Chilli peppers!!
 

has anyone ever had chilli peppers? im interested, but know nothing! can i get them locally as plants not seeds? culture info would be lovely!

Google chili pepper culture/care.

I treated them like a bog standard houseplant, didn't let the media dry out to much, feed regular etc.

All I know (for me) is they grow like wildfire and quickly outgrew the windowsill I had them on (wish I had a green house). I would also add they can be a bit of a pest attractor, so watch out for that.

From seedling to a litre ice-cream tub full of Chillis from one plant in one season. initial outlay 50p per plant.

Growing regimes may vary between types, but other than that they seemed relatively easy to me.

Will I grow them again?.... When I have a green house, Yes :lol:

Cleaning, chopping and putting them in a bottle and filling said bottle with oil also provides another quick and easy option for future use.

Fatalii's Growing Guide

that is a good site. You can "bonsai" the chili peppers and overwinter them on a bright windowsill. I got a bunch. I like the habaneros/scotch bonnets taste wise and teh shape. But it seems the Thai types grow faster/ smaller leaves and faster at producing fruits.
If Habaneros are too spicy [some are crazy spicy but have also a fruity flavor] there is a cultivar called suave taht is milder. found at the Botanic Garden. I also bought fresh hot peppers imported from the Caribbean at a west indian market and the seeds sprouted. I got into it because i needed to make a spray to deter squirrels from digging some plants and seems to work. Now I find a lot of plants on sale at hardware stores, HD etc. got 2 Scotch bonnets for a dollar.

Peppers should be very easy for you.I grow the ornamental types all the time and they are usually very hot too...Last year did a huge bed of them and the only thing they really wanted was lots of water and a shot of miracle grow once a month.They realy do like to stay evenly moist.

Stefpix- fatalii's is what sparked My interest in the first place! I wanted them for the bonsai aspect. My gramma grows some Thai chili peppers that, IMO, are up there heat wise with habenero. But fatalii's didn't have anything about how much to water them.


I called the local garden center. They said they have explosive ignite, explosive blast, and black pearl ornamental chilis. The most expensive ones they have are $6 so I will hopefully be able to get one or two soon. I will check out HD.

I like the taste of Habaneros and Scotch Bonnets better than the Thai types. Heat varies. If you remove seeds and placenta they get less hot. Habanero types have a fruity and a flavor that other chile types I tried lack. If you want to grow them under lights you could start them from seeds now.

I dOnt have any lights. Sadly. How would I germinate the seeds if I don't have lights? Would I just have to wait until spring? I'm getting excited about this :) when the plants get a woody stem, is it hard like a tree branch, or does it retain more water in it?

they can germinate in a bright windowsill I think

They will get a more woody stem but not as woody as a actual shrub.And yes germination is pretty easy plant them in a pot and use saran wrap over it to keep mosture in and in lower light untill they sprout up then remove the plastic and gradually put in higher light They wont need much light to germinate and a cfl will be good enough...or a window sill

okay, i wont be getting any lights anytime soon. so ill just go witha sunny window sill. how much light do they need? phal light or catt light? or somewhere in between.


stefpix- once they get woody, is it still possible to wire?

actually pepper plants like very high light but catt light will be fine

would you advise higher than a catt.? idk if i can provide that. are there any peppers that prefer lower light? because i have lots of phal light, and between catt and phal

They will be ok under catt light levels I think but actually peppers like all the way from that to full sun....but my grandmother used to grow them on the back porch behind a screenwire so you should be fine.

Probably the Thai types with smaller leaves do ok in lower light. Have some small plants flowering under fluorescent. Otherwise some on the fire escape and some on the roof. I am experimenting. The Habaneros seem to be slower growing and have larger rounder leaves. they are so cheap that you can try. Especially now many have them on sale.

I am trying some Poblanos/Anchos as well. Bought some peppers at the Mexican store and the seeds germinated.
Regarding Habaneros those imported from the West Indies seem a lot spicier in general. You need to buy peppers that are not green to grow them from seed. The Ancho/Poblano are eaten green but you can find a red one here and there.
I do not like to eat sweet/bell peppers but Poblanos and Habaneros are amazing and I can make my own hot sauce or add flavr to some fresh sauce fro pasta made from scratch.
And you can use the peppers to deter rodents that may dig in your garden

Bonsai Chillies!? Excellent!

This site may be beneficial for choosing.
Chilli Facts

PS Thanks help for starting up this thread, and everyone else for piping in. Was putting of growing chillies again but now... well :) Bonsai Chillies! :biggrin: Never realised it was possible!

this is a good site
About thechileman.org chilli pepper database project

and here they sell many interesting seeds, i think free shipping if you spend 8 $ of stuff.

Hot Pepper Seeds

but I got seeds from hot peppers imported from the tropics at the local mexican or west indian bodegas. all the seeds germinated within a week.

If you can grow orchids you can grow hot peppers... and some are very decorative in colors and shapes

peppers are awesome as ornamental plants as well as for the peppers....

They have purple leaved ones as well as varagated in many forms...look up fish peppers

lol, fish peppers :0

triffid- i know! BONSAI+CHILI!! =]=]

thanks everyone for the awesome links!! i will check them out

I went to this large produce market on Utica ave and they had these peppers imported from Jamaica. Scotch Bonnets and Habaneros. They had different sizes and colors and I bought 10 for a dollar. One was pale yellow with deep purple stripes and some others had the proper Scotch Bonnet shape and they were quite small. I selected the ones that had unusual and beautiful shapes to get seeds from.
They were really hot and my finger tips were burning after a while. Anyway they taste great, I made some pasta with a sauce made from a finely chopped tomato, schotch bonnet, garlic, EV olive oil and fresh basil.

Was really good. with the seeds and seed placenta r removed the heat was not too bad. They also sold Pimento that have a similar fruity flavor without the heat.

here are related photos on FB including people growing corn etc streetside in BKLN Ny

Stefano Giovannini's Photos - Stud Tea, Hot Peppers, Hindu Temple | Facebook

cool! i like the yellow and purple one

anyone ever notice that the flowers on chili peppers are very pretty? i think they are!

stefpix- i just saw your thread on the fatalii forum. i was thinkin about joining that one. do you know when is a good time to wire, and prune or bonchi?

i am a novice. I can include some seeds in a mail package of caribbean habaneros/scotch bonnets

this site has a lot of cultivation notes. pepper profiles and recipes too.
Fiery Foods and Barbecue SuperSite

alright, i just sent you an email.

do you mind asking the fatalii forum about when to wire, and prune for bonchi? so i dont have to join, i dont think it would be worth joining for one post.

If you want to ask questions you should join. No need to have others do the work for you!

alright, i just didnt know if it was worth me joining for just one question

What great pictures stefano! The one of the tea made me laugh. And thanks for all the links, lots to peruse!

help - Not sure about pruning chillies for bonsai myself, but have two bonsai pots just need the seeds and then experimenting begins! :biggrin:

im going to the garden center today, to pick up some established ornamentals. so i can prune right away, but im not sure if not is the right time of year. i know with other bonsai, like acer palmatum, you cant do anything basically to it after its leaves have come

Here is a link to some photos of the various stages of making a roasted green chili sauce.

Picasa Web Albums - Tim - Green Chili S...

Tim Abbott

yum!!! that made my mouth water! why do you wear the gloves though?

Mmmm! That's something to show the Hubby (He's the better cook) Thank Youi, Tim Abbott!

I suspect the wearing of gloves helps avoid those rather annoying incidences of getting chilli bits in places where they can cause pain... Like if you scratched your nose or rubbed your eye... Seen it happen, where you forget to wash your hands... Had it happen to myself!... Never again, too painful! ;)

So how's the chilli bonsai plants going help?
Have some Cayenne seeds that I'm about to pot up. Wish me luck! (Old seeds so I may need it :lol: )

Good luck The chili plants I picked weren't as big as I excPected. So they will have to grow out more. But this fall or next spring they should be bug enough

do you know if it's ok to prune and style in thefall?

Still not sure with chilles, unfortunately.

I would guess gentle pruning wont hurt them though. If my old plants were anything to go by, they can grow like weeds so pruning as long as they are growing shouldn't hurt too much.

I like to remind myself that in the wild plants will have all sorts of things having a go at them. I think as humans we tend to think of plants as fragile things, and though this can be true in certain cases a lot of the Hybrid Plants are sturdier for the breeding. Just my :twocents:

As long as the plant didn't cost you too much or is endangered, I say experiment! You should be able to tell just by looking when you plant is doing badly or not. ;)

They cost me fifty cents. And I got five, so Im no afraid to experiment lol :).

My peppers are outside now. And it looks as if something took some of the seed pods It look like it was picked nit nibbled. And everyone here swears it wasn't them

I just started a month or 2 ago to grow peppers. What is growing fastest is this orange Thai Hot that is more bushy with multiple thin stems, but a ton of flowers. Also the red cherry pepper is growing and bearing lots of fruit while it is still small. more erect and a single stem. Some Scotch bonnets on the roof started fruiting but Habaneros/Scotch Bonnets [C. chinense] seem to be slower growing.
What looks reallty nice as foliage and what may be great as a bonsai is the Pequin aka wild mexican pepper. small dense foliage and compact. I think to make bonsais you need to wait till the end of the summer, let them grow as much as possible first.

I make my own hot sauce and i tried some variants and tastes really good.

Take a few Habaneros/Scotch Bonnets. remove the seeds if they are already really hot. blend them with one small tomatillo, one clove of garlic, a very small piece of mango, a dash of fresh orange juice. pinch of salt, a bit of vinegar. sometimes add a piece of tomato . very hot and very good. I make some variations.

I heat it up in a pan really quickly to make it boil and sterilize a few seconds.

I tried this
Review: El Yucateco Salsa Kutbil-ik de Chile Habanero Hot Sauce | Hot Sauce Blog

and it is really a great sauce. it tastes like a fresh habanero and has a slight smoky flavor that i wonder where it comes from.
I can buy it for just $1.69. but well now i am making my own sauces.

I tried the milder more common El Yucateco red but it does not taste nearly as good. It contains tomato but it tastes not as fresh and tastes more generic than the Kibit-ik. it is good, just teh Kubit-ik version is so much better and has no coloring either.

I think they can take full sun. Makes grow them faster. I put some on the roof, some on the fire escape and a couple under a fluorescents.
A habanero on the roof probably got shocked by the extremely hot days and it has been windy [and on the roof 5 flights up it is a lot windier] and lost all the leaves but new leaves are starting.

I think now it is a little late in the season to start but it depends.
The orange Thai Hot really grew fast, super fast.
I think those with smaller fruits bear sooner.
Anyway I will keep and overwinter my fave plants.

Thanks Stefano!
Nice to hear you having fun with chillies. Just don't do what my hubby did and eat a hot one from the plant! He paid for that one :coverlaugh:

And full sun will make them grow, but also lean if you don't rotate them.

True sort of, letting the plants grow first is always a good idea. I have two potential Bonsai in the back (Not Chillies) and both have had different growing times. Almost 8 years for the seedling Oak that appeared in my garden (Next Year :cheer: ) and less than 4 for the butterfly bush. Depending on the Chillie about a year should do, but that said I will be (as said previously ;) ) experimenting.

I know that Cayenne can get to flower from seed within 6 months, mainly because that was how long it took last time. May take longer because of how late in the year it is not though.

From what we've been reading on Bonsai there is (like a lot of things in life) debate over what's the best way to do things. And like with most Plant related stuff I would guess it depends mostly on what you have to work with...Things are never simple :lol:

Will be transferring seedling(s) after they have grown enough and also growing direct in the Bonsai pot (just to see what happens)

But succeed or fail, I let you know the results. And you have full permission to point and laugh should things go hideously wrong for me.

I am also growing a habanero in a small 2 " pot. after all I got all these seeds from peppers I bought for cooking so i have extras.

Regarding bonsai i want to try a Carissa macrocarpa.
I went to the Bkln Botanic Garden and they rotated their bonsai collection. Now they have all tehse tropical plants I love.
Carissa, Guava [I love the bark of this one], Ficus deltoidea, Ficus benjamina etc.

I am growing some Ficus bengalhensis and Ficus religiosa from seeds I got for $2 on ebay by way from India. They sent me so many and i have quite a few. was thinking of taking a few young seedlungs and fuse their stems together at an early stage.

What I am also trying is I took a small Ficus benjamina planted ina 3 inch pot and put the top half of a soda bottle on top that fits perfectly and just water by spraying. Humidity inside must be really high. The Ficus is growing smaller leaves, the branches are curving and is developing aerial roots from the upper branches down to the base/soil.

lol i wont point and laugh!! i already killed many a bonsai! but as walter pall says " a bonsai is a living peice of art. it is never finished. until its dead"

so i guess that im an expert! having 'finished' lots of bonsai :) lol

i think i killed a hibiscus i did the other day maybe too exptreme. but we shal see :)

Met some senior Bonsai growers that they complained they started too late in life. They wish they started when young so at least they could live long enough to see the results of their growing... Probably even if you start at age 50 you will not be able to see much of your work completed...