pod Mystery cross? Or rogue seed?

[MuchoBacon]

I have 3 death spiral pepper plants, all grown from the same packet of seeds I bought. One of the plants is producing some odd looking peppers though. The two peppers on the left are from my other two plants, and the 3 on the right are from the mystery plant. There are even some peppers on the plant that are much smaller than those in the picture. Any ideas on what it is?

 

[HerbCasa]

Could be a rouge seed.
But it could be a cross because of the similar skin
(idk)
Are you able to post more pictures of the stems, closer?

Do the plants and leaves look identical to the other ones?

 

[growyourown]

it could also be a true plant that may later grow proper peppers, as the first round of pods to appear are often dwarf/malformed.

it could also be true but with some genetic defect that stunts the pods' growth.

but IANABotanist, just some rando amateur grower who is speaking anecdotally.

 

[Annuchin]

Could be no seeds inside, perhaps because it is a weird self-incompatible cross.

 

[Annuchin]

(accidental post deleted)

 

[Bou]

Do they have the same flavor/heat profile?

 

[MuchoBacon]

Could be a rouge seed.
But it could be a cross because of the similar skin
(idk)
Are you able to post more pictures of the stems, closer?

Do the plants and leaves look identical to the other ones?

It’s hard to say with similarity between leaves because the plants aren’t close in size. The plants are a bit rough looking because they were recently moved inside due to the cold weather.

 

[MuchoBacon]

Do they have the same flavor/heat profile?

I just ate half of one of those little bastards and it about destroyed me The heat level is definitely on par with a death spiral, but the flavor is quite different. The skin is much thicker on the mystery pepper and the flavor is a lot sweeter/more complex than a death spiral

 

[Downriver]

Another possibility is all the seeds are crossed. The plants are just presenting pods a little differently, like F2's can do. Personally, I think the Death Spiral pod should be more "gnarly", like this:


But, just my opinion. What was your seed source?

 

[HerbCasa]

@MuchoBacon did the peppers have
Seeds?
Are they also Different?

 

[MuchoBacon]

Another possibility is all the seeds are crossed. The plants are just presenting pods a little differently, like F2's can do. Personally, I think the Death Spiral pod should be more "gnarly", like this:


But, just my opinion. What was your seed source?

Oh wow, those put mine to shame! Very gnarly looking. Did you grow those? Mine are definitely lacking that defined rugged texture that gives them their “spiral” look.

I purchased my seeds from ‘Sherwood’s Seeds’. Was that a bad move?

 

[MuchoBacon]

@MuchoBacon did the peppers have
Seeds?
Are they also Different?

They did, but they were tiny and underdeveloped. It basically looked like a premature pod on the inside, except ripe on the outside

 

[HerbCasa]

Maybe the next flush of peppers will be better

Could be it was stressed or having issues when putting on the first flush

Let's wait for the next batch..

 

[Downriver]

Oh wow, those put mine to shame! Very gnarly looking. Did you grow those? Mine are definitely lacking that defined rugged texture that gives them their “spiral” look.

I purchased my seeds from ‘Sherwood’s Seeds’. Was that a bad move?

Yes, I grew those back in 2021. Got the seeds in a swap. Not sure who his original seed source was.

I've never dealt with Sherwoods personally, but the few FB reviews they have suggest: GOOD - fast shipping, BAD - wrong seeds, poor germination, horrible customer service (like NONE).