Arrgh! I've pwn3d 2 Naga plants

This is being written out of fustration, sadness, and as a warning to those growing the Holy Grail of peppers, the Naga Morich. I've found that our Nagas may be one of the strongest peppers capsaicin wise, but it's one of the weakest plant/stem wise I've ever seen!!

Let me explain by telling my short heart breaking story.

Yesterday I planned to re-route some of my Nagas and Savinas above the first ring of their tomatos cages since they are getting pretty big (about 2 ft by 2 ft). I use small cages for all my peppers so they get good support for growing without fear of wind destroying them as we do get some strong wind/storms around my area at times. I know to be very gentle when moving the stems around, but I've never to my knowledge broke a pepper stem. I've broken a few tomato stems but they are a dime a dozen, this is my first year of growing Naga's and I want them to be pampered as much as possible so I know to be extremely careful. Well, wouldn't you know it, the first stem I try to slightly bend to negotiate up and ontop of the first ring I hear 'Snap,' off came a 12" branch with 9 pods starting on it!! I lost my breath and started hyperventilating, I almost started crying and just wanted this to be a nightmare I could wake from! The stem busted right apart in the middle as easy as breaking a very dried twig, it is clean cut like it was done with sizzors! I barely moved the dumb thing and now the plant will suffer and live with this tragedy.. I decided to not mess with this one and moved unto the next, thinking that it must've been just a week stem for some reason and this woulcn't happen again. Well, plant #2 and the first stem I try moving again and 'Snap!' WTH? These plants are the weakest little things I've ever seen! A blade of Grass is stronger then the stem of a Naga!! Am I alone here? Has anyone else had this happen? I've decided not to touch another Naga until it has pods ready for picking....

Yeah, I'm now a labled pepper abuser, but hopefully sharing this story will prevent someone else from hurting thier precious Nagas.

Ouch!! They shouldn't break that easily. They are in the ground? I don't like the cages, I prefer to let them strengthen in the wind sometimes staking them loosely.

Yeah I wil never forget this day every time I mess with my plants Yes they are in the ground. I had a few plants get wiped out before from a bad rain storm and from then out I've always used the cages. I've always feared this happening again so this is why I use the cages, but perhaps I shouldn't as maybe they are keeping the plants from developing very strong? The funny thing is none of my other plants break off near as easy as my Nagas did. I've done the same thing this year with my Jalapenos, Thai, Carribean, and Red Savinas and none broke, maybe my Nagas are just wimps?

here's a pic from today pointing out where a large branch once was

That is crazy! In my experiance they are some of the most invincible plants I have ever grown. So far I have basically done everything I can to kill a few of my nagas and they keep asking for more! I even somehow knocked one of my potted nagas over and it lay flattened upside down and out of the pot overnight. The stem was completely bent sideways, I propped it up and watered heavily. Two days later it was fine! Just a few hurt leaves where the soil cut through them. That is a major bummer that you got a setback like that. But with the size of those nagas they will be fine and producing like crazy in no time. They do look like Bhuts more then nagas to me though?

I updated my pic for a closer look of at an injured Naga. I hope this doesn't set back the growth of the plant much as I have a few pods starting. I'm dying to eat me a Naga!!

the plant looks very healthy PF, such a break is a little odd on a chile plant. was the breakage point extremely dry or was it damp/moist? did the tissue look alive or dead/dying/discoloured? was there any strange sap or liquid visible? did you get the seeds from a swap? if so, contact the donor and see if they are having the same issue?

POTAWIE said:

Ouch!! They shouldn't break that easily. They are in the ground? I don't like the cages, I prefer to let them strengthen in the wind sometimes staking them loosely.

Click to expand...

Clearly your garden doesn't suffer the depridations of that most feared of garden preditors, _Canis lumbercus_ "Goofus", of the large footed, whomp-assed lab mix.

Or gusty tropical storms in the fall.

Thanks Chilliman, they do seem to be healthy and I think they are very good strain of Naga seeds since I bought them from Primo on FleaBay. But, they just seem so week, there is no signs of problems bug/fungus/defect wise, but the branchs just seem to snap right apart at a node/elbow area with ease and with a very clean almost razor like cut. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing as I'm sure the plants will continue to grow, but I thought I'd bring this up to see if anyone else noticed this with their Nagas. It just sucks seeing the plants I've babied and watched over for several months to get hurt.


Pam, your too funny! I actually do have two garden predators own my own that I call Labrapigs. They've been trained to stay out of the garden, but occassionally they'll spot a rabbit, cat, or groundhog and tear after them, thus also tearing apart anything else in their way

that's a very nice vegie patch you've got there PF. love the dogs, though I've gotta say those two pooches don't look like they'd tear after too much. they look like they prefer tearing into a good lie down and a belly rub though.

I've got a lumbering dinosaur (male Rotti) and he too has no respect for anything standing between him and where he wants to be, especially if there is food involved.

what else are you growing in there? it looks like you have many peppers and lots of corn...

I got some Naga Morich seeds from Primo also!

Hehe, yeah don't ever get in their way when it comes to f00d!!
The pic on the right of the garden was from 4 years ago the last year my father was around and taking care of the garden. He always packed it to the hilt with everytihng you could imagine from beans, potatos, corn, onions, cabbage, etc. bascially anything you'd find at a local supermarket. He was a farm boy growing up and he loved growing everything he could. The following year I gave the garden a year off of growing and shrunk it down in size by 12ft in it's width as I mostly grow peppers now. Mostly of course, I also grow tomato's, zucchini, squash, cucumber, watermellon, cantelope, and honeydew.