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breeding Will my plants cross.

H

hot1987

Hello my fellow pepper fans.
Newbie question... I have all my different superhots growing really close to each other. Are the chances they will cross 100% .. If they do cross how will I tell? Will the pods look different? Or will I only notice if try to grow from the seeds they produce? Also I've had tons of flowers for 3 weeks now, but no pods they just keep falling off. What gives? Anybody? http://i.imgur.com/Wq8ddT2.jpg
Edit= added pic
 
Well I wouldn't say 100% but it's likely. You won't notice anything until you grow a new plant from the seeds. I don't have any issues with pollination. Peppers seem really easy to pollinate. However you can try manually pollinating :) Or bring in a plant that attracts bees and put it near the peppers.
 
G'day matey,
 
If all your plants are growing very close to each other, there's a good chance cross-pollination will occur. 100%? No. Chances are dependent on pollinator populations (bees, ants, etc). Just how close the plants are (touching each other?) and things like wind are factors too. You won't tell straight away whether cross-pollination has occured, berries will still form like they should, only when you grow out from saved seed will you know.
 
EDIT:
 
I should add, by "as they should", I mean whatever is in their genes. If you are growing an unstable hybrid, which is the case with some superhots, you may not end up with what was in the picture so to speak. But will you get an odd berry different to the others on the plant due to cross-pollination? No.
 
Spicy Mushroom said:
Well I wouldn't say 100% but it's likely. You won't notice anything until you grow a new plant from the seeds. I don't have any issues with pollination. Peppers seem really easy to pollinate. However you can try manually pollinating :) Or bring in a plant that attracts bees and put it near the peppers.
Click to expand...
^^^^ What he said
 
Can they cross? yes.  Will they? it depends like stated above.  If you want to have isolated seeds a popular method is using a light penetrating finely woven fabric like Tulle, or pantyhose for the real cheapskates, and isolate the buds on a branch or a whole plant before they open...and mark them somehow with a piece of twine etc. so you know which ones are your seed peppers.  Another option is to bring them inside one at a time before the buds open and stick them in a sunny window, when opens and forms a pod take it back outside.
 
You may not have pollinators. So in the morning before you head out to work/school or wherever, give the plants a good shake. Alternatively if you have time to kill, go outside with a qtip or small soft tipped paint brush and tickle the flowers.
 
If you are doing the above manual pollination, and still not getting fruit set, then it is likely an environmental factor such as too much heat.
 
That post at thechileman.org is a good one - I would have posted it if magicpepper hadn't done so earlier. 
 
I wouldn't worry about flower drop just yet, as your plants are still fairly young. It's fairly common for plants to drop flowers when young, then start holding them after they get bigger. There's a good list of reasons for flower drop posted by Willard you can search for. It includes things like
- temperatures too high or low
- pH too high or low
- lack of pollen
- lack of pollinators
- too much or too little water
 
As filmost said, you can just thump the pots to get pollination to occur, assuming there is pollen. Chile plants are fairly efficient self-pollinators, so it takes very little.
 
Regarding crossing, over and above the question of whether or not your plants will cross (as noted, can only be told via the offspring), is the question of whether it really matters or not. If you intend to sell seeds, it matters greatly. If you are willing to give seeds away and advise that the plants are open-pollinated, it matters less. If you are only growing for your own use, it matters only as much as you personally care. Keep in mind that people intentionally cross to create hybrids, so this is not necessarily a bad thing. At the same time, keep in mind that not all crosses are stable (also referred to in a chileman.org article.) This means that the offspring of offspring can revert to the characteristics of the original (grandparent) plant, so even if a cross occurs there's no guarantee that it will last. 
 
I see you've only made a few posts - welcome to THP!
 
gasificada said:
G'day matey,
 
If all your plants are growing very close to each other, there's a good chance cross-pollination will occur. 100%? No. Chances are dependent on pollinator populations (bees, ants, etc). Just how close the plants are (touching each other?) and things like wind are factors too. You won't tell straight away whether cross-pollination has occured, berries will still form like they should, only when you grow out from saved seed will you know.
 
EDIT:
 
I should add, by "as they should", I mean whatever is in their genes. If you are growing an unstable hybrid, which is the case with some superhots, you may not end up with what was in the picture so to speak. But will you get an odd berry different to the others on the plant due to cross-pollination? No.[/
Thank you all got the replays.
I was just worried that some of my superhots would take the traits of the (not so superhots)
The plants are all real healthy but it has been very warm/hot here in Southern California. Maybe it's the heat. I will try the q-tip pollination method tomorrow.
My neighbors already think I'm crazy with all the time I spend hovering over my plants.
Thank you all got the replays.
I was just worried that some of my superhots would take the traits of the (not so superhots)
The plants are all real healthy but it has been very warm/hot here in Southern California. Maybe it's the heat. I will try the q-tip pollination method tomorrow.
My neighbors already think I'm crazy with all the time I spend hovering over my plants.
Click to expand...
 
hot1987 said:
gasificada said:
G'day matey,
 
If all your plants are growing very close to each other, there's a good chance cross-pollination will occur. 100%? No. Chances are dependent on pollinator populations (bees, ants, etc). Just how close the plants are (touching each other?) and things like wind are factors too. You won't tell straight away whether cross-pollination has occured, berries will still form like they should, only when you grow out from saved seed will you know.
 
EDIT:
 
I should add, by "as they should", I mean whatever is in their genes. If you are growing an unstable hybrid, which is the case with some superhots, you may not end up with what was in the picture so to speak. But will you get an odd berry different to the others on the plant due to cross-pollination? No.[/
Click to expand...
i dont know whats goin on in this post????
but, that link i posted will tell you what species will cross with each other, and will also give you all the info you need on cross breeding peppers, please go look at it and read it, it is just about the best info you are going to get.  and quite hnestly your super hots could end up being as hot as a jalapeno if you cross it with one, they could end up looking like a jalapeno and have the heat of a reaper, there is so many variables at play here you never know what you are going to get, that is why you must test every pod you get from your cross, to see which one has the traits you want, and so forth.  
 
 
 
 
oh haha you fixed it as i was typing lol
Click to expand...
 
You actually don't need pollinators! Peppers create what are called perfect flowers, this meaning the have both male and female parts. This is how peppers can grow inside, and how the get pollenated when you wrap the buds w/ tulle or pantyhose to isolate seed stock. Even growing side by side pepper cross pollination is a small percentage. Does it happen yes, does it happen often, in my personal experience less than 10% and I have tons of pollinators, bees, butterflies, wasps, etc. Sometimes I see all the cool crosses people make and I wish they would cross more often!
If your flowers are dropping and not setting look for underlying cause! Could be:
Too much/ not enough water
Too much fertilizer
Too high/ too low temps
Some sort of nutrient deficiency
If flowers are dropping your plants are stressed, look for the cause and eliminate it!
Good luck!
 
chile_freak said:
You actually don't need pollinators! Peppers create what are called perfect flowers, this meaning the have both male and female parts. This is how peppers can grow inside, and how the get pollenated when you wrap the buds w/ tulle or pantyhose to isolate seed stock.
Click to expand...
This I agree with strongly.

chile_freak said:
Even growing side by side pepper cross pollination is a small percentage. Does it happen yes, does it happen often, in my personal experience less than 10% and I have tons of pollinators, bees, butterflies, wasps, etc. Sometimes I see all the cool crosses people make and I wish they would cross more often!
Click to expand...
This I do not. But this is my personal experience. Lots of pollinators here too and it seems damn near (all but) impossible to save pure seed without isolating. I love my good bugs but I really do wish they would stop meddling when I'm trying to save pure seed! :lol:
 
chile_freak said:
Maybe I just don't grow enough from saved seed, I usually only plant between 1-3 of each variety so I can grow lots more varieties!
Click to expand...
Oh but I don't doubt what you're saying either. With some things in the garden there is a strange phenomenon. How something works for one, it works differently for another. You could compare two seemingly almost identical gardens and see things working so differently within. If that makes sense?
 
magicpepper said:
i dont know whats goin on in this post????
but, that link i posted will tell you what species will cross with each other, and will also give you all the info you need on cross breeding peppers, please go look at it and read it, it is just about the best info you are going to get.  and quite hnestly your super hots could end up being as hot as a jalapeno if you cross it with one, they could end up looking like a jalapeno and have the heat of a reaper, there is so many variables at play here you never know what you are going to get, that is why you must test every pod you get from your cross, to see which one has the traits you want, and so forth.  
 
 
 
 
oh haha you fixed it as i was typing lol[/qumany
Lol that's what we need the biggest joke pepper of all time the Jala-reaper! At least the superhot peppers have the decency to look vicious,can you imagine the mayhem of the jala-reaper! Slip a couple in at the jalapeño eating contest, slice one up on someone's nachos, how many people you could get with that one! That is what you call deliciously evil!
Click to expand...
 
chile_freak said:
magicpepper said:
i dont know whats goin on in this post????
but, that link i posted will tell you what species will cross with each other, and will also give you all the info you need on cross breeding peppers, please go look at it and read it, it is just about the best info you are going to get.  and quite hnestly your super hots could end up being as hot as a jalapeno if you cross it with one, they could end up looking like a jalapeno and have the heat of a reaper, there is so many variables at play here you never know what you are going to get, that is why you must test every pod you get from your cross, to see which one has the traits you want, and so forth.  
 
 
 
 
oh haha you fixed it as i was typing lol[/qumany
Lol that's what we need the biggest joke pepper of all time the Jala-reaper! At least the superhot peppers have the decency to look vicious,can you imagine the mayhem of the jala-reaper! Slip a couple in at the jalapeño eating contest, slice one up on someone's nachos, how many people you could get with that one! That is what you call deliciously evil!
Click to expand...
im actually waiting for some purple jalapeno seeds so i can see if i can cross a purple jala and a reaper lmao
Click to expand...
 
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