wild pequins; was Re: [CH] Two matters
M. & L. Doster (mld@theworks.com)
Tue, 24 Dec 2002 06:56:38 -0800
Cuchulain Libby wrote:
>My little pepper patch consisted of jalepenos, serranos and a bell that
>snuck in the flat of 6 jalepenos but never really made it. Grew tall but
>only gave up three anemic fruits. I live in San Antonio and have a
>decent-sized yard as subdivisions go and so also have a few wild Pequin
>bushes that thrive under a system of benign neglect. ...
I am curious about the wild pequin bushes.
Do these survive the winters around San Antonio?
Are these really wild (as opposed to planted)?
Does anyone know the natural range of wild peppers in the US?
How low of a temperature can wild pequins take?
The "wild pequins" are the same as chiltepins, aren't they?
I planted some seeds of Chiltepin peppers from Plants of the Southwest in
2001. I had a lot of trouble getting the seeds to germinate indoors, so
planted some seeds outdoors. After I had given up on the seeds germinating
(a couple months?) a few did. I didn't get any peppers that summer, but was
able to overwinter one chiltepin plant in a pot outside under the eaves of
the house. We had several nights at 25 F (about -3 C?) but the pepper plant
was slightly protected so the plant probably wasn't that cold. Anyway, it
seemed not to be as sensitive to frosts as other pepper plants.
In 2002, I planted out in the garden where it grew slowly and has produced 3
tiny peppers (so far). It is a very tiny plant with black stems about 10"
tall (25 cm?). Right now I have it in a pot under the eaves again. It
probably isn't the typical chiltepin plant since everything is so small. By
the way, we have long hot summers, so I was surprised that it grew so
slowly.
Also, in 2002 I started more seeds of the chiltepin (from the same package).
I managed to get them to germinate by keeping the seeds at 90 F (30 C) for
several weeks (in a bag with moistened paper towels) before planting out in
soil. These I'll also try to overwinter.
I would welcome any comments about chiltepins concerning what others have
experienced or read.
-Mark
inland California