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Great little or big pepper plants to grow. They grow great in containers, and some dont get that large, others do. They vary to produce fruits, and the fruits themselves dont really have a certain shape or size, depending on the kind of plant you have. They can vary from 0 units on the scoville scale, to 100,000 units on the scoville scale. They have great colors on them, and are heavy yielders.
Ornamental peppers aren't just found in the garden anymore. In recent years they've moved indoor to become the "hot" new houseplant, especially popular around the holidays. Pepper varieties that make attractive indoor plants typically are smaller plants, with small, colorful fruit. They often produce fruits on the top of the plant, which stand upright rather than hanging down. The brightly colored peppers will stand out against the dark green foliage. A plant in full production may have fruit of different colors in different stages of ripeness. Many of these small peppers are very hot, though, so keep them out of reach of dogs, cats and kids. Some peppers are sold specifically as ornamental plants; make sure they haven't been treated with pesticides if you plan to eat them. Growing ornamental peppers indoors over the winter isn't difficult. The plants need bright sun for best color development - an eastern or southern exposure is best, or use supplemental light. Cold temperatures will cause the leaves to turn yellow and drop. Keep them on the dry side and the plants will remain more compact. Once fruit have set don't fertilize them at all. The fruit will stay on the plant for a very long time, and can stay colorful for months until it dries. But if you get tired of the plants, you can always harvest the peppers, dry them and turn them into wreaths. Plants may rebloom and set more fruit if they are well fed, or if they are set outside in spring. Ornamental peppers are easy to start from seed, but you need to plan ahead and plant them in July to have fruiting plants for Christmas. The plants should produce lovely purple flowers before setting fruit, but those can abort if the weather is too cool. If you've grown them outside, bring the plants in before temperatures get down into the 60s in the fall. If you have pest problems, such as aphids or whiteflies, spray the plants with insecticidal soap twice (one week apart) before bringing them in. Repeat applications inside, too, if necessary. Judy Reith-Rozelle, Assistant Superintendent of the West Madison Agricultural Research Station introduced us to a number of varieties of peppers that work well as beautiful holiday houseplants, including some that are also edible: The 2-3 foot everbearing plants of Bolivian Rainbow Chili have purple foliage and purple flowers. The tiny, pointed, multi-colored fruit ripen to red and are edible but spicy. Chilly Chili, an All America Selection winner for 2000, is a small plant with 2" tapered peppers in colors ranging from yellow to orange to red. The fruits are not hot, but tasty. Nu Mex Twilight has green leaves and purple fruit that ripens to yellow, orange and red. The plants are about two feet in height and the fruit have typical chili pepper flavor, but they are a bit hot. They are also good for making wreaths or ristras. Orange Mini-Bell produces tiny bell peppers only 11/2 inches across on small plants that only reach 16" tall. As with other bell peppers these are not hot at all! Orange Thai produces upright fruit that mature a bright orange color. The 2" fruits are very hot and good for drying. The brilliant red peppers of Poinsettia Pepper form a circle like the leaves of a real Pointsettia plant. The fruit are about 3 inches long, and edible, but very hot. Sweet Pickle is covered with clusters of 2- 3 inch oval fruits in yellow, orange, red, purple. The fruits are thick-walled, sweet, and perfect for pickled peppers. The handsome 12-15" plants are good as an ornamental bedding plant too. Variegata has attractive, variegated foliage of white, green and purple, and small fruit similar to jalapeños. There are many other varieties not mentioned on the program, such as Medusa - with hot, colorful, twisted fruits like Christmas lights on a very short plant - and Pretty Purple - with extremely hot, tiny purple peppers that ripen red on short plants with purple or variegated purple and green leaves. And in addition to being interesting holiday plants, they make good edging plants outdoors and work well in a perennial border.
• ‘Medusa’ and ‘Chilly Chili’ bear non-burning, "child-safe" fruit, making them ideal for indoor and outdoor use in both public and residential areas once thought unsuitable for the traditional "too-hot-to-handle" ornamental peppers.
• In retail displays, ‘Medusa’ and ‘Chilly Chili’ hold their fruit well after first color, allowing for great shelf life and long sales period.
• An excellent choice for landscape use, 2002 All-America Selections Winner ‘Chilly Chili’ is best suited to 5 to 6 in. (13 to 15 cm.) pot programs. Larger in habit than ‘Medusa,’ ‘Chilly Chili’ reaches 9 to 10 in. (23 to 25 cm) tall, with a spread of 14 in. (35 cm.).
• ‘Medusa’ produces a dwarf, naturally compact, well-branched plant that is well-suited to 4-in. (10-cm) pot plant culture. Garden height is 6 to 8 in. (15 to 20 cm) with similar or slightly greater spread, making it great for gardens and mixed plantings.
• ‘Medusa’ and ‘Chilly Chili’ are also perfect for the Fall indoor pot plant market. With their unique appearance and spectacular range of colors, ‘Medusa’ and ‘Chilly Chili’ will bring life to Halloween and Christmas sales.
• ‘Medusa’ and ‘Chilly Chili’ ornamental peppers are available as standard seed. Contact yourlocal distributor or call PanAmerican Seed at800 231-4868 for ordering information today.
Capsicum annuum
Approximate Seed Count: 8,000 S./oz. (285 S./g)
Plug Production
Plug Tray Size
Ornamental peppers are well-suited to 512-cell trays.
Stage 1 (Radicle emergence/ 5 to 7 days)
• Maintain soil temperature at 72° to 76°F (22° to 24°C).
• Keep medium evenly moist but not saturated.
• Cover the seed lightly with coarse vermiculite.
• Light is not necessary for germination until radicle emergence.
• Maintain soil pH at 5.5 to 5.8 and soluble salts (EC) at less than 0.5 mmhos/cm (using 2:1 extraction).
• Keep ammonium levels less than 10 ppm.
Stage 2 (Stem and cotyledon emergence/ 7 to 10 days)
• Maintain soil temperature at 70° to 75°F (21° to 24°C).
• Allow the medium to dry out slightly before watering for best germination and rooting.
• Provide light levels of 1,000 to 2,500 f.c. (10,000 to 25,000 lux) for the remainder of plug production.
• Begin fertilizing with 50 to 75 ppm N from 14-0-14 or a calcium/potassium nitrate feed
once cotyledons are fully expanded.
• Alternate feed with clear water.
Stage 3 (Growth and development of true leaves/ 10 to 14 days)
• Maintain soil temperature at 70° to 75°F (21° to 24°C).
• Avoid wilt.
• Increase feed to 100 to 150 ppm N from 14-0-14 or other calcium/potassium nitrate fertilizer.
Fertilize every 2 to 3 irrigations.
• Chemical growth regulators cannot be used on peppers.
Stage 4 (Plants ready for transplanting or shipping/ 7 days)
• Maintain soil temperature at 68° to 70°F (20° to 21°C).
• Provide medium soil moisture and avoid wilt.
• Maintain soil pH at 5.5 to 5.8 and soluble salts (EC) at less than 0.75 mmhos/cm.
• Continue to fertilize with 100 to 150 ppm N from 14-0-14 or calcium/potassium nitrate feed as needed.
Growing On To Finish
Media
Use a well-drained, disease-free, soilless medium with a medium initial nutrient charge and a pH of 5.5 to 6.3.
Temperature
• Nights: 65° to 70°F (18° to 21°C)
• Days: 68° to 72°F (20° to 22°C)
• Peppers will be damaged by temperatures below 45°F (7°C).
Light
Provide light levels of 4,000 to 5,000 f.c. (40,000 to 50,000 lux) while maintaining moderate temperatures.
Fertilization
• Fertilize at every other irrigation with 20-10-20 at 150 to 200 ppm N.
• Maintain medium electrical conductivity around 1.0 mmhos/cm (using 1:2 extraction).
Controlling Height
• ‘Medusa’ and ‘Chilly Chili’ produce a naturally dwarf, compact plant.
• No growth regulators are needed.
Crop Schedule (Spring Production)
Plug stage: 4 to 5 weeks
Transplant to flower: 12 to 14 weeks
Flower to fruit: 4 to 6 weeks
Total crop time: 20 to 25 weeks
Note: ‘Medusa’ and ‘Chilly Chili’ have a total crop time of 14 to 18 weeks during Summer production.
Post-Production Care
Once the peppers have formed, night temperatures of 60° to 65°F (15° to 18°C), and day temperatures of 65° to 75°F (18° to 24°C) are optimal. Ornamental peppers prefer full sun; however, partial shade may be beneficial during retail display.
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