Pepper Plants

[DAVEinMB]

Is anyone in zone 9a or lower growing pepper plants in the ground? If so have you had any luck with it? I'm growing a number of spicy peppers in pots and think I'm going to put a couple in the ground this spring. Looking for any general comments or advice. 

Thanks as always,  Dave

[amh]

27 minutes ago, DAVEinMB said:

Is anyone in zone 9a or lower growing pepper plants in the ground? If so have you had any luck with it? I'm growing a number of spicy peppers in pots and think I'm going to put a couple in the ground this spring. Looking for any general comments or advice. 

Thanks as always,  Dave

What do you need to know?

Don't waste your time with bell peppers is the best advice I can give.

Chiltepin plants will return from their roots in a warm zone 7B; mine survived below 0, but had 6+ inches of snow for protection.

Afternoon shade is great for the species I have grown and some peppers grow best in part shade.

Fall and early winter fruit taste best.

[DAVEinMB]

@amh yea, sorry guess i was a bit vague.

So my main question is with reapers and scorpions. Will these act as perennials / deciduous bushes and be happy enough to produce each year or are they more suited for warmer areas?

I make hot sauce and dry rubs so I'm trying to find a way to increase my output without having a ton of pots everywhere that constantly have to be moved. 

[amh]

Just being in the ground will increase yield, but I do not know the true cold hardiness. It might work if you plant close to your house and cover the plants before freezes. 

Experiment with extra plants.

Edited January 5, 2022 by amh

[DAVEinMB]

29 minutes ago, amh said:

Just being in the ground will increase yield, but I do not know the true cold hardiness. It might work if you plant close to your house and cover the plants before freezes. 

Experiment with extra plants.

Yea that's the plan. I had a datil plant in the ground through one growing season years ago and it gave me more peppers than I knew what to do with, also got too big to manage almost immediately haha

I haven't had any luck finding hardiness info on them either. Anytime I have an idea like this I tend to pull my phone out and make my way here

[Xenon]

I've grown various Capsicum chinense over the years and they are generally good under canopy down to 28F or so depending on duration without any significant wood dieback. Slightly colder than that and you risk total death; 24-25F is probably the complete kill temperature even for a large woody "tree". Capsicum frutescens/Tabasco is similar. Capsicum annuum is about the same too but lacks the vigor to truly be a perennial. None of the peppers really last more than two or three seasons in my area anyways...bacterial leaf spot, Fusarium, bacterial wilt and/or root knot nematodes usually get them even if the cold doesn't. 

[Swolte]

I am trying the Capsicum annuum v glabrisculum (pequin pepper) this year for the first time. I have seen very healthy specimens at a friend of mine a few miles from me. They are among the best looking plants in the fall here (when everything starts to look sad), to be honest and among the very few plants that can fill up a space nicely in dense shade. I mostly intend to grow them as an ornamental but the edible peppers are a bonus.  I'll know more in years to come.

 

 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

18 minutes ago, Swolte said:

I am trying the Capsicum annuum v glabrisculum (pequin pepper) this year for the first time. I have seen very healthy specimens at a friend of mine a few miles from me. They are among the best looking plants in the fall here (when everything starts to look sad), to be honest and among the very few plants that can fill up a space nicely in dense shade. I mostly intend to grow them as an ornamental but the edible peppers are a bonus.  I'll know more in years to come.

 

 

 

VERY easy.... and will often live for a few years -here at least- ( knew someone i worked with that had individual plants live for 5 years ) Takes our heat / half day full sun < look better in more filtered sun here though >/ me not watering as much as they'd like.  Grow both the round and bullet- shaped vars passed around from friends / others collected in specific parts of Sonora, Mex..

One of a couple ( biggest, rest are seedlings atm ) growing out front at the new house.. Taken right before new years. These will yellow a bit when cooler, but green up pretty rapidly once it is consistently in the mid 70s - lower 80s ( ..Sometimes as early as late- Feb. here..  Typically Mid- March though.. )

[Swolte]

Interesting, thanks, my understanding is that they can live up to 15 years down here. I'll see if I can dig up some pics of mature specimens.

[Fusca]

15 hours ago, DAVEinMB said:

@amh yea, sorry guess i was a bit vague.

So my main question is with reapers and scorpions. Will these act as perennials / deciduous bushes and be happy enough to produce each year or are they more suited for warmer areas?

I make hot sauce and dry rubs so I'm trying to find a way to increase my output without having a ton of pots everywhere that constantly have to be moved. 

Dave, I planted some reaper plants in a "grow box" container last year and they stayed in the garage during palmageddon so they didn't experience less than 31°F.  I planted the largest bush in the ground next to my Copernicia alba and it got huge.  Majority of leaves have wilted after nights of 29° and 27° this week but as others have stated I expect them to come back.  It's the first test in the ground so results still pending.    Meanwhile there is at least 5 dozen fruits on the plant yet to be harvested and I already have multiple containers of them in the freezer!  Love the red/green show around Christmas though and it completely hides view of my A/C unit!  I've had others similar to what Aaron and Nathan have described that survived several winters down to 25° with little to no damage so Jonathan's numbers seem consistent with what I've seen here.  I say give it a try and save some seeds just in case you need.

[Silas_Sancona]

11 minutes ago, Swolte said:

Interesting, thanks, my understanding is that they can live up to 15 years down here. I'll see if I can dig up some pics of mature specimens.

Interesting,  I'll bet they could live about as long here too ( barring any serious cold spell that takes them out < rare as that is > )  One i'd planted ( from seed ) at the old house did fine, until i stopped watering it, lol. Was in a planter box that i'd laid roughly 5" of gravel over ( on top of the existing soil in it ) Looked a bit rough in late May and June, when facing 105-115F sun for several hours, but, as long as i watered it, did fine and was always loaded w/ peppers. 

[amh]

15 minutes ago, Swolte said:

Interesting, thanks, my understanding is that they can live up to 15 years down here. I'll see if I can dig up some pics of mature specimens.

They easily live past 10 years and possibly past 20, but when they do finally die, there will be volunteer seedlings to take their place.

14 hours ago, Xenon said:

I've grown various Capsicum chinense over the years and they are generally good under canopy down to 28F or so depending on duration without any significant wood dieback. Slightly colder than that and you risk total death; 24-25F is probably the complete kill temperature even for a large woody "tree". Capsicum frutescens/Tabasco is similar. Capsicum annuum is about the same too but lacks the vigor to truly be a perennial. None of the peppers really last more than two or three seasons in my area anyways...bacterial leaf spot, Fusarium, bacterial wilt and/or root knot nematodes usually get them even if the cold doesn't. 

Any experience with Capsicum pubescens?
 

[Swolte]

12 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

( barring any serious cold spell that takes them out < rare as that is > )

They survived last winter here without protection (went down to 3F) so they should be pretty hardy. They do well here on natural rain under a canopy but I am willing to bet we get more rain than you do and our summers in central Texas are probably a tad bit less warm (and more humid).

I just asked and during the 2011 drought here in Texas they wilted but mature specimens came back (like beautyberries) with some water. They do like an average/wet summer like we had this past year to look good. 

Edited January 5, 2022 by Swolte

[Silas_Sancona]

1 minute ago, Swolte said:

They survived last winter here without protection (went down to 3F) so they should be pretty hardy. They do well here on natural rain under a canopy but I am willing to bet we get more rain than you do and our summers in central Texas are probably a tad bit less warm (and more humid).

I just asked and during the 2011 drought here in Texas they wilted but mature specimens came back (like beautyberries) with some water. They do like an average/wet summer like we had this past year to look good. 

Wow, That's definitely tougher than i'd thought..

Agree, do fine on what water they get out in the wild and look best during wet summers ( Can see them growing in view of Saguaro / Ocotillo in /around some of the canyons in Tucson )

..You definitely get more rain ( Roughly 8" for Phoenix proper / 9-11" on this side of town...  12"-ish for Tucson proper ) and aren't quite as hot / dry ( All though 75-90% Humidity and 89-95 isn't exactly " cool " for sure, lol )

The one at the old house i'd left dry for several months before it gave up.  Had assumed we'd be leaving AZ, so wanted to let it go before someone else tore it out.

[Xenon]

1 hour ago, amh said:

They easily live past 10 years and possibly past 20, but when they do finally die, there will be volunteer seedlings to take their place.

Any experience with Capsicum pubescens?
 

No. Have you grown it? 

 

Agree with the wild type annuum/pequin peppers being super root hardy. I used to get them as volunteers (birds?) years back but not recently. 

The non-wild annuum I've found to be the wimpiest both in extreme heat (especially hot nights, they pretty much shut down in late July/August) and cold. 

All around the best performer for me is Tabasco. Seems like there are ripening peppers year round if there isn't a hard freeze. 

[Xenon]

Briefly hit 26 or 27F a few nights ago, under 28F for less than 2 hours. Maybe 4-5 hours total under 32F. 

These are on the south side of a wooden fence but are otherwise exposed to the open sky. Note the crispy "wall of bitter melon" that was still green and producing last week. 

Damage is fairly similar across varieties. Slight cosmetic damage to some of the tips but otherwise fine. 

C. chinense 'Ají Jobito', westernmost branch fried at tips 

Vigorous jalapeño volunteer, almost no damage 

C. annuum 'Maui purple', tip damage 

Volunteer Thai birdseye pepper 

Tabasco under oak canopy not phased

 

And some reference photos 

Hibiscus tops fried, galangal in the back only slight damage to tops 

Fried bananas 

Fried Ficus racemosa, probably moderate wood loss 

Jackfruit with fried tips

[Fusca]

Here's my Carolina Reaper from last week:

[Xenon]

1 minute ago, Fusca said:

Here's my Carolina Reaper from last week:

Nice! Now show the post freeze pic 

I had a ghost that size a few months ago, nematodes finally got to it as per usual. 

[Fusca]

5 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Nice! Now show the post freeze pic 

I had a ghost that size a few months ago, nematodes finally got to it as per usual. 

Oops, you can see the A/C unit now!   Scratched the bark and still green for now.  I guess I'll harvest the rest of the peppers now...

[amh]

1 hour ago, Xenon said:

No. Have you grown it? 

 

Agree with the wild type annuum/pequin peppers being super root hardy. I used to get them as volunteers (birds?) years back but not recently. 

The non-wild annuum I've found to be the wimpiest both in extreme heat (especially hot nights, they pretty much shut down in late July/August) and cold. 

All around the best performer for me is Tabasco. Seems like there are ripening peppers year round if there isn't a hard freeze. 

I haven't grown C. pubescens and was just curious if anyone else has tried it.

I have noticed that tabasco is fairly cold hardy and might be perennial in a warm 8B.

Edited January 5, 2022 by amh

[Xenon]

15 minutes ago, amh said:

I have noticed that tabasco is fairly cold hardy and might be perennial in a warm 8B.

Ok that's too optimistic . I haven't seen it come back from low 20s let alone teens. 

C. pubescens reportedly shuts down with hot nights so it never crossed my mind. You might have more luck with your elevation? 

Edited January 5, 2022 by Xenon

[amh]

11 minutes ago, Xenon said:

Ok that's too optimistic . I haven't seen it come back from low 20s let alone teens. 

C. pubescens reportedly shuts down with hot nights so it never crossed my mind. You might have more luck with your elevation? 

Its probably optimistic, but I tilled over one that still had green wood after experiencing an 8A winter unprotected. I tried to save it, but it didn't survive.

 

My nights are cooler, but late July through August would be too warm. They are supposed to be fairly cold hardy, but that could just be a few degrees below freezing.

[UK_Palms]

I still have some sweet pepper plants alive on my patio at 51N in January somehow. These are right up against the house though, which maybe provides a bit of a microclimate for them. I doubt they will hold on much longer though.

My only hot pepper survivor right now is this one, a Lemon Drop chilli, which I have been putting in the garage on nights where frost has been forecast.

Check out my previous pepper thread. Some real monsters and crazy varieties in there from recent seasons. I didn’t really update it in 2021, but grew quite a few again. 2021 was nowhere near as good a season as 2020 and 2019 however. 

 

[Trustandi]

I am in zone 8b cold PNW. I planted the Chile pequin in the ground last summer. This winter, we got hit by the artic blast with low 17F and 4 days below freezing. 

I hope the plant survives. I will try Chile chiltepin from seeds next.

[Silas_Sancona]

13 minutes ago, Trustandi said:

I am in zone 8b cold PNW. I planted the Chile pequin in the ground last summer. This winter, we got hit by the artic blast with low 17F and 4 days below freezing. 

I hope the plant survives. I will try Chile chiltepin from seeds next.

Chili- -pequin / tepin  ..pretty much the same sp. of pepper  ( just different shaped fruits )  If old enough, and the roots weren't completely frozen during the cold spell, the plant should sprout again from the base if the entire top was cut to the ground once it warms up..   If completely lost,  start your seeds as early as possible to give the next ones planted out the longest amount of time in the ground to build up some hardier, woody growth. Hit them a couple times through the season with some high K ( Potassium ) also.  Helps plants stand up to stresses like heat and cold, and will also help ensure a bumper crop of flowers / fruit. ( ...Not that they don't already produce plenty on their own, w/ out that little extra boost lol )

[Josue Diaz]

I have habanero, jalapeño, bell, tepin, ghost and poblanos going on 2 and 3 years in zone 9b/10a. The ghost and habanero are the most sensitive, I imagine the reaper and scorpion would be similar to these in terms of hardiness