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shopping buying seeds or starts in general these days

I see MOST of the super Hots these days from Nurseries as being not even Chinense lately.
A few are crosses , not even close to being supers,they grow the hot end of Habanero at best.
A LOT aren't even Chinense.
 
Too much $ per seed or plant for supers these days I think.
Unknown  sources are used by Nurseries these days.
 
They sell the starts to nurseries,until the plant buds up and pods out,it's too late to return the plant.
 
I used to get whatever starts from a local nursery 5 years + ago with only a very few not being what I thought I purchased.
NOW I pay for stuff that isn't even what the label says.
NOW I get 1 out of 5 plants that are even close to what I thought I purchased.
Started a few years back with Bhuts,
Most stuff was really Fatalii peppers.
Jalapeno eaters did think they were super hot...
Now I get Cayenne type,upturned poded plants as almost any super.
EVEN the stuff sold as a thai type pepper (this year are Bells).
 
Trades are slightly better,crosses of supers that are almost in the super catagory or at least most times hotter than habs.
 
A lot of seed vendors I THINK found out that selling unstable crosses,sold as such get as much $ as any super.
They get no complaints-they sell it as a cross/unstable.
That is cool.They promised nothing.
But a TON of the varieties that used to be fairly common are either old seeds (the vendors don't grow it anymore) or they just aren't easy to find anymore.
I purchased several varieties THIS year from vendors that are crap seeds.
Most I think are old but moat are immature seeds.
Yellow,green,purple ,brown or whatever is picked at that color,though RED is probably the true ripe color.
 
My hands don't work right these days.
If you want me to answer your reply,I'm not ignoring you.I just can't type that day.
Also it is just what I think.
Not ragging on ALL vendors.
Just commenting on the times.
 
 
 
 
 
I bought 2 bhuts, 1 butch t and 2 choc habs from a local nursery less than a mile from my house . Hopefully they are what they said they were when I purchased them .
 
I bought serrano and pablanos from the nursery, everything else is seed stock from members through trades. Everything was too mystery at my local stops, just labeled habanero but not even a hab pic on the tag and stuff like that.
 
fortunately, I dont recall ever getting any seed from anyone here that turned out to be other than what it was promoted to be. Thats a pretty good % for true seed.
 
I visit plenty of big nurseries and have only seen "Trinidad Scorpion" and (orange) "Habanero" as far as chinense starts. I have seen a few one-person growers selling other chinense starts at farmers markets.
 
And the rest of what I planted came from pods I purchased from THP members so they are true blue peppers.

My local nursery also has peach and red habanero peppers.
 
Main thing is to go with a reputable source.  There seem to be many if you do your research.  I am growing mostly from seeds, but also had some plants shipped to me.  All are from reputable sources.  Or maybe not, I guess I won't know till August/September!
 
While I COMPLETELY understand the frustration of something not growing true after the work it takes to start them I have just come to expect it of a few seeds and sometimes it is a nice surprise.  
 
I have yet to have something so bad as a super-hot be a green bell but I have had a mighty struggle finding the Scotch Bonnet variety that matches what I have in my head as my first 'authentic' taste of a Scotch Bonnet while in the Caribbean many years ago.  Despite reputable sources the ones I have had just have not been 'the one'!  Along the road though one of them labeled a Scotch Bonnet turned out to be a Jamaican Squash/Mushroom/UFO (depending on what you like to call them) and damn if it didn't become a favorite (and extremely prolific plant) of mine that I may have otherwise never even tried... now it's grown every year  :P
 
The hottest a nursery had was Ghost pepper and habanero. Was surprised to see Lemon Drop at another different nursery. Just all depends where you live I guess. Im guessing warmer states down south carry hotter plants
 
Sad that it has come to that, but unfortunately that is life these days. There still are plenty of honest vendors and nurseries out there. You just have to do your research. Cross Country Nursery has always done me right and I know there are a lot of honest and trustworthy members here who won't do you wrong. Avoid anything from Amazon or eBay. They are notorious for selling bunk seeds.
 
D3monic said:
I bought serrano and pablanos from the nursery, everything else is seed stock from members through trades. Everything was too mystery at my local stops, just labeled habanero but not even a hab pic on the tag and stuff like that.
I had the same experience recently- A very local nursery had a BUNCH of tomato seedlings in the 3" plastic cups for $1 each. They were some really long-legged plants, and looked healthy. On the tag was "Creole Tomato", and "$1.00".
 
After I researched what a "Creole Tomato" really is, I laughed, but hey, they were just a buck and are nice looking plants that are already putting out 'maters'.
Read here for why I laughed: http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2014/03/the_truth_about_creole_tomatoe.html
 
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