I'm spending time in Puerto Rico and trying to take advantage of the climate to grow a bunch of peppers. However, I've been dealing with broad mite attacks (got good advice from gasificada on this website) and a huge ant colony not only living on my roof and in my car, but also farming aphids on my plants (thousands on a single plant). Think things are getting better, epecially after moving my plants from the patio to a new location outside. I hadn't realized that the plants were actually getting more shade as the sun's positition was getting higher . Now plants and wife are happier but I'm even more scared of the mites returning.
Anyway, here are two new issues:
First, I wanted to grow at least one of each major species and so I ordered aji rojo seeds from Trade Winds Fruit to have a baccatum. One of the seedlings was the most freakishy vigorous of all the peppers I have grown. Then it and a very vigorous Tabasco were hit hardest by the mites. Both recovered and then both were hit hardest by the aphids. Both are now ugly but recovering and the aji rojo has flowered, but it's clearly not a baccatum flower. I have read here and other places that there are several plants grown as "aji rojo". I'm guessing mine is a chinense, but it looks quite different from my other chinenses and the flowers are large. What do you guys think and have any of you grown an aji rojo like this? It now has set a small fruit from this flower (my other chinenses have yet to set, despite multiple flowers). I also used this flower to pollinate a Black Hungarian and it seems to be my first attempt at hybridizing to result in a pod actually setting and not falling off.
Here is the flower:
Here is the damaged plant to the right of the Tabasco:
Newer leaves and those on it's smaller sibling are pointier and spade-like.
Also, one of my newer plants, a Naga, has some odd leaves. Looks different than the mite attacks, but not sure. Maybe calcium problem or did I use too much mite spray? I think the smallest leaves are getting more normal. Even so, what do you guys think about this one:
Other plants with it seem mostly unaffected (it's third from left):
Thanks for reading!
Anyway, here are two new issues:
First, I wanted to grow at least one of each major species and so I ordered aji rojo seeds from Trade Winds Fruit to have a baccatum. One of the seedlings was the most freakishy vigorous of all the peppers I have grown. Then it and a very vigorous Tabasco were hit hardest by the mites. Both recovered and then both were hit hardest by the aphids. Both are now ugly but recovering and the aji rojo has flowered, but it's clearly not a baccatum flower. I have read here and other places that there are several plants grown as "aji rojo". I'm guessing mine is a chinense, but it looks quite different from my other chinenses and the flowers are large. What do you guys think and have any of you grown an aji rojo like this? It now has set a small fruit from this flower (my other chinenses have yet to set, despite multiple flowers). I also used this flower to pollinate a Black Hungarian and it seems to be my first attempt at hybridizing to result in a pod actually setting and not falling off.
Here is the flower:
Here is the damaged plant to the right of the Tabasco:
Newer leaves and those on it's smaller sibling are pointier and spade-like.
Also, one of my newer plants, a Naga, has some odd leaves. Looks different than the mite attacks, but not sure. Maybe calcium problem or did I use too much mite spray? I think the smallest leaves are getting more normal. Even so, what do you guys think about this one:
Other plants with it seem mostly unaffected (it's third from left):
Thanks for reading!