Within the last week I've started my chinense varieties because I know they take the longest to germinate and have the longest growing season. I also have praetermissum, chacoense, C. exile (also a chacoense?), pubescens, and tepin (C. Anuum). In what order/when should I start these varieties?
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seeds In what order should I start my seeds?
- Thread starter Bloodflow
- Start date
You're right about the Chinese taking longer. But why not start them all at the same time? Unless there is a space issue thats what I'd do. You can also do a side by side comparison to see in which ways the variaties differ from others.
I do have a space issue. I have a single germinator that would probably fit 30+ plants, but last year (my first season) I had nothing but problems removing the plants from the plastic tray, so this year I removed the tray and instead filled the germinator with styrofoam cups. I can fit 18 cups at a time, and I only use 1 seed per cup because using 3 seeds per cup and removing the least successful seedlings seemed wasteful to me. I am planning on transplanting to my garden in the spring.
Then grow the Chinese first
Tepin, pubescens, and praeterissum are longer season than chinenses. I haven't grown any chacoense or exile but I would imagine they are as well. Wilds can take a very long time to germinate too so I would get those started asap. Also, tepin isnt a var. Annuum it is glabriusculum. Var. Glabriusculum, annuum, chinense, and frutescen are all under the species "annuum" but tepin is not an annuum like jalapeño or poblano. http://www.infernochili.net/uploads/images/Maps/Capsicum_species.gif
AlabamaJack
Extreme Member
AB...I don't understand the chart you linked to...is there a paper that goes with it?
nevermind...I found it and would like to see some scholarly article on this...I just emailed NMSU CPI asking for a taxonomic reference...
nevermind...I found it and would like to see some scholarly article on this...I just emailed NMSU CPI asking for a taxonomic reference...
Cool, I would also be interested in what they say. My understanding is that chinense, frutescens, annuum, and glabriusculum are not actually separate species even though they are commonly called that. I think the species is "annuum" and then chinense, frutescens, annuum, and glabriusculum are actually varieties within the annuum species.
Wikipedia says
Chinense, frutescens, annuum, and glabriusculum all interbreed easily and produce completely viable offspring, yet have distinct appearances from each other, so it makes sense to me that they would be varieties rather than separate species, even though they are commonly listed as separate species nearly everywhere. It gets a little confusing since annuum is the name of the species and also a variety within that species. So I guess you could technically call chiltepin an annuum, but you could also call an habanero or tabasco an annuum, but usually when we're talking about annuums we mean the variety annuum not the species, so chiltepin isn't an annuum in that sense.
And then below variety you have the cultivar. So an orange habanero would be:
Species: annuum
Variety: chinense
Cultivar: orange habanero
So really an orange habanero probably should be listed as capsicum annuum var. chinense in the same way that tepin is listed as capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum.
That's my understanding of it, I could be wrong about some things, I would like to hear more from the CPI though.
I believe the species(Habanero) is chinenses and variety is orange hab, and it is in the annuum complex.
Here's are some interesting articles I came across
[sub]http://www.wildchill...-chinense-tepin[/sub]
Here's are some interesting articles I came across
[sub]http://www.wildchill...-chinense-tepin[/sub]
- • Capsicum annuum var. annuum (first mentioned by Linnaeus, 1753). The flowers with white corollas and purple anthers are solitary at each node (occasionally two or more). The variform fruit usually has firm flesh and straw-colored seeds. A multitude of pungent and nonpungent cultivars of this Mesoamerican domesticate now dominate the worldwide commercial pepper market. A relationship between C. annuum, C. chinense, and C. frutescens has caused the three to be known as the C. annuum complex. This relationship creates a taxonomic predicament. Some authors still recognize the first two as distinct but tend to have difficulty determining where C. frutescens fits into the picture, if indeed it is a separate species. The best-known cultivars are bell, cayenne, jalapeño, serrano, pimento, poblano, New Mexican chile/Anaheim, and cherry.
- • Capsicum annum var. glabriscululm (mentioned in the work of Dunal, 1852; Heiser and Pickersgill, 1975). It is a semiwild species known as bird pepper. Its distinct flavor and high pungency cause it to be avidly consumed throughout its natural range, which extends through the southernmost parts of the United States to Colombia. This highly variable, tiny, erect, usually red pepper is cultivated commercially in the area around Sonora, Mexico, and seems to be in the process of domestication. Birds also consume it avidly. These chilies, which have many vernacular names and almost as many synonyms (C. aviculare is the most common), sell for ten times the rate of cultivated green bell peppers. The best-known cultivars are chiltepin, chilpequin, malaqueta, and bird pepper.
you already started your seeds?
last year i started all my seeds on valentines day. by the time it was warm enough for me to move my plants outdoor (around victoria day) they were already flowering under my 400w metal halide and were about 1foot tall. lol
this year i wont be starting them until mid or late march.
last year i started all my seeds on valentines day. by the time it was warm enough for me to move my plants outdoor (around victoria day) they were already flowering under my 400w metal halide and were about 1foot tall. lol
this year i wont be starting them until mid or late march.
I read the article that the chart is from again and it says
I did a little more digging and apparently a guy named Armando Hunziker classified them all 3 (or 4?) as being varieties of one species in his book "Genera Solanacearum: The Genera of Solanaceae Illustrated, Arranged According to a New System," although that's not the common view. So maybe that's what the chart is based on.
So I guess annuum, chinense, and frutescens (and grabisculum?) are in fact considered separate species by most, although there are apparently some who think frutescens and chinense should be one species, and even some who think these should all be one species. A basic definition of a species is a group of organisms which interbreed and produce viable offspring, and all 4 cross very readily and produce completely viable offspring, so it would make sense to me that they should be a single species, but I'm not a biologist (I just play one on TV).
I think orange habanero would properly be called a cultivar though, not a variety, at least in the biological sense which is a little different than the common usage of variety.
I started my chinense, wild, and pubescens a few days ago. I'll probably start the annuums, frutescens, and baccatums in about a week or two. What's wrong with 1 foot tall transplants? The bigger the better. The more advanced they are at plant out the sooner they produce. If you have the space and lighting, and don't mind paying the electric bill, you might as well start them as early as possible.
I did a little more digging and apparently a guy named Armando Hunziker classified them all 3 (or 4?) as being varieties of one species in his book "Genera Solanacearum: The Genera of Solanaceae Illustrated, Arranged According to a New System," although that's not the common view. So maybe that's what the chart is based on.
So I guess annuum, chinense, and frutescens (and grabisculum?) are in fact considered separate species by most, although there are apparently some who think frutescens and chinense should be one species, and even some who think these should all be one species. A basic definition of a species is a group of organisms which interbreed and produce viable offspring, and all 4 cross very readily and produce completely viable offspring, so it would make sense to me that they should be a single species, but I'm not a biologist (I just play one on TV).
I think orange habanero would properly be called a cultivar though, not a variety, at least in the biological sense which is a little different than the common usage of variety.
I started my chinense, wild, and pubescens a few days ago. I'll probably start the annuums, frutescens, and baccatums in about a week or two. What's wrong with 1 foot tall transplants? The bigger the better. The more advanced they are at plant out the sooner they produce. If you have the space and lighting, and don't mind paying the electric bill, you might as well start them as early as possible.
I think the chart is based on species within complexes although glabriusculum is usually recognizes as an Annuum variant. Within each complex chiles are easily interbred since they are close in genetics
Ya, you're right. I don't think C. chinenses have any varieties like annuums.
I just start anything anytime, Florida has its benefits.....Chinese do take the longest...
@ Chinamon I started my plants mid February last year and none of my Chinense types ripened before the end of the season.
@ Prehensile, Florida has excruciating heat and humidity that rain does not remedy. Although it is great for growing, I would prefer the dry heat and mountains of New Mexico. I am originally from Kansas, which is nearly desert, so living in Michigan was a bit of an adjustment. It took 10 years before I stopped hating the winters. I also had problems with the lack of sunlight because the days become drastically shorter.
@ Prehensile, Florida has excruciating heat and humidity that rain does not remedy. Although it is great for growing, I would prefer the dry heat and mountains of New Mexico. I am originally from Kansas, which is nearly desert, so living in Michigan was a bit of an adjustment. It took 10 years before I stopped hating the winters. I also had problems with the lack of sunlight because the days become drastically shorter.
LOL we have 2 seasons 6 months of rain almost every day(80% humidity lows in the high 70s) then 6 months of dry beautifull weather that most people would kill for. Take the Good with the Bad and, I work outside so sweat soaked clothes is normal for me.
