Pequin Peppers

[PequinPepper]

Anybody out there growing these hot little jewels?  They also go by 'bird's eye' pepper.  This plant grows wild in Mexico and Texas as well as in many yards here in SE Louisiana.  It is resistant to everything other peppers aren't.  I am growing pequin peppers which are oblong versus round as in bird's eyes....this plant over winters nicely at temps. in the upper 20s as long as it isn't long-lasting.  The 'tree' can last many years, and it produces hundreds or hot-spicey peppers just shy of an inch long....turn fiery red when fully ripe, and Mocking birds love eating them.  This is my favorite pepper as well my namesake....

 

[Scarecrw]

I tried growing tepin seeds I received last year. She said that they are small round peppers she dries, toasts and adds to her salad. I thought it would be a hardy plant to try and overwinter in my green house. Since it was my first year growing they didn't make it and I didn't have any seeds left to try this year.

 

[Burning Colon]

i have 3 overwintered oblong pequins. they have very pretty dark green foliage. i left some pods on the plant last year and they fell into the soil and now i have a whole bunch of little pequins in the pot - my plants are in containers. it is fun to just pick the little pods when ripe and pop them into my mouth.
 
i also have several of the rounded tepin mexican and texas versions.
 
as for flavour, both are about the same, that red pungent taste. as for heat the round mexican version is by far hotter, i haven't tried the texas variety yet.
 
my mexican tepin is several years old and stands about 3 feet tall, it is very much shrub/tree like and appears to be quite hardy. i remember one year, it dropped all its leaves 3 times- high winds, sun scald and cold but came back each time. last year i decorated it with xmas ornaments. 
 
good growing.

 

[PequinPepper]

I tried growing tepin seeds I received last year. She said that they are small round peppers she dries, toasts and adds to her salad. I thought it would be a hardy plant to try and overwinter in my green house. Since it was my first year growing they didn't make it and I didn't have any seeds left to try this year.

Hi, Scarecrow.....Tepin peppers are slightly different than Pequins in that Tepins are round, and thus, the true "bird's eye" pepper.  I haven't tried Tepin peppers, but I hear that they have similar growing requirements as Pequins.  Try growing the plant if you can get them in Jersey....if not, I'll send you some Pequin seeds.  My Pequins started up from seeds overwintered in my outdoor flower pots....tough mofos....

i have 3 overwintered oblong pequins. they have very pretty dark green foliage. i left some pods on the plant last year and they fell into the soil and now i have a whole bunch of little pequins in the pot - my plants are in containers. it is fun to just pick the little pods when ripe and pop them into my mouth.
 
i also have several of the rounded tepin mexican and texas versions.
 
as for flavour, both are about the same, that red pungent taste. as for heat the round mexican version is by far hotter, i haven't tried the texas variety yet.
 
my mexican tepin is several years old and stands about 3 feet tall, it is very much shrub/tree like and appears to be quite hardy. i remember one year, it dropped all its leaves 3 times- high winds, sun scald and cold but came back each time. last year i decorated it with xmas ornaments. 
 
good growing.

Awesome!  Yes, I have seen 5-footers growing and producing hundreds if not thousands of peppers.  I like the fact that they aren't too hot to simply pick one and eat it as a 'pick-me-up' if I feel drowsy....the heat kick-starts the heart....the seeds survived your winter?....wow!...and it gets plenty cold in Calgary

 

[souf]

i love pequins. i'll try to remember to get some photos of some tomorrow

 

[hottoddy]

I'm growing "Texas Chiltepin" this year for the first time. It was an afterthought, so it's a bit behind my others. I'm looking forward to seeing how it does.

 

[HigherThisHeat]

I just planted a little pequin seedling last week. Super curious about this pepper as I have no experience with it

 

[TXCG]

By far my favorite pepper & it's native to my area so I sometimes find them out growing in the woods around disc golf courses and such. I've had one pequin live about 5 years, & I've got 2 chiletepins going this year I hope to keep alive another 5 at least. You're right about them being super easy to overwinter. I think next year I'm going to plant one in the ground at my parent's house & see if I can't get them naturalized along the back fence.
 
One tip for anybody growing these in very hot & arid areas is almost every single one I've found growing wild has been living in partial shade underneath another tree. I've found that my potted ones also thrive when they get a bit of afternoon shade.

 

[ntenny]

I have two plants of some sort of volunteer piquin/pequin that popped up in my garden last year, and a few seedlings from saved seed from those plants.  Still waiting to see if they breed true---I have absolutely no idea where the parent plants came from!  Very prolific, very tasty with a sort of dark fruity character, hot enough to make a person notice them for sure, and the plants survived the coldest winter in local history, so I'm hoping I have them for a while.
 
My guess is they're something of the "Mexican" piquin family.  "Red pungent flavor" is a pretty good description.
 
-NT

 

[souf]

 

[GnomeGrown]

those are some cheeks, souf.
 

 

[PequinPepper]

I just planted a little pequin seedling last week. Super curious about this pepper as I have no experience with it

I think you will be pleasantly surprised.  

Yeah, baby!!!  Look at those little "rubies".....thanks for the pic!!

I'm growing "Texas Chiltepin" this year for the first time. It was an afterthought, so it's a bit behind my others. I'm looking forward to seeing how it does.

I'm in Louisiana as well.....these peppers seem to enjoy the climate here better than most peppers....

 

[Burning Colon]

i wanted to post these pictures sooner but where i live we have had terrible flooding, worst in history and my plants have been in the greenhouse for almost a week as the rains haven't stopped, now am fighting black mold/fungus.... but it is sunny today and the plants are tanning and that gave me time to snap some pics and excited to provide them for you:
 
these are mexican pequins, this is there 2nd year and last year they gave me a whole bunch of little snackers. they were producing well into march. notice the left most plant and the new seedlings from fallen pods. the seeds are from don enrique brand of dried packaged peppers found at my local grocer:
 

 
 
next you find wild texas tepin from redtail's stock, planted 6, six sprouted. the 1 on the right seemed to like its environment and is showing off like a peacock. the others are consistent in size and are ready to be potted up.  the front left is a runt but no matter. this is my first year growing this variety, so we will see how productive they get during july and aug's growth spurt months:
 

 
 
and finally my mexican tepin, the seed came from mckenzie seeds and are no longer available. this pic is 6 months and has since increased its size by some 3", since dec(2012). the plant is several years old. it has become part of the family and gets baby treatment, outside in the morning and inside at night. i have since put it into a 4 gallon pot size. here it is performing its xmas duties and showing off as a xmas tree:
 

 
 
and as a final note, good job souf'er on the creative pic.