favorite Hot, Dry Weather Favorites?

[Eephus Man]

For those in hot, relatively dry (as in split the difference between tropical and desert levels, in between, say Miami and Phoenix) climates, are there any varietals that seem to do better for you during the Summer months, and then into Fall.

I played around a little last year with quick developing varietals of both sweet and hot where I planted alongside Fall tomato runs (late June/early July plant outs) and had mixed results (we also had a premature freeze this year, so that didn't help).

Just wondering if anyone else had any luck with quick-developing, heat-tolerant varietals that seemed to keep on giving till freeze if you plant them at mid-Summer.

And if this has already been addressed, my apologies. I'm real new here and couldn't seem to find any thread on this.

 

[J762]

So far this year my Yellow 7pod, Bhut, Aji Lemon, Orange Hab, Bonda Ma Jaques, Thai Dragon (Some hybrid from the local place) Thai Sun, Banana, and Ancho are doing great here in Phoenix. So far this year we haven't hit 100* yet, so mine have all been in full sun all day long with no problems. Not sure yet how they will take 115* later this year if we ever get there, but none of these have flinched. These are all in pots.

I also have a lot of Purira's going that do great here if you stay on top of watering them pretty much daily. Same with my serrano.

What I have a hard time with here are Bell's, New Mexico Hatch, Most Jalapeno's and Cayenne's. No matter how much water or shade I give them, the peppers always dehydrate and shrivel up before they are good. They are also always slightly wilted by the afternoon.

My Thai Sun is one I overwintered from last year. We had a few good hard Frosts here this last winter and it was left uncovered at least 3 times and was white in the morning. It exploded this spring with new growth after I cut it back in late Feb. It is triple the size it was last year and is absolutely covered in chili's. I'm going to see how many years I can keep it going and how it does each year.

 

[capsidadburn]

E, Last summer there were around 37 days over 100 degree F. just up the road from you. The plants did not produce during that time. Still had to water each day to keep them alive. I only had nine plants last year but the Lemon drop and the Fatalii did real well. My other plants were growth stunted by over ferts or bugs (aphids, flea beetles, mites). I believe most peppers will do well here, its what you do/buy to the soil/ mix and the pests that matter. Here is a photo of my Fatalii. I got about 130 pods from it and would have been better if not for the heatwave summer. I got around 8 times that quantity on the Lemon drop. It is a bit late in the season to start the chinense's and the baccatuum's. But you can always dig up the plant or move the pot inside somewhere if you did plant them now. Last years first freeze was Dec. 4th. Heres another photo of the pods I had to pick that day.
Cheers Mike

 

[Eephus Man]

Man, thanks guys! Mike, that freeze killed me. Lost all my peps but one, and every tomato plant. I got some greenies off, but only my serranos were worth a snit. Your plants yielded HUGE amounts compared to what any of my container grows last year did. I've got a few in the ground, but most in containers this year.

I have a really cool straight-outta-Mexico giant orange Hab that was gifted seed from a really nice dude on another forum. All those plants look great so far.

I'm still on a very steep learning curve, but thank you for the input so far.

J, what's the flavor like on those Purira's? That's on my short list for next season.

My wife is not wild about the super hots (she likes some kick, but not too much in our food - and ultimately, she's the one cooking most of it...very well, I might add).

But powders, milder hots, and sweets, she'll take any day. She's a huge paprika variety fan.

Of course, my first good looking peppers this year are from a Purple Jalapeño (good for cooking), Fish (should also be good) and a Chocolate Hab (gonna take some persuading on that one).

I'm probably gonna be spending some time dehydrating and making hot sauce this year.

I can't wait.

 

[ZanderSpice]

I think a Thai might work well in hot dry weather. Not that it's that dry in Thailand, but Thai chilies will grow in all different types of weather. They are very hard to kill and don't take nearly as much water as larger varieties.

 

[J762]

The Seed Pack said "hot", but to me they are no hotter than most Jalapeno's that I grow. I think my taste buds are screwed up now though, because anything milder than a Habanero doesn't register to me anymore as "hot".
I grew them mainly because of the color range that the chili's turn while ripening. Lots of Orange, yellow, purple, a dark blueish, and red. The taste isn't anything special to me.

 

[J762]

E, Last summer there were around 37 days over 100 degree F. just up the road from you. The plants did not produce during that time. Still had to water each day to keep them alive. I only had nine plants last year but the Lemon drop and the Fatalii did real well. My other plants were growth stunted by over ferts or bugs (aphids, flea beetles, mites). I believe most peppers will do well here, its what you do/buy to the soil/ mix and the pests that matter. Here is a photo of my Fatalii. I got about 130 pods from it and would have been better if not for the heatwave summer. I got around 8 times that quantity on the Lemon drop. It is a bit late in the season to start the chinense's and the baccatuum's. But you can always dig up the plant or move the pot inside somewhere if you did plant them now. Last years first freeze was Dec. 4th. Heres another photo of the pods I had to pick that day.
Cheers Mike

Damn. I can't get anything here to that size... About the tallest anything I have grown has been maybe 3.5-4ft tall.