breeding What pepper plants can handle the coldest temps?

[Sinder]

is there any pepper plant that are either natural or human breeded that can handle cold climates? if not is it possible to cross breed my own chili to be able to handle colder temperatures or is this impossible?

if possible, how would i go forward into doing this?

 

[Tinkerbelle]

this might help

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Growing Peppers In Cold Climates & The Subarctic

We've found great success with growing outdoor peppers in the interior of Alaska. While we don't have six foot tall pepper plants, we get a decent harvest.

frostygarden.com

 

[ChewbaccaTums]

Some C. baccatums are traditionally grown in high-altitude areas down the Andean ridges where the summer is no very hot. That's where my search would start. Crossing and breeding for low temp. tolerance or productivity sounds interesting; go for it and let's know the outcome.

 

[CaneDog]

Hey Sinder. The practical answer to your question is probably "no." A pepper's ability to tolerate cold doesn't necessary transfer into better production during a short season. Even with peppers that survive cold better, putting them out into the cold can slow them down and leave them behind a pepper you might put out weeks later when it's warmer because it's not as cold tolerant. Also, certain more cold tolerant varieties can be quite slow to ripen.

I think it's better to focus on shorter season varieties, starting them indoors and transferring them to outside at the right time and in the right manner so their development is interrupted as little as possible. You should be able to grow most peppers if you do this well.

A couple things. I'll be growing the Canoncito Pepper for the first time this summer. It's known as a very short season variety commonly grown at altitude in the SW U.S. I'm curious how short season it will be. Also, many rocotos in my experience will develop and set fruit at cooler temperatures, but they can tend toward longer season and be finicky so getting them to ripe probably isn't going to be easier than with short season annuum, for example.