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#1
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"Celebate" Habeneros?
About three years ago my wife purchased what was labeled a "chocolate
Habenero" chile plant for me. I planted it in a kitchen bed along with some yellow and red Thai peppers and a couple of serranos. All of the plants grew well in that wet year, topping out at about 5 feet high in the case of the That pepper and (curiously because they are usually bushy) the Habenero. The Thai and serranos provided a load of fresh chiles. The Habenero may have had 1-4 blooms, but never set fruit. The winter was mild and all of the chilies carried over, giving me a bounty of early fresh chiles last year. Long about late Sept, I finally found one (1) fruit on the chocolate Habenero. Later another fruit set. I let them ripen and collected the seed. Last winter all of those chlies died in the cold. I planted the chocolate hab seeds and have a couple of plants. This year the chocolate hab is out with the rest of the chiles in the garden. Two feet on either side are standard hab blooming and setting fruit like crazy. The chocolate hab is 12 inches taller than the other habs, but is still playing 'celibate'. Has anyone had a similare experience with these or have any suggestions how to get them to bloom? Note, they are not blooming rather than dropping blooms and not setting fruit. Thanks for any insight. I'll also try reposting this in edible and on the garden web chile group. rgds |
#2
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There are several cultivars of Chocolate Habarero, Most of them require
a long growing season. |
#3
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On 11 Jul 2005 09:08:54 -0700, " wrote: There are several cultivars of Chocolate Habarero, Most of them require a long growing season. Well, this one has about another 4 months and I give up. As noted, the parent plant was actually in the ground for about 18 months and produced two (2) fruit while growing beside other Thai and Hab chilies that bore heavily. |
#4
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On Sat, 09 Jul 2005 14:54:56 GMT, B.Server
wrote: About three years ago my wife purchased what was labeled a "chocolate Habenero" chile plant for me. I planted it in a kitchen bed along with some yellow and red Thai peppers and a couple of serranos. All of the plants grew well in that wet year, topping out at about 5 feet high in the case of the That pepper and (curiously because they are usually bushy) the Habenero. Actually, habs can be bushy or tall, it depends on the variety. My chocolate habs and Grenada Seasoning plants get tall, usually over 5 feet. On the other pod, the Devil's Tongue and Carabbean Red's are smaller plants. Puppy, which is a mild _C chinense_, gets really tall, 5 1/2 feet or taller, but the Pimento De Chiero plants are short and bushy, just to mention a few. The Thai and serranos provided a load of fresh chiles. The Habenero may have had 1-4 blooms, but never set fruit. Did I miss what Zone you're in? Average temps? My chocolate hab is one of the most prolific habaneros I have. It starts early and produces right up to frost. It does not do well in cool weather, however. As soon as the nights start getting cool in the fall, it starts dropping leaves. The winter was mild and all of the chilies carried over, giving me a bounty of early fresh chiles last year. Long about late Sept, I finally found one (1) fruit on the chocolate Habenero. Later another fruit set. I let them ripen and collected the seed. If you're not netting the blooms or seperating the plants by hundreds of feet, it's unlikely that the seeds you collected are pure. It's more likely that they crossed with the other peppers in your garden. Last winter all of those chlies died in the cold. I planted the chocolate hab seeds and have a couple of plants. This year the chocolate hab is out with the rest of the chiles in the garden. Two feet on either side are standard hab blooming and setting fruit like crazy. The chocolate hab is 12 inches taller than the other habs, but is still playing 'celibate'. Has anyone had a similare experience with these or have any suggestions how to get them to bloom? Note, they are not blooming rather than dropping blooms and not setting fruit. Are you fertilizing,or do you compost? Is it possible that the chocolate habanero is getting too much nitrogen? I occasionally have a pepper plant that just doesn't bloom well or set fruit. One year a chocolate long habanero bloomed, but didn't set fruit. http://www.chileplants.com/search.as...Button=Pressed They are very long season peppers, more than 120 days, and just as it was finally blooming, we had a cool spell, and it dropped the blooms. A St. Lucia Seasoning pepper plant I grew got huge, but never put out the first bloom. It was taller than I am, and I'm 5'8". The plants all around it in the bed produced normally. I don't know if its season is so long as to be possible to grow only in the tropics, or if it was something else. The very earliest hab-type pepper that I've ever grown is called Limon. It's a bushy plant that is just covered in medium-sized, thin-fleshed, bright yellow peppers. It's not the hottest of the habs, but it's a nice pepper. http://www.chileplants.com/search.as...Button=Pressed (Not suggesting you order from Cross Country, it's just that they have the best pictures and descriptions. Sort of like pepper porn.) Penelope |
#5
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On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 11:40:38 -0400, Penelope Periwinkle
wrote: On Sat, 09 Jul 2005 14:54:56 GMT, B.Server wrote: [...] Actually, habs can be bushy or tall, it depends on the variety. My chocolate habs and Grenada Seasoning plants get tall, usually over 5 feet. On the other pod, the Devil's Tongue and Carabbean Red's are smaller plants. Puppy, which is a mild _C chinense_, gets really tall, 5 1/2 feet or taller, but the Pimento De Chiero plants are short and bushy, just to mention a few. You have a lot more insight into Habeneros than I. My chile growing is limited to a couple of Thai varieties (one upright red and one pendant yellow), sufficient serranos for fresh use, the chile tepins that sprout under every semi-shaded bird perch, and a few Haberenos, (most of which I give away since I can't use all that set on the orange/red ones). In years that are likely to be wet, I will grow some anchos, but generally they don't do well hereabouts. The Thai and serranos provided a load of fresh chiles. The Habenero may have had 1-4 blooms, but never set fruit. Did I miss what Zone you're in? Average temps? Z8b, Central Texas. Temps are highly variable, ranging from the "low hundreds" to the low twenties and not infrequently swinging from the mid 80s to below freezing in less than 24 hours. Winters can be mild, as they were two years back when many of my chlies overwintered with only a bit of a trim and a plastic garbage can for shelter on thee or four nights. They can also be quite cold, dry and windy for long enough to freeze the tender and dessicate the lush. Last frost is around the second week of March and first freeze usually the last week of November. So say 220 -240 growing days on the years that it freezes at all. (I have picked tomatoes the week before Christmas some years) My chocolate hab is one of the most prolific habaneros I have. It starts early and produces right up to frost. It does not do well in cool weather, however. As soon as the nights start getting cool in the fall, it starts dropping leaves. I guess I'll try with another plant next spring. I like the ones I've eaten. [...] If you're not netting the blooms or seperating the plants by hundreds of feet, it's unlikely that the seeds you collected are pure. It's more likely that they crossed with the other peppers in your garden. Could be. I do not seem to get that much crossing among the non-hybrids in either the chilies or my assorted eggplants. My Thai reds are about the only ones that from which I save seed. They seem to have maintained a pretty close likeness to the original. FWIW, the "Habs" (from seed) have the glossy, triangular, slightly savoyed leaves, tall habit, and (sadly) lack of bloom of the known parent. Last winter all of those chlies died in the cold. I planted the chocolate hab seeds and have a couple of plants. This year the chocolate hab is out with the rest of the chiles in the garden. Two feet on either side are standard hab blooming and setting fruit like crazy. The chocolate hab is 12 inches taller than the other habs, but is still playing 'celibate'. Has anyone had a similare experience with these or have any suggestions how to get them to bloom? Note, they are not blooming rather than dropping blooms and not setting fruit. Are you fertilizing,or do you compost? Is it possible that the chocolate habanero is getting too much nitrogen? Could be, though all of the chiles are in a single, 4' X 22' raised (12") bed whose contents were "manufactured" from the black clay soil dug in place and my compost heap. I did add a bit of gypsum and sulphur, but that is pretty much it. The excess would have to be pretty localized since the other Habs 2' away are setting fruit like mad. I occasionally have a pepper plant that just doesn't bloom well or set fruit. One year a chocolate long habanero bloomed, but didn't set fruit. http://www.chileplants.com/search.as...Button=Pressed They are very long season peppers, more than 120 days, and just as it was finally blooming, we had a cool spell, and it dropped the blooms. A St. Lucia Seasoning pepper plant I grew got huge, but never put out the first bloom. It was taller than I am, and I'm 5'8". The plants all around it in the bed produced normally. I don't know if its season is so long as to be possible to grow only in the tropics, or if it was something else. The very earliest hab-type pepper that I've ever grown is called Limon. It's a bushy plant that is just covered in medium-sized, thin-fleshed, bright yellow peppers. It's not the hottest of the habs, but it's a nice pepper. http://www.chileplants.com/search.as...Button=Pressed Thanks for the tips on the varieties. I'll take a look with and eye to next year. (Not suggesting you order from Cross Country, it's just that they have the best pictures and descriptions. Sort of like pepper porn.) Penelope |
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