Tick 2016

Tick · Sep 17, 2016

I don't know if it's been the heat this summer, but most of my plants haven't done much in terms of producing pods - especially the chinenses. The only far along chinenses are the CAP 691 x bhut F1 and F2 which have plenty of ripe pods. I'll soon bring them to work for a taste testing to compare them for heat and taste. Good news is that there are plenty of eximium pods, one galapagoense is coming along nicely (and is huge) and I finally have a flowering rocoto. It started flowering right as the nights finally got cooler so I've been busy pollinating by hand and pods seem to be setting. At this point any seeds should be future rocopicas.

The main producers so far are the baccatums and the praetermissum hybrids, though the overwintered CAP 469 praetermissum is only just beginning to bud. Here's some pics:

CAP 1151 has big sticky leaves like a typical aji and nice large flowers:

My plants are jammed pretty close together this year, but I've been trying to isolate some of its pods:

I got 5 Cumari Pollux X baccatum F2s to grow and they have an interesting amount of variation.

The first to flower and ripen looks like a leggy and dark stemmed praetermissum with longish pods:

The next is a pretty and compact plant with smoother leaves and lilac flowers:

Next was the first with a white flower:

This pod might be crossed with the eximium (some sources say eximium x praet works):

It is also fairly praet-like in form though the flowers are the most like a baccatum.

The one that bloomed next also has white flowers and is praet-like with likely the smallest pods:

Finally, this one is ungainly and has the most baccatum-like leaves. It was the least interesting to me until it flowered and set pods this past week:

It's early but I think it has the pod color I was looking for....

Also, here is one of 5 baccatum x baccatum F2s - pods look much like those of one of its grandparents:

Spicegeist · Sep 18, 2016

Great photography!

Tick · Sep 19, 2016

Thanks Spicegeist!

I finally had a Saturday calm enough to play with my camera and post - It's been hard to just find time to do much gardening, I have to kind of sneak it in. My kids were worn out from a sleepover so I took the opportunity to get some closer shots - I was lying on my back for a while trying to get some in-focus flower shots. Wonder what my neighbors thought of that and my hand pollinating the rocoto before work each morning lately!

While I was posting, my daughter woke up more and asked about the site including if other people post pics of their crosses and other peppers. I showed her some other glogs including yours as examples. You've got some very cool and complex interspecific crosses developing (I really like that galapagoense is in the mix) and your collection and comparison of ghost peppers is quite interesting!

Here's some pics of the baccatum F2s taken last week and earlier. First up more of the above plant:

Here's a pod from a similar plant:

This plant was lost and forgotten in my tangle of peppers (and a few tomatoes) but has rounder and very white pods:

This also has round pods and is more vigorous:

The 5th F2 was really lost in my mass of plants. When I found it last week, it was very underpotted and not flowering.
Interestingly, none of the F2s have any red pods yet though they have had pods longer than most of my other plants. I was hoping that some of these plants' pods would stay white, but didn't expect all to. I imagine that at least some will eventually redden....

I forgot that chaco CAP 212 is fruiting well in its 2nd year:

- Tick

Jase4224 · Sep 19, 2016

Cool. I like seeing both the flowers and the pods of the 5 same crosses. Imagine growing 100 F2's and seeing just how many possibilities there are!

dragonsfire · Sep 19, 2016

Great looking plants and pics, Nice

Tick · Sep 20, 2016

Jase4224 said:
Cool. I like seeing both the flowers and the pods of the 5 same crosses. Imagine growing 100 F2's and seeing just how many possibilities there are!

Thanks - 100 would be the way to go but I'd be happy just growing 20 of each F2! Some year I'll do that (was hoping for at least 15 of CXC4), but hopefully backcrossing will help me get plants with the traits I like without having to screen larger numbers of each cross. But yes, the praet-bacc cross is more fun than I expected because of the differences in the plants' forms and especially the flower shapes and colors. Must be nice to grow peppers in Australia!

dragonsfire said:
Great looking plants and pics, Nice

Thanks. What's the pepper in your avatar - Bonda ma jaques maybe? It's a nice pic and I keep noticing it.

Jase4224 · Sep 20, 2016

Actually I've had troubles with flower drop due to the heat but I have made some changes this season which should help. It gets hot in Oz lol

I love your white pods, looks like fairy lights!

Tick · Nov 19, 2016

Very late season update -

Thanks about the white pods (and some stayed white!) and yes, the heat set back many plants and once it finally cooled, it did so too much and too quickly!

Some pictures from the last few weeks up to last night:

Chaco CAP 212 has ripened:

Purple-flowered chaco:

One of the long-podded baccatum F2 hybrids turned red:

But the other ripened to this:

It stayed light peach for about a month and tasted kind of grassy and not too sweet - almost like an annuum

As for the round ones, the smaller one from the last post seems to be peach. I placed it outside again since nights weren't freezing this week and will see if more color change happens. The bigger one seems to be staying white other than a purple blush on the pods that got more sun. Here's a pic from last night in the basement:

Problem is, I'm not sure when the pods are ripe enough for mature seed. I think a few of the older pods dropped and got lost when the plant was outside. However I found a dry pod next to it in the basement. It was still a light color and the seeds were mature and a little browned though hopefully not moldy. I'll have to keep a close eye on the larger pods.

Here's a harvest from the baccatum x Cumari Pollux F2 with long pods and purple flowers:

They are hot, thin-fleshed and full of juice.

Here's the baccatum x Cumari Pollux F2 with lilac flowers and round pods:

Harvested pods:

These don't detach from the calyx, have thick flesh and are not as hot. They are much more baccatum-like and slightly sweet.

None of the 10 CXC4 chinense F2s are close to having ripe pods, but some chinense did produce.

Here's the CAP 691 x bhut F2 early pods:

These detach with some resistance (not sure if CAP 691 did). Later season pods are bigger:

They are not as hot as the F1 and have less of that acrid bhut effect though they still have a bhutish taste.

An old CAP 691 x bhut F1 is still producing:

I grew 8 CXC2 F3s for each of two F2 parents (pictured in 2015 glog). Only 1 plant from each set has ripe peppers, but both are much like their parents.

This F3 from the "sweet" F2 ripened first:

They are light yellow and smooth as before. The first pod that we tried at my work ripened outside and it had the sweet berry-like flavor of its parent. but was considerably hotter. My stomach cramped immediately from a small piece. The 2nd pepper ripened inside and was not quite as flavorful, but the placenta was covered in capsaicin oil drops. Not sure if it's superhot, but it's a strong quick heat.

The F3 from the other plant, "big", looked a lot like it's parent as well and even ripened in the same striped manner:

It finished ripening inside to a maybe a slightly less orange yellow that its parent but the flavor was not as distinct as the other F3 and the heat was not anything special.
I'll grow F4s from the light yellow and sweet F3.

The Star of Turkey has pods that we'll try at work next week:

They aren't as big as I expected, maybe 1.5" across but the plant is attractive and would probably be quite productive in a bigger pot and a better season.

The eximiums have had pods for a long time but finally started ripening about a month ago:

No ripe rocotos yet though one plant is huge and has had mature-sized pods for some time now:

I really want some ulupica seeds so I may have to somehow move its huge pot inside tomorrow....

Also waiting on the CAP 1151 baccatum:

The above pod is a little yellower now (think it is supposed to ripen to orange-red), but the plant has been outside and is not tolerating the cold as well as the rocoto.

There are some other ripe or (hopefully) soon to be ripe peppers on some of my old F1s and the Cumari hybrids....

PaulG · Nov 22, 2016

Nice photos of the flowers early in the season!
Looks like you are getting some good results
from some interesting crosses.

Enjoy the holidays with your family!

Tick · Nov 23, 2016

Thank you PaulG!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving as well!

- Tick