, I would be very interested in getting a few seeds.
Also I would be interested in finding out what other species they might cross with that would produce fertile seeds from the cross.
Oh yes C. chacoense is a very tough little pepper and produces hundreds of very small pods the same goes for the praetermissum pepper the pods on some of the C. chacoense varieties produce very oily pods which might help the seeds to survive better in areas that have cold wet and heavy snows.
Here in Missouri the seed will germinate on there on if covered with some soil which helps protect the seeds and gives them a better chance of not being eaten by winter birds that feed primarily on seeds and nuts.
 
Certain Baccatum plants are cold & disease tolerant as well,  some of them may make decent candidates.
 
Here's an Aji Habanero (baccatum) that survived till late December in 2011, wrapped in plastic (NJ 6B). It was a mild La Nina winter but still impressive imho. A sustained freezing spell finally killed it.
 
Here's a pic of the monster plant in late October 2011, right after a big harvest. It was nearly 6ft across and 2 1/2 ft tall. The main stem was like a tree trunk.

 
I had volunteers sprout in that spot the next year in 2012, but was unwilling to devote space to "mystery peppers".
 
Mild spice but they make great picklers, one plant filled a bunch of jars. After pickling it still has the right amount of crisp, skin wasn't leathery, similar to banana peppers but a tiny bit more flavor. They are mid-season but prefer extra sun and ferts compared to other types.
 
3/5King said:
I don't get it. Seeds should be able to be left over the winter (in the ground) and pop up when it's warm out. Why wouldn't they? Forgive me if I'm being ignorant.
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On paper what you're saying should be true, but it doesn't  always happen that way. Either they just don't sprout in climate zones 5,6,7, or the slugs eat them before we even see them.
 
My most recent example is serrano peppers. I left a bunch of ripe ones in the dirt last year, saw them all winter long, most were scratched just under the soil. I never saw a single sprout this spring.
 
Also, if the seeds aren't fully dehydrated beforehand, the first frost causes the seeds to burst, and die.


Spicegeist said:
I have a couple of baccatum crosses I could try this out with if they give me fruit with viable seed...
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If it's a cool climate baccatum, like the ones that grow near the Andes or any mountain range, then they may be good candidates.
 
I'd have to look it up, but i think the Aji Habanero i posted is that type. Either way i know that it is extremely cold and disease tolerant. Maybe i should let a few of them naturalize this year...hmmm.
 
3/5King said:
I don't get it. Seeds should be able to be left over the winter (in the ground) and pop up when it's warm out. Why wouldn't they? Forgive me if I'm being ignorant.
Click to expand...
The problem is that often 'natural' germination it's simply happening too late...
In places with a real winter the species able to germinate and properly grow outdoors before it's summertime are rare and welcome ;)
High altitude landraces are good candidates for sure.

Cya

Datil
 
Wouldn't seeds be better dried if the pod was left to dry on the plant then fall when ready, rather than to sow seeds in the fall? Let nature prep the seeds for springtime germination, and see what comes back. Maybe just toss a little soil over the sundried pods once they've fallen.
 
I can tell you every year in Delaware it happens to me. Chiltepin Amarillo, Lemon Drop and many Thai types seem to come up every year from fallen pods that get worked into the soil naturally over winter. I pulled about 50+ this yeah so I didn't have any unknowns and space was tight. 
 
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