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Rocoto growth pattern

karoo

karoo

I am new to growing Rocoto peppers and have had a hard time getting to this stage in their growth.
( Maybe it's too hot here , maybe I'm just trying too hard)
 
For the first time I am seeing some really good growth , so I just want to check in with the longtime Rocoto growers.
 
Is the growth pattern on the Rocoto so different from the other peppers?
The new growth and new leaves develop on the leaf stem(petiole) and then branch out from there?
 
The big one is Rocoto Guatamala , also Rocoto Red and Rocoto Costa Rica.
 
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I grew Rocotos for the first time last year.  Yours look pretty similar.  I found them to be very sprawling plants that loved to grow sideways rather than upwards.  Hope you have plenty of space for them to spread!  I would say yours look very healthy and happy and normal.
 
Rocotos need a long season and the pods take forever to ripen.  I don't know what your winters are like in South Africe - can you grow year-round, or is it summer only, like here (UK)?  Because judging by the size of your plants, I think you might run out of time to get them to pod up and ripen this summer.  
 
We have a relatively mild winter with light frost . My Baccatums survived winter outside under a shade net . Survived , cut back , not thrived. My game plan is to see what happens from now to end of May and the cut back, overwinter and have an early spring grow out.
 
Regarding the growth pattern of the Rocoto , 
is this normal to see the new growth developing on the stem of the leaf so close to the leaf itself?
This is a lot different from other species.
 
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I find that rocoto plants sprawl outwards and upwards, developing a pretty thick hedge. It's probably to support the heavy pod load at the end of the season. Here are a few pics of a few different varieties of my rocoto plants last season, to see the typical growth pattern of them. Obviously each Pube cultivar is a bit different.
 

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That is 100% how they should be forking,not anything strange at all. There should be a flowers popping soon where the red circles are. There are many that have different habits,flowers and leaf structures.  Pictured below are two plants in early May @ around 8 weeks give or take a couple days. One has a typical growth and the other you can see has a very neat sprawling habit. They are very early flowering plants,keeping the flowers on them is a different story. Looks like some late evening light in your photos and I can't tell the true colors,but they look like some food wouldn't hurt.  Good luck,mate!
 
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Pr0digal_son said:
That is 100% how they should be forking,not anything strange at all. There should be a flowers popping soon where the red circles are. There are many that have different habits,flowers and leaf structures.  Pictured below are two plants in early May @ around 8 weeks give or take a couple days. One has a typical growth and the other you can see has a very neat sprawling habit. They are very early flowering plants,keeping the flowers on them is a different story. Looks like some late evening light in your photos and I can't tell the true colors,but they look like some food wouldn't hurt.  Good luck,mate!
 
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Thank you for all the answers. Great plants on all the pictures.
So far they have endured 2 months of severe heat and I can't wait for Autumn(fall) and some cooler weather.
 
I'm growing some Rocotos as well here in Durbs. The mini rocoto yellow, this is my 1st year growing any type of pubescens and they have very interesting growth. My 2 dont seem to have any flowers yet either.
 
Ya no frost at least, it has been reaching 5 degrees here early mornings. They are under cover on back patio and getting some side sun.

How are your plants doing?

My other Chinense varieties have been moved indoors as they started getting some deformed leaves due to the "cold".
 
Royce_SA said:
Ya no frost at least, it has been reaching 5 degrees here early mornings. They are under cover on back patio and getting some side sun.

How are your plants doing?

My other Chinense varieties have been moved indoors as they started getting some deformed leaves due to the "cold".
Click to expand...
 
Rocotos are doing fine , cut back and overwintering in my garden shed with a big northeast facing window. Only trimmed and not totally cut back , I even left a few fruit on to ripen.
I don't expect too much of them till September , except stay alive!
 
We do get frost and freezing.
 
karoo said:
 
Rocotos are doing fine , cut back and overwintering in my garden shed with a big northeast facing window. Only trimmed and not totally cut back , I even left a few fruit on to ripen.
I don't expect too much of them till September , except stay alive!
 
We do get frost and freezing.
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That's great bud, ya I've also got a shed with my indoor stuff. They're getting an hour of sun every day just to harden off. So hopefully I get fruitful plants this year

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