I ordered 2 rocotos from CCN this year - one red and one yellow. They were both prolific bloomers all during the warm months, but didn't really start setting pods until late in the season. I got a few yellows along the way, but only a very few. I put the plants (which are in containers and were on my uncovered back porch for the summer) into the garage when the temps started getting chilly. I largely leave the door open so the plants get as much sun as possible, but don't get frost or snow. Anyhow, they have quite a few green pods on them, but since it was going to dip down into the teens, I finally brought them into the house. It's supposed to get back into the 40's this week, so I'll probably haul them outside again for that.
After bringing them inside, one of the pods started to change color. Cool - it's about time! Only I'm kind of scratching my head, as it is on the rocoto which supposedly is red, but the pod is definitely not red. The info I have says they turn from green to red without intermediate steps, but this is definitely an orangy-yellow. I am thinking a few possibilities:
- I put them in the wrong pots. I put the red rocoto into a red pot, and the yellow rocoto into a yellow pot, plus I kept the labels with them. Still, I could have mixed them up, both the color and the label. Or,
- The nursery accidentally sent me two yellows instead of a red and a yellow, even though the labels say otherwise. Or,
- The cold temps are affecting their color.
It's this last one I'm wondering about. I have a couple other varieties that naturally go from green to orange to red, and once the temps dipped down they started taking for-freakin'-ever to go from orange to red. Still, I'm not aware of an intermediate color for rocoto. Have you had this happen with your rocotos, and did they just take a long time to turn red?
After bringing them inside, one of the pods started to change color. Cool - it's about time! Only I'm kind of scratching my head, as it is on the rocoto which supposedly is red, but the pod is definitely not red. The info I have says they turn from green to red without intermediate steps, but this is definitely an orangy-yellow. I am thinking a few possibilities:
- I put them in the wrong pots. I put the red rocoto into a red pot, and the yellow rocoto into a yellow pot, plus I kept the labels with them. Still, I could have mixed them up, both the color and the label. Or,
- The nursery accidentally sent me two yellows instead of a red and a yellow, even though the labels say otherwise. Or,
- The cold temps are affecting their color.
It's this last one I'm wondering about. I have a couple other varieties that naturally go from green to orange to red, and once the temps dipped down they started taking for-freakin'-ever to go from orange to red. Still, I'm not aware of an intermediate color for rocoto. Have you had this happen with your rocotos, and did they just take a long time to turn red?
