I haven't been here for a while, the last time was ask about lavender
plants. The advice on taking cuttings was spot on, and the single
cutting I took and just stuck into another pot is still doing fine.

Anyway, my topic this time is about Jalapeno plants.

The office had a charity coffee morning where they were selling cakes,
buns and coffee, and some enterprising sole decided to sell some
plants in pots. That was about four months ago I guess. Anyway I have
kept the pot on my desk since then. My desk gets morning sun from
sunrise until about 9 or 10 am, and then artificial light from then
until 9pm. So I now have a pot with three very green looking plants
about 8 inches tall. On two occasions one or other of these plants has
grown a white flower, which has lasted about a week, and then fallen
off. My question is should these flowers have resulted in a pepper
growing, or are the plants too young at the moment?

The soil is kept moist, and I have a Miracle-Grow plant food tablet
pushed into the pot.

Is there anything else I should be doing to see something interesting
like a pepper grow on these plants?

Cheers

Stephen

Stephen writes
I haven't been here for a while, the last time was ask about lavender
plants. The advice on taking cuttings was spot on, and the single
cutting I took and just stuck into another pot is still doing fine.

Anyway, my topic this time is about Jalapeno plants.

The office had a charity coffee morning where they were selling cakes,
buns and coffee, and some enterprising sole decided to sell some
plants in pots. That was about four months ago I guess. Anyway I have
kept the pot on my desk since then. My desk gets morning sun from
sunrise until about 9 or 10 am, and then artificial light from then
until 9pm. So I now have a pot with three very green looking plants
about 8 inches tall. On two occasions one or other of these plants has
grown a white flower, which has lasted about a week, and then fallen
off. My question is should these flowers have resulted in a pepper
growing, or are the plants too young at the moment?

The soil is kept moist, and I have a Miracle-Grow plant food tablet
pushed into the pot.

Is there anything else I should be doing to see something interesting
like a pepper grow on these plants?

You could try hand pollination - stroke one of the flowers, preferably
with a paintbrush but you can use your finger, then stroke the next
flower and so on.

They'd do better in the windowsill if you have one, where they'd get
natural light.

It's a bit late in the season, so the plant needs all the help it can
get. I would take it home if it were mine, and put it in the brightest
windowsill I had.

Started earlier in the year they are easy and fun to grow on a
windowsill, so if you don't get anywhere this year, try to get hold of a
plant or some seeds next year. You can also get some very attractive
small fruited varieties which start green, then ripen through purple and
yellow to red, so you can have 4 colours on the plant at once. They're
attractive in their own right, but by the time the peppers are red, they
are satisfyingly hot.
--
Kay

On 15 Sep, 15:38, K wrote:
Stephen writes

I haven't been here for a while, the last time was ask about lavender
plants. The advice on taking cuttings was spot on, and the single
cutting I took and just stuck into another pot is still doing fine.

Anyway, my topic this time is about Jalapeno plants.

The office had a charity coffee morning where they were selling cakes,
buns and coffee, and some enterprising sole decided to sell some
plants in pots. That was about four months ago I guess. Anyway I have
kept the pot on my desk since then. My desk gets morning sun from
sunrise until about 9 or 10 am, and then artificial light from then
until 9pm. So I now have a pot with three very green looking plants
about 8 inches tall. On two occasions one or other of these plants has
grown a white flower, which has lasted about a week, and then fallen
off. My question is should these flowers have resulted in a pepper
growing, or are the plants too young at the moment?

The soil is kept moist, and I have a Miracle-Grow plant food tablet
pushed into the pot.

Is there anything else I should be doing to see something interesting
like a pepper grow on these plants?

You could try hand pollination - stroke one of the flowers, preferably
with a paintbrush but you can use your finger, then stroke the next
flower and so on.

They'd do better in the windowsill if you have one, where they'd get
natural light.

It's a bit late in the season, so the plant needs all the help it can
get. I would take it home if it were mine, and put it in the brightest
windowsill I had.

Started earlier in the year they are easy and fun to grow on a
windowsill, so if you don't get anywhere this year, try to get hold of a
plant or some seeds next year. You can also get some very attractive
small fruited varieties which start green, then ripen through purple and
yellow to red, so you can have 4 colours on the plant at once. They're
attractive in their own right, but by the time the peppers are red, they
are satisfyingly hot.
--
Kay

Do these plants die down then and have to be regrown from scratch, or
do they continue to grow into a small bush or tree?

I'll remember about the pollination, at least I will have to, because
I haven't had two flowers at the same time yet. Unless it is possible
to pollinate with one flower?

On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:01:07 -0700 (PDT), Stephen
wrote:

Do these plants die down then and have to be regrown from scratch, or
do they continue to grow into a small bush or tree?

I'll remember about the pollination, at least I will have to, because
I haven't had two flowers at the same time yet. Unless it is possible
to pollinate with one flower?

I had three plants for three years growing on a windowsill. They grew
quite big the first year and were full of peppers. They were not so
bad the second year but very poor in third year when I gave up on
them!

I had no problem with pollination because all three plans had plenty
of flowers.

Steve

--
Neural Planner Software Ltd http://www.NPSL1.com
EasyNN-plus. Build Neural Networks. http://www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast the Future. http://www.swingnn.com

In article ,
Stephen writes:
|
| Do these plants die down then and have to be regrown from scratch, or
| do they continue to grow into a small bush or tree?

Effectively, the former. While they are strictly perennials, the
success rate of people overwintering them in the UK is not great.
Sow them as annuals, early, in the warmth.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 15 Sep, 17:32, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,Stephe n writes:

|
| Do these plants die down then and have to be regrown from scratch, or
| do they continue to grow into a small bush or tree?

Effectively, the former. *While they are strictly perennials, the
success rate of people overwintering them in the UK is not great.
Sow them as annuals, early, in the warmth.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The office is air conditioned, but they turn the air conditioning off
at 5pm, so its off all night and all weekend. That isn't a problem at
the moment, but in winter I imagine the office will get quite cold,
especially during the Christmas shutdown period of about a week.

They seem quite 'happy' at the moment and seem to be growing ever
faster. I'll just keep them going and see what happens.

Stephen writes
Do these plants die down then and have to be regrown from scratch, or
do they continue to grow into a small bush or tree?

They are perennial, but because they are not native to the UK, they
don't like the low light levels in winter (and certainly wouldn't
survive outdoors). So although you can keep them over winter, they get
leggy, and die back a bit, and it's generally better to re-grow from
seed each year.

I'll remember about the pollination, at least I will have to, because I
haven't had two flowers at the same time yet. Unless it is possible to
pollinate with one flower?

Yes.

--
Kay

The message

from Stephen contains these words:

I haven't been here for a while, the last time was ask about lavender
plants. The advice on taking cuttings was spot on, and the single
cutting I took and just stuck into another pot is still doing fine.

Anyway, my topic this time is about Jalapeno plants.

The office had a charity coffee morning where they were selling cakes,
buns and coffee, and some enterprising sole decided to sell some
plants in pots. That was about four months ago I guess. Anyway I have
kept the pot on my desk since then. My desk gets morning sun from
sunrise until about 9 or 10 am, and then artificial light from then
until 9pm. So I now have a pot with three very green looking plants
about 8 inches tall. On two occasions one or other of these plants has
grown a white flower, which has lasted about a week, and then fallen
off. My question is should these flowers have resulted in a pepper
growing, or are the plants too young at the moment?

With the amount of sunlight they're getting I'm surprised they're still
living. You need to keep them in sunlight for as long as possible.
Artificial light is almost useless, unless it is from an horticultural
bulb, which supplies the wavelengths of light the plant needs.

The soil is kept moist, and I have a Miracle-Grow plant food tablet
pushed into the pot.

Is there anything else I should be doing to see something interesting
like a pepper grow on these plants?

Well, mine looked like a Christmas tree with all its red chillis, but
that had the sun all afternoon. (I don't have a sensible south-facing
window.)

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

The message

from Stephen contains these words:

Do these plants die down then and have to be regrown from scratch, or
do they continue to grow into a small bush or tree?

They will continue growing, but can be pruned when they get straggly.

I'll remember about the pollination, at least I will have to, because
I haven't had two flowers at the same time yet. Unless it is possible
to pollinate with one flower?

Jalapino flowers are self-pollinating.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

I have a 50% retention rate on overwintered chili plants. It is very
dependant on the actual variety and its low temperature withstand
ability and the variations of temperature during day and night. They
also do not like the dampness and the resultant rot.

Very often they die back from the tips, and as winter progresses the
die back goes further. Hoping that it has not gone all the way, the
plants then shoot out again in spring.

I only ever keep them over 1 winter, and then chuck them out.

http://www.gb-online.co.uk/

They are perennial, but because they are not native to the UK, they
don't like the low light levels in winter (and certainly wouldn't
survive outdoors). So although you can keep them over winter, they get
leggy, and die back a bit, and it's generally better to re-grow from
seed each year.

On 15 Sep, 21:14, Rusty Hinge 2
wrote:
The message

from Stephen contains these words:

I haven't been here for a while, the last time was ask about lavender
plants. The advice on taking cuttings was spot on, and the single
cutting I took and just stuck into another pot is still doing fine.
Anyway, my topic this time is about Jalapeno plants.
The office had a charity coffee morning where they were selling cakes,
buns and coffee, and some enterprising sole decided to sell some
plants in pots. That was about four months ago I guess. Anyway I have
kept the pot on my desk since then. My desk gets morning sun from
sunrise until about 9 or 10 am, and then artificial light from then
until 9pm. So I now have a pot with three very green looking plants
about 8 inches tall. On two occasions one or other of these plants has
grown a white flower, which has lasted about a week, and then fallen
off. My question is should these flowers have resulted in a pepper
growing, or are the plants too young at the moment?

With the amount of sunlight they're getting I'm surprised they're still
living. You need to keep them in sunlight for as long as possible.
Artificial light is almost useless, unless it is from an horticultural
bulb, which supplies the wavelengths of light the plant needs.

The soil is kept moist, and I have a Miracle-Grow plant food tablet
pushed into the pot.
Is there anything else I should be doing to see something interesting
like a pepper grow on these plants?

Well, mine looked like a Christmas tree with all its red chillis, but
that had the sun all afternoon. (I don't have a sensible south-facing
window.)

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

I wish I could keep them in sunlight! My desk at work is on the north-
east facing side of an office block, but I am at the window. At home
my only south facing window looks directly at a 6 foot fence, the
other side of which is a two storey building. All other windows in the
flat don't get direct sunlight at all.

The message

from Stephen contains these words:

I wish I could keep them in sunlight! My desk at work is on the north-
east facing side of an office block, but I am at the window. At home
my only south facing window looks directly at a 6 foot fence, the
other side of which is a two storey building. All other windows in the
flat don't get direct sunlight at all.

Hmmm. Methinks a move is indicated...

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

On 16 Sep, 16:09, Rusty Hinge 2
wrote:
The message

from Stephen contains these words:

I wish I could keep them in sunlight! My desk at work is on the north-
east facing side of an office block, but I am at the window. At home
my only south facing window looks directly at a 6 foot fence, the
other side of which is a two storey building. All other windows in the
flat don't get direct sunlight at all.

Hmmm. Methinks a move is indicated...

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

If only I could afford to! :-(

i had one last year it gave me a handful of chillies. i had it in the windowsil in my kitchen which gets teh sun most of the day

On 15 Sep, 21:16, Rusty Hinge 2
wrote:
The message

from Stephen contains these words:

Do these plants die down then and have to be regrown from scratch, or
do they continue to grow into a small bush or tree?

They will continue growing, but can be pruned when they get straggly.

I'll remember about the pollination, at least I will have to, because
I haven't had two flowers at the same time yet. Unless it is possible
to pollinate with one flower?

Jalapino flowers are self-pollinating.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

I have come into the office after a nice weekend. The plants appear to
be developing about 4 flower buds between them at the moment! So if
they're self pollinating I shouldn't need to do anything, but would
the previously suggested paintbrush technique help in any way at all?