seeds Primeros red yellow?

[cmwr]

I grew my own starter plants last winter from
Leftover seeds harvested from my own plants the year before. I only have ever had orange habaneros and primeros red habaneros. In my garden I planted 7 plants this spring. I planted 3 orange habaneros and 4 primeros reds. One of my reds is abundant with fruit but they are a bright yellow color. My other 3 reds are turning red and my 3 orange habaneros are producing orange fruit. I am lost. I couldn’t have mixed up seeds from a yellow habanero plant because I have never grown one of those. Anyone got any idea what’s going on?

 

[francisp]

Cross pollination

 

[cmwr]

Cross pollination

I thought that was an old wives tale

 

[BlackFatalii]

According to Bonnie Plants website, The Primero Red Habanero is a hybrid variety. Companies like Bonnie seem to like selling new hybrid varieties, since the F1s (first generation plants) can be very consistent, and they can sometimes have good disease resistance. The big downside for seed savers is that the F2 generation onward may not be true to type (It takes 8 generations of selecting for the desired traits to "stabilize" a new hybrid). This is likely also seen as a plus by companies like Bonnie and Burpee. So, your yellow habaneros may be the result of cross-pollination, or they may have happened because the Primero Red is an unstable hybrid, and such variations in the F2 and later generations are to be expected.

 

[cmwr]

According to Bonnie Plants website, The Primero Red Habanero is a hybrid variety. Companies like Bonnie seem to like selling new hybrid varieties, since the F1s (first generation plants) can be very consistent, and they can sometimes have good disease resistance. The big downside for seed savers is that the F2 generation onward may not be true to type (It takes 8 generations of selecting for the desired traits to "stabilize" a new hybrid). This is likely also seen as a plus by companies like Bonnie and Burpee. So, your yellow habaneros may be the result of cross-pollination, or they may have happened because the Primero Red is an unstable hybrid, and such variations in the F2 and later generations are to be expected.

Thanks for this info. So basicallly it sounds like maybe this is t the best hybrid or variety to be harvesting seeds from? I should have potted my plants last year and kept them going. I guess
I could pot this one as the fruit is still nice even though yellow

 

[Downriver]

...or you could save seeds and keep growing out future generations, just to uncover potential hidden gems.

 

[cmwr]

...or you could save seeds and keep growing out future generations, just to uncover potential hidden gems.

Now I’m confused. That’s what I did was save seeds from my original plant and grow seedlings and that’s what’s in my garden this year. I thought it was being said that because these plans for hybrids if you try to keep reusing seeds and growing seedlings every generations going to get water down?

 

[francisp]

Seeds collected from a hybrid (F1) are called F2, and can vary wildly. The trick is to collect seeds from the best plants (selecting on the traits that you like, like taste, or producing) and collect (F3) seeds from them. If you do this year after year, after F8 or F9 you have a new, stable variety.

 

[cmwr]

Seeds collected from a hybrid (F1) are called F2, and can vary wildly. The trick is to collect seeds from the best plants (selecting on the traits that you like, like taste, or producing) and collect (F3) seeds from them. If you do this year after year, after F8 or F9 you have a new, stable variety.

Thanks for that info. The plant in question with the yellow fruit is the most productive out of the bunch with large yellow fruits. As far as I can tell they taste just as good and have a similar heat so that might be the one that I steal seeds from. That is also probably the one I will pot and keep this winter.

 

[BlackFatalii]

I thought it was being said that because these plans for hybrids if you try to keep reusing seeds and growing seedlings every generations going to get water down?

I wouldn't say they get "watered down". It is just that the F1 hybrids will show their dominant genes: F1 Hybrids. F2 onwards is when the recessive genes can start to show themselves (like yellow pods instead of red, for example). So you can potentially end up with something very different than what you started with. Not watered down really, but just different. Some years ago, a member here created a cross and saw different colors, pod shapes, heat levels and flavor profiles in his D3monic Goat cross even among different plants of the same generation: D3 Crossing Project. But as francisp pointed out, this does give you the opportunity to attempt to steer the cross in directions that you want it to go by selecting for desired traits in each generation.

But if you just wanted to grow "correct" Primero Reds every year, then yeah you have to either keep your original plants going, or else buy new seeds or plants every year.