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HD Habs

PapaBill

PapaBill

I had picked up a hab plant (just labelled as a Habanero) last year from HD. The pods on it were the normal "blockish" shaped and a medium orange in color.

This year, all the pods are more elongated in shape, and ripen to a very dark orange, almost to the point of being red.

Is it normal for a plant to show that much of a change from one year to the next? I'm kinda wondering what the pods will look like on the offspring plants I started this year... LOL

Here's what they look like this year (never took any pics last year :( )


Habs by THP_PapaBill, on Flickr


Would an unstable cross show fruit one way one year and change a bit the next?

They taste good and have good heat (to me at least...lol), so it's staying... plus it's a regular little tree now...


Habs n Maters by THP_PapaBill, on Flickr


I kept saying that I was going to trim it up a bit so it bushes out more, but was going to wait and only trim where there weren't any pods. I think it heard me, as it has about 20-30 pods on it now - most of them in areas I was looking to prune it... LOL
 
Plants likely got crossed last season giving you an f1 this year. F1s will all grow the same more or less showing only dominant features(ie. red over orange) of mother and father but f2s will all be different showing traits of not only mom and dad but grandparents too
 
POTAWIE said:
Plants likely got crossed last season giving you an f1 this year. F1s will all grow the same more or less showing only dominant features(ie. red over orange) of mother and father but f2s will all be different showing traits of not only mom and dad but grandparents too
Click to expand...

I don't know if i understood that right, but he was talking about ONE plant, right? so the same individual, producing completely different pods.
 
Yea... this plant was bought early 2011 from Home Depot. Last year's pods were "blockier" and lighter in color. This year, they seem more stretched out and darker. The plant took some freeze damage and was cut back a good deal and has been repotted, but otherwise nothing has really changed.

I do have plants started from the seeds I got from this one last year, but they are just getting to the point of flowering now.

I wish I had pics of the fruit last year, but I wasn't thinking about it then...

I don't know if the fact is is in a different soil mix, or that it is actually getting nutrients and food this year (as opposed to just water last year), or what else might have contributed to the changes. Personally, I like the changes. I think the pods look more interesting..LOL
 
OK I got my glasses on now :)
I've also noticed different pod shapes in overwintered plants some times. Not sure why but it may have to do with being bushier and pods being more shaded, or maybe its stress related.
 
This is just a theory but it seems that the further you get away from the trunk on a mature plant, the more uneven the nutrient delivery is (depending on hot days and watering schedule) and so the more uneven the growth of the fruit. I'm also wondering if last year you picked the fruit too soon, the first large batch of peppers on a hab can sometimes take quite a long time to turn from orange to red. As for the offspring, if the plant was in close proximity to other peppers you may have a few crosses.
 
same thing happened to my friend's plant... it gives of these hot black upright peppers that are all wrinkled up and ugly... but this year, they're looking a bit more like black naga, and are more green/brown instead of black... but it is a hybrid...

also my wild pequin that grew out of the crack of my driveway cement... last year they were short stubby little round peppers... this year, they're all square/bell shaped and a bit bigger... i figured since i cut them back, and they are wild pepper plants, it's normal... but still a total trip...
 
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