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Chiltepin Missed Chance At Life - Will It Come Back?

HigherThisHeat

HigherThisHeat

Hello all!

Last summer I purchased a young Chiltepin plant, and since the moment it came into my possesion its death was imminent.

First I did not realize they were greenhouse raised, and when I got it home immedielty stuck it in full sun. Needless to say it didn't like that. Almost all the leaves got sunburned, and I was left with only a few healthy leaves on this baby plant.

I managed to get some of the leaves to grow back with some TLC, and it looked like the plant would survive, but then mid summer aphids kicked in, and all the leaves had once again fallen off. I stopped feeding it, I stopped watering it. It sat untouched in the same nutrientless soil through the rest of that summer and on through winter. I think we only got below freezing one time. Most of the stem areas have all but turned dried, and brown. Dead.

A couple months ago I transferred the plant to some brand new MG soil and I am getting some new leaf growth. But no verticle growth.

The size of the plant in the picture is only a little larger then it was when I first took it home. Its still only baby sized. Super stunted.

Now considering everything this plant has been through, and now being nearly a year old and never having a chance to grow up, will this plant recover and have a chance at life???
tepin plant.JPG
 
If it's putting out leaves, then it wants to live. Let it do its thing. Can't tell you how productive it will be, but just give it a chance.
 
Good to hear that it will probably live.

But I wonder if it will still grow verticle as big as it should seeing how it never made it to adult hood.
 
Good good. I'm hoping so. I didn't want to waste time on this guy for no reason.

Its hard to tell because I did not include a size reference, but the plant is only about 12'' tall.


I hope I get some peppers off of it this year!
 
easy live - i've had plants reduced to a single 'dead' stump then put them in the window with a dring of water and back they come.

rf
 
A couple of notes:

1) Keep your Chiltepin out of direct sunlight. They don't like direct sun. In the wild, they grow in mottled sunlight, as they typically grow next to a nurse tree, like a Mesquite or Desert Hackberry. Every chiltepin plant I saw growing in people's yards this past summer in South Tucson were growing in the shade, typically on the north side of their residential house (and most were there because a bird decided to plant it there!)

2) In the wild, chiltepin plants will be culled back by the cold. But the plants come back in the Spring.
Also, the second year is supposed to be much more productive than the first.

3) Find a way to keep the birds from eating up all of your ripe Chiltepins!

These articles might help:

http://cals.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/pdf/Feb12.pdf

http://cals.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/pdf/Mar12.pdf

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
 
Yeah, should be fine. As mentioned earlier, it will grow out more than up, but not a problem. Trust - I've got a couple overwinters that have looked like that (ok, and worse!) and have had plenty of pods.
 
Tim in Tucson said:
A couple of notes:

1) Keep your Chiltepin out of direct sunlight.
Click to expand...

Oh crap! It's been in FULL Florida sun, south facing side for a year =O

The best I can do at my location is partial sun from morning untill noon, on the side of my house facing east. Maybe I'll see how it does there. Thank you for the helpful articles as well.
 
Yup, can confirm that chiletepins like partial sunlight. As Tim in Tuscon mentioned, every single wild tepin I've seen growing here in Texas has been underneath trees. Mine loved its spot on the balcony getting morning sun & afternoon shade.

Also I suggest cutting back all the dead growth and then pruning it down to only a few inches high at the end of the season. Mine always did better after aggressive pruning. I typically wait til it dies back for the winter then cut it down & let it sit til spring when it wakes back up. Had one go for 4-5 years before it finally gave up on me.


Bought this one in 2007 and it was already at least a year old and I could see where it had been cut back & regrown:

June 2007:
c67bjiz.jpg


Two years later:
April 7, 2009
3421778831_b9968ffc35_b.jpg


April 16, 2009
3447642654_a73619eb38_b.jpg


May 6, 2009:
3507647994_28c5950b1e_b.jpg


Summer 2009:

UOZDw.jpg
 
HigherThisHeat said:
Oh crap! It's been in FULL Florida sun, south facing side for a year =O

The best I can do at my location is partial sun from morning untill noon, on the side of my house facing east. Maybe I'll see how it does there. Thank you for the helpful articles as well.
Click to expand...

Can you rig something up with some shade cloth, perhaps? Maybe find a large bush at a nursery you can buy to take home and possibly help shade your Chiltepin?

Just a couple of ideas.
 
Yeah if it came down to it I could rig something up, or find a way to get them more shade. But they're facing east now so they only get morning to noon sun. I'm hoping this will be the sweet spot. Time shall tell.... I'll definitely update this thread with its progress, cause that's how I do.
 
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