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Chiltepin Lovers! Check This Out! (aka "A Walk In The Park")
- Thread starter Tim in Tucson
- Start date
Texas has wild chiltepins as well.
The wild chiltepins in Southern Arizona grow in shady canyons, and are almost always growing with a "nurse" tree, mainly hackberry and mesquite. Chiltepins do not like direct sun at all! When I was canvassing neighborhoods, all of the chiltepin bushes I saw in people's yards were in an area that was shaded for most of the day.
Chiltepins have a reputation of being difficult to germinate. In the wild, birds eat the chilies, then fly to another tree, and unload the seeds with a little bit of fertilizer. I've read accounts of some people trying to feed the seeds to their pet birds to get their chiltepin seeds to sprout.
However, it isn't that difficult to germinate chiltepin seeds once you've learned how. http://cals.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/pdf/Feb12.pdf http://cals.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/pdf/Mar12.pdf I planted 12 seeds a few weeks ago. I got those seeds from a couple of fresh chiltepins I had collected during my canvassing, so they were very fresh. In a week and a half, 11 of the 12 seeds had sprouted, and I'm not sure about the 12th, as I gave the seedlings to a local retailer as a gift for helping me out. Meanwhile, I planted 6 seeds I got from my jar of dried chiltepins that I purchased locally, and after a little over a week, I now have 1 sprouted. I believe the other 5 will take some time, as the seeds were older (more dry) and the temperature in my house has dropped a little. When I say plant, I am planting them in hydrocubes, which I now swear by.
I hope this helps.
The wild chiltepins in Southern Arizona grow in shady canyons, and are almost always growing with a "nurse" tree, mainly hackberry and mesquite. Chiltepins do not like direct sun at all! When I was canvassing neighborhoods, all of the chiltepin bushes I saw in people's yards were in an area that was shaded for most of the day.
Chiltepins have a reputation of being difficult to germinate. In the wild, birds eat the chilies, then fly to another tree, and unload the seeds with a little bit of fertilizer. I've read accounts of some people trying to feed the seeds to their pet birds to get their chiltepin seeds to sprout.
However, it isn't that difficult to germinate chiltepin seeds once you've learned how. http://cals.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/pdf/Feb12.pdf http://cals.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/pdf/Mar12.pdf I planted 12 seeds a few weeks ago. I got those seeds from a couple of fresh chiltepins I had collected during my canvassing, so they were very fresh. In a week and a half, 11 of the 12 seeds had sprouted, and I'm not sure about the 12th, as I gave the seedlings to a local retailer as a gift for helping me out. Meanwhile, I planted 6 seeds I got from my jar of dried chiltepins that I purchased locally, and after a little over a week, I now have 1 sprouted. I believe the other 5 will take some time, as the seeds were older (more dry) and the temperature in my house has dropped a little. When I say plant, I am planting them in hydrocubes, which I now swear by.
I hope this helps.
I was gonna say...
Hackberry and Mesquite, eh? Plenty of that around here!! lol. At least those trees are good for something!
Thanks for the reminder that they probably do better in shade, or partial shade. Gonna strategically place some of my own this year, hopefully with a headstart as a xplant, but also some direct seeding...
Hackberry and Mesquite, eh? Plenty of that around here!! lol. At least those trees are good for something!
Thanks for the reminder that they probably do better in shade, or partial shade. Gonna strategically place some of my own this year, hopefully with a headstart as a xplant, but also some direct seeding...
Here are a few more articles I found fascinating and helpful:
http://www.umt.edu/camas/fulltext/Carleton%20The%20Line%20of%20Fire.aspx
http://www.fiery-foods.com/chiles-around-the-world/83-usa/1960-arizona-chasing-chiltepins-part-one
http://www.fiery-foods.com/chiles-around-the-world/79-mexico-and-central-america/1941-chasing-chiltepins-part-2
http://www.umt.edu/camas/fulltext/Carleton%20The%20Line%20of%20Fire.aspx
http://www.fiery-foods.com/chiles-around-the-world/83-usa/1960-arizona-chasing-chiltepins-part-one
http://www.fiery-foods.com/chiles-around-the-world/79-mexico-and-central-america/1941-chasing-chiltepins-part-2
All my Chiltepin Amarillo plants grew from previous years fallen pods that stayed out all winter, broke down then grew 3 massive trees! So I guess what I am saying is any time is fine, when it is warm enough they should grow.