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Chiletepin

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Vinci:
Hi,

I start this post to know more about Chiletepin ( Capsicum annum var. glabriusculum )
I have three plant of this variety, and I don't really understand what it likes : I have a plant in full sun that does not grow..   an other beneath shade of taller plants, it grows but doesn't flower, and the last is in pot in semi shade, it grows, but is a shy bloomer..   and all my three plants have +1 year.
I thought it could set thousands of fruits, as considered as a weed sometimes, but in reality, it's the fussiest chili pepper that I have grown. ( In comparaison my Capsicum praetermissum in a neglected pot, produces many fruits )

How do you grow them  ?  Do they are frost hardy ? ( Do they really regrow )

Thanks,

Vincent

Pokeweed:
Hi Vincent, You may not get enough heat for them. They grow wild in Southern Texas. Typically under a larger plant or tree, because I think they germinate the best after passing through a bird's gut. They grow here in somewhat alkaline soil and are pretty drought tolerant. If you give them a little fertilizer they grow pretty large. Sometime we find young rattlers hunting in them....although that shouldn't be a problem for you😁. Dan

Walt:
I've grown chiltipins for several (20?) years.  I love the flavor, though they are very hot.  The first year I grew them (seed from Native Seed/Search) I planted them in the garden.  They didn't start to bloom until almost frost.  I didn't know they are short-day plants.  So I dug them and took them inside, where they made a nice crop.  I kept them over the winter and put them outside in the spring, still in their 1-gallon pots.  Again they bloomed about the time for frost and again they were brought inside and produced a good crop.  The longest I've kept a chiltipin plant alive is 5 years.  Each time I lost them, I was away from home when there was an early frost.
I once crossed a chiltipin with a Thai Hot pepper.  There are many selections called Thai Hot.  The one I used was much like chiltipin.  The main difference was that the Thai Hot bloomed all summer, some in the winter too.  The hybrid was very like chiltipin but it bloomed and produced year round.  I kept a few of those for some years in 1-gallon pots, but eventually lost them.
Anyway, chiltipins, at least the ones I grew, require long nights with no light in order to bloom.  Even a little light might prevent flowering.
Besides being very good to eat, they make a very pretty plant.  Especially when in bloom or covered with bright red fruit.  But when not blooming and not covered in red fruit, they can be nice bonsai. 

Vinci:
Hummmm..       Chiletepin seems a bit fussy compare to others cultivated Capsicum..
My climate is not as hot than in southern part of Texas, but we get pretty high temperature in summer ( up to 37 degrees this year, and sometimes 40°C - However it seems it's maybe not enough hot for rattlers, the reason of their absence :p )
Maybe the blossom is numbered to the day length..  like suggests Walt..
Anyway, as soon as possible I will try a cross with other Casicum annuum.

Maybe some of you have more domesticated Casicum annuum var. Glabriusculum ?

Walt:
Baker creek Seeds offers chiltin seeds.  I bought some but haven't planted them yet.  I don't know, but somewhere I got the idea that these produce earlier in the summer.  They don't list them as being late bloomers, and from dealing with them for many years, they would say it if they were late bloomers.
Once established, I've found chiltipin seedlings to be easy to keep going.  I do have lots of summer heat, but my house is very cool in the winter.  My seed always came from Native Seed Search and have been late bloomers but easy to grow.

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