ChilliCrosser Crosses

I've opted to keep details of my crossing projects in this dedicated thread rather than include it in my 2021 Glog

Edited this post to summarise what crosses I've got and where they are at, I will try and keep it current. Dates in status column reflect when I've updated the information not when the cross was actually made. I've not included every historic cross I've ever made and ignores anything where I haven't got at least F1 seeds unless I thought it was useful to record. Information might be useful to someone at some point.

ChilliCrosser Cross	Current Status
X001 : Bolivian Rainbow x Cheiro Roxa (C.Annuum x C.Chinense)	16/8/21: F1 seeds, not grown on yet.
X002 : Fijian Bongo x Cheiro Roxa (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)	16/8/21: Only had a single F1 seed even though this was an intraspecific, strange result and the seed didn't germinate. End of cross project.
X003 : Brazilian Starfish Red x [CGN21500 x 7 Pot Barrackpore] (C.Baccatum x C.Chinense)	16/8/21: Had plenty of F1 seeds from the original F0 pods. First attempt to grow an F1 was ended when weather finished off the plant before any fruiting. Currently growing four F1 plants outdoors in the 2021 season. All looking healthy but concerned I've not seen any fruit setting yet. Possibly sterile but reserving judgement until the end of the season.
X004 : Tasmanian Habanero x Giant White Habanero (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)	16/8/21: Growing F2 plants, some initial pods setting.
X005 : Fidalgo Roxa x Giant White Habanero (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)	16/8/21: Growing F2 plants, no pods set yet.
X006 : Fidalgo Roxa x Fijian Bongo (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)	16/8/21: Growing F2 plants, some initial pods setting.
X007 : Fijian Bongo x Aji Jobito (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)	16/8/21: Growing F2 plants, some initial pods setting.
X008 : Fijian Bongo x Brazilian Starfish Yellow (C.Chinense x C.Baccatum)	16/8/21: F1 seeds.
X009 : Brazilian Starfish Yellow x C.Flexuosum (C.Baccatum x C.Flexuosum)	16/8/21: Very small F0 pod set but zero F1 seeds. Inside of pod looked healthy. Lack of F1 seeds could have been due to pod size. One for me to try again at some point I think.
X010 : Brazilian Starfish Yellow x [CGN21500 x Grao De Bode] (C.Baccatum x C.Chinense)	16/8/21: Had 4 F1 seeds from a single F0 pod, only 1 germinated. F1 plant taken out by a storm. End of cross project.
X011 : Giant White Habanero x Fijian Bongo (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)	16/8/21: Summary of wide range of phenotypes from F2 here. Currently have F3 seeds for all phenotypes and have been growing a batch of F3 plants for the red phenotypes outdoors this season, waiting on F3 pods from these so hope to have F4 seeds this year. Most likely to also grow forward the Apricot Peach phenos to stabilise.
X012 : Brazilian Starfish Yellow x Tasmanian Habanero (C.Baccatum x C.Chinense)	16/8/21: Had an F0 pod but no F1 seeds. End of cross project.
X013 : White Bhut Jolokia JW x Variegated Jalapeno (C.Chinense x C.Annuum)	16/8/21: F1 seeds, not grown on yet.
X014 : White Bhut Jolokia JW x Sweet Apple Kambe (C.Chinense x C.Annuum)	16/8/21: Single F1 seed, not grown on yet.
X015 : White Bhut Jolokia JW x Scotch Brains XCP Chocolate (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)	16/8/21: F1 seeds, not grown on yet.
X016 : White Bhut Jolokia JW x Brazilian Starfish Red (C.Chinense x C.Baccatum)	16/8/21: Had 2 F1 seeds from a small F0 pod, both failed to germinate. End of cross project.
X017 : White Bhut Jolokia JW x Sugar Rush Stripey (C.Chinense x C.Baccatum)	16/8/21: Had 2 F1 seeds from a small F0 pod, both failed to germinate. End of cross project.
X018 : Brazilian Starfish Red x Peppacream (C.Baccatum x C.Baccatum)	16/8/21: Started as an accidental cross. Starting to get ripe F1 pods with F2 seeds. Super tasty!
X019 : Clavo Peach x Sugar Rush Stripey (C.Chinense x C.Baccatum)	16/8/21: Had 3 F0 pods, each with healthy looking F1 seeds. Started germination for some F1 seeds from each of the F0 pods on 14/8/21, waiting to see if viable.
X020 : Scarlett's Chilli x Indian Chilli Bullet (C.Annuum x C.Annuum)	16/8/21: F1 seeds, not grown on yet.
X021 : Sugar Rush Stripey x White Bhut Jolokia JW (C.Baccatum x C.Chinense)	16/8/21: First F0 pod was unhealthy inside, only 1 F1 seed formed which still looked non-viable, tried to germinate it anyway but no surprises when it failed. Have another F0 pod ripening, waiting to see if that's any better.
X022 : Clavo Peach x Brazilian Starfish Yellow (C.Chinense x C.Baccatum)	16/8/21: F1 seeds, not grown on yet.
X023 : [BOC x Aji Pineapple] x Sugar Rush Stripey ([C.Chinense x C.Baccatum] x C.Baccatum)	16/8/21: F1 seeds, not grown on yet.

FAQs
- Why so many crosses? Please check my username.

- Seriously, why so many crosses? I like to have plenty of F1 seeds available to pick from at the start of a growing cycle. For me personally it stops me wishing I'd made some more crosses 6 months ago and when a particular cross project hits a dead end or doesn't look interesting I have something else I can quickly switch to. You'll see quite a few interspecific crosses in my list, they are often doomed to failure so having a Plan B helps.

- Are you attempting to stabilise all of these? No, only ones which head in a direction I like.

- How many plants do you grow? 90% of my crosses are started on indoor plants grown in mini-hydro kratky jars, 240ml/8oz. Plants are kept really small and I typically only get one or two F0 pods to get F1 seeds from. So far I've normally grown two F1 plants if possible, plant numbers in subsequent generations depend on how much space I have available in each growing cycle.

- Isn't it better to just focus on a single cross? If you like all your eggs in one basket and you're not concerned with sequentially growing projects over a very long time period then yes. This is just a hobby for me so I like to keep it varied and fun whilst still attempting to stabilise my favourites.

- Why haven't you given your crosses silly names? That time will come as is traditional in the chilli pepper world. I likely won't bother until I have something vaguely stable and predictable, possibly F4 onwards.

---

A summary of my live projects where I'm growing plants as of June 2021 are:

• X003 : Brazilian Starfish Red x [CGN21500 x 7 Pot Barrackpore] (C.Baccatum x C.Chinense)
• X004 : Tasmanian Habanero x Giant White Habanero (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)
• X005 : Fidalgo Roxa x Giant White Habanero (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)
• X006 : Fidalgo Roxa x Fijian Bongo (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)
• X007 : Fijian Bongo x Aji Jobito (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)
• X011 : Giant White Habanero x Fijian Bongo (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)

More details of where I'm at with generations, phenotypes, plants and photos in subsequent posts on this thread. Everything is early on and ranges from F1 to F3. I've also attempted some new crosses already this season so will also mention those.

 

[ChilliCrosser]

Other than a slew of update postings on this glog earlier today I've also made a big revision to the original posting. It now has a summary table of crosses, what they are and where they are at. I'll keep that updated as things change and make it look prettier at some point. Hopefully useful summary information for anyone vaguely interested

 

[ChilliCrosser]

X018 : Brazilian Starfish Red x Peppacream (C.Baccatum x C.Baccatum)

Second small pod from the F1 plant. Just as tasty, juicy & thick-walled as the first. Continuing to build up the F2 seed haul for this as too good not to grow out. It will also be good to see how big the pods can get when grown on a decent sized plant.

 

[ChilliCrosser]

X021:
Second F0 pod harvested for a crossing attempt on Sugar Rush Stripey (C.Baccatum) x White Bhut Jolokia JW (C.Chinense), first one had aborted seed formation. I also had no luck with getting seeds from my F0 pod on the reciprocal.

Never fun when you have to wait so long for an F0 to ripen and then have disappointment but that's what happened on this second F0 pod. Goes with the territory on these interspecific attempts. Crossed on 4th June & harvested on 19th August, slow cycle time.

Outside not too bad, bit curly as lazy and the left isolation bag on too long when forming.

However, inside is horrible, much like the first F0 pod but perhaps a little more developed.


Chalking that one up as a tried, failed, moved on.

 

[ChilliCrosser]

X024 : Indian Chilli Bullet (C.Annuum) x Antep Aci Dolma (C.Annuum)

I do keep things easy on crossing sometimes , safe territory with an Annuum x Annuum. The pods on my plant for the Indian Chilli Bullet seem to have a slightly sharper point than the pheno shown here. Still, a nice clustering plant. Big pod size difference between mother and father.

Cross made on 26th June 2021, harvested F0 pod on 19th August 2021.


Typically seedy F0 pod


Decent amount of healthy F1 seeds to get started with

 

[ChilliCrosser]

Showed a side-by-side comparison of F2 phenotypes for my X011 cross here.
I had the F3 seeds for the red phenotypes available at the start of the year whereas the others came later this year. I'd already started some F3 plants from the red phenotype F3 seeds which are growing outside this year.

Today I got the first indication from one of those F3 plants. Yet another shape/colour combination which wasn't in my F2 plants. If I get a plant throwing the chunky 5 lobe phenotype and in this colour then I think that'll look great. Still want the red one as well though because I'm greedy ;-)

 

[ChilliCrosser]

X006 : Fidalgo Roxa x Fijian Bongo (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)

Aiming to blend the fruity and sweet flavour tones of these two varieties. Ideally with a pod size nearer the bongo than the roxa. If the flavour and pod size is there then I am less bothered about the colour.

Currently growing some F2 plants.

Still no pod ripening on this plant yet, but looking good

 

[ChilliCrosser]

X005 : Fidalgo Roxa x Giant White Habanero (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)

Aiming to retain the unripe and ripe colouration of the Fidalgo Roxa and the fruitiness in the taste whilst increasing the pod size. Would prefer to also keep the dark foliage of the roxa.

Currently growing out a small number of F2 plants. One of the better looking ones from late April:

I was only able to grow a few F2s due to space this year but still seeing some flower variation between them. My favourite is one that has a purple blush on all of its flowers, the other plants are the normal Chinese white.

 

[ChilliCrosser]

X004 : Tasmanian Habanero x Giant White Habanero (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)

The Tasmanian Habanero has always given me high yields even on small plants. Crossed with something bigger and a different colour to see if I can generate one or more of:

• same yield with larger pods
• same yield but different non-red colours

Currently growing out a small number of F2 plants.

At least one of the F2s is keeping the promise of high yield from the mother, lots of flowers and buds.

 

[ChilliCrosser]

X018 : Brazilian Starfish Red x Peppacream (C.Baccatum x C.Baccatum)

Check this post for previous examples of F1 pod shape.

This F1 plant is now throwing some amazing pod shapes. Colour differential between the parents, varied F1 pod shapes & a great taste are going to make this a very exciting F2 grow out.

 

[ChilliCrosser]

Guess I should add this here too. Bundled up some of the documentation I shared earlier in this thread, tweaked it and made as a shareable video example of a real crossing project. Only have data for cross-->F2 at the moment, I will try to make extra videos as the project progresses.

A Journey Into Chilli Pepper Crossing (Episode 1)

 

[ze_test]

Hi
Nice crossings great video

 

[ChilliCrosser]

X006 : Fidalgo Roxa x Fijian Bongo (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)

Aiming to blend the fruity and sweet flavour tones of these two varieties. Ideally with a pod size nearer the bongo than the roxa. If the flavour and pod size is there then I am less bothered about the colour.

Currently growing some F2 plants.

Some colour change emerging on one of my F2 plants. F1 went from green -> purple -> red, cross father was red so to be expected.
The first of these photos of the F2 was from a week ago when some pink-purple started to show more, other photos show how this seems to darken and then move to a golden colour. Still has some purple blush and unsure how much further it has to ripen and colour change.

This one is showing some promise I think.

 

[ChilliCrosser]

X004 : Tasmanian Habanero x Giant White Habanero (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)

The Tasmanian Habanero has always given me high yields even on small plants. Crossed with something bigger and a different colour to see if I can generate one or more of:

• same yield with larger pods
• same yield but different non-red colours

Currently growing out a small number of F2 plants.

Another nice F2 plant emerging. F1 was just green ripening to red as expected. This F2 is going from light green to a pinkish cream and then on to a dark peach colour. Not sure if it's stopped yet and it may keep going to a darker orange. Really liking the initial pinkish cream transition as that's a new one!

 

[ChilliCrosser]

Second small pod from the F1 plant. Just as tasty, juicy & thick-walled as the first. Continuing to build up the F2 seed haul for this as too good not to grow out. It will also be good to see how big the pods can get when grown on a decent sized plant.

Had a wow moment when I cut open another pod from this F1 plant, super dense!

 

[ChilliCrosser]

Some colour change emerging on one of my F2 plants. F1 went from green -> purple -> red, cross father was red so to be expected.
The first of these photos of the F2 was from a week ago when some pink-purple started to show more, other photos show how this seems to darken and then move to a golden colour. Still has some purple blush and unsure how much further it has to ripen and colour change.

This one is showing some promise I think.

Nearer orange the following evening, still has the purple blush on it, ripening not done yet by the looks of it.

 

[talas]

That placenta picture never gets old and lovely to see progress on your hybrids C.
The last one shows some promise just in the looks dept.

 

[PaulG]

You have some very interesting results, CC.

Especially intrigued by X018 Starfish cross,
those pods are super unique. Looking forward
to seeing some color on those…

 

[ChilliCrosser]

Yes that X018 cross has given me a nice problem. It has some crazy pod shapes on the F1, so hoping for a good mix of pheno shapes in F2, but it has such an amazing taste I just have to keep growing it! May do a small number of F2s growing inside in the off-season and then a wider F2 grow next year. I normally try and only do F1s in the off-season though as can get away with less plants.

Ironically, I've also started another huge crossing project that I've been planning since last year which is also starfish related. That was going to be nearly my entire grow for next season. Between that and X018 my growing for the next 18+ months is going to be 90+% starfish crosses and <=10% standard peppers. Going to be fun but strange!

 

[PaulG]

I think that sounds like a good plan, CC!

 

[ChilliCrosser]

X006 : Fidalgo Roxa x Fijian Bongo (C.Chinense x C.Chinense)

Aiming to blend the fruity and sweet flavour tones of these two varieties. Ideally with a pod size nearer the bongo than the roxa. If the flavour and pod size is there then I am less bothered about the colour.

Currently growing some F2 plants.

Now have the first ripe pod from one of my F2 plants on this cross. Finished a light red, kept the purple blush it had from the start which was a roxa trait. Happy to report this particular F2 plant is a keeper based on looks and taste.

Heat levels nearer the Fidalgo Roxa but seemed to hang around for a long time. Flavour is quite light & sweet so good to eat raw. It's been a while since I've eaten either of the parent varieties so can't be too precise. If pushed I'd say the flavour is more complex than I remember the bongo being, so might have kept some of the roxa flavour traits. Probably be good powdered as well.

Not getting much progress on many of my cross plants outside this year but those that I'm getting pods on aren't letting me down!