Just a quick question. I have it in a 5gal pot at the moment and it's my second plant I've grown. The first was a jalapeno that ended up being a trial run and I want to keep this Bhut for a long time. Will it stop bearing fruit first? If so, when will that happen?
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indoor How long can an indoor Bhut Jolokia live?
- Thread starter SciurusDoomus
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If you do the right things at the right time, year after year, you should get at least 5 good years of bearing pods. I hear after about 8 years, the production will go down and is not worth keeping. Tom
I'm thinking that after it stops producing fruit I'll just bonsai it and keep it around as an ornamental plant. Is it possible to keep it alive basically forever or is there a limit to how long a pepper can live?
SadisticPeppers
Business Member
There are some plants out there that are still kicking after centuries and even a few millenia. Granted, none of them are peppers, but still, some plants are like the Energizer bunny, they keep going and going. And I think 5-8 years is a good run for any pepper plants. With that much time, and all the pods/seeds produced, you can germinate and grow a replacement plant without too much trouble. That'll be my game plan when I move up to Jupiter.
You're making me really hopeful over here haha. Maybe the old plant could be cut down and one of its children germinated and grafted on top? Certainly would make a great project... I'll see you on Jupiter.
SadisticPeppers
Business Member
my yellow and chocolate bhuts died in their 2nd year. bombay morich and dorset naga at the end of their 3rd. starting all over again this year.
Aw man, I'm sorry. What do you have lined up for this summer?
You could technically keep cloning the same plant and keep the same plant for forever. Kind of like a flame you can just light another stick after the one starts to burn out
but i've heard it degenerates just a little more every time you clone it assuming at some point it would not be much of anything
I havent heard of that but it might be true. I just don't know if thats plausible that it degenerates because it creates a new root system and establishes itself.
Its funny you mention old plants. I have a Dioon in my front yard that is just a third through it's life at about 400 years old. I have aLepidozamia that is said to grow to be 2500 years, it is is only about 20 years old right now. I would bet there are older peppers around somewhere. Thats an interesting search on the internet to see whats out there.
peach bhuts(thanks to hammerfall), dorset naga, choc and yellow bhuts(pepperlover).
what i gave you are real numbers... not "i have heard about", that's crap as the bhut in north america are really only 5 years old... yah, i get it, someone had them before but i am talking about seeds grown from resellers, selling into the real world. so we really don't have a long term plan on the plant and the last time i checked, we really haven't had many members from india pouring in with bhut longevity. perhaps a member will weigh but the plant will only be 5 years old this year.
so, my plants are generally started Jan 1 of any given year. then i fertilize the shit out of them to get the largest growth possible and hopefully by september i have a pod. all the bhuts i have grown have taken 2 years to produce. this year i have a greenhouse and hopefully i can improve this. the bhuts are really responding to the greenhouse - they look so happy.
here is what tends to happen. as you overwinter a plant, things start out good, but then all of a sudden you get 2-3 weeks of no direct sunlight, and if you just watered your plants(because they were getting good light), the roots and plant are stuck on moist cool soil. even with my direct lights, it is not enough to dry out the soil. the plant drops all its leaves and dies. i have tried putting the plants in front of the furnace vents and that has work on some, but with 100 overwintered plants in the house, something has to loose.
good luck and i hope you beat my 3 year perennial.