Hey Josh. You know how slow going some of those chinese buggars can be. My only choclate hab isn't much bigger than yours but has some buds on it. It still looks good other than the couple bites you took out of a few of the leaves.

Haha...thanks!
Damned earwigs are relentless this time of year.
This little guy has some buds, but I want to get it bigger before it really begins to set pods.
This is the smallest of my chinenses and also a bit pale in color. Last year, I grew two Choc's
as well, and one was large and one was runty. The runt produced a handful of small pods that
were exquisitely hot....but the plant was perpetually puny.

My other Chocolate Hab, also in the ground, is at least three times the size of this plant.
She's my main money maker ;-)

Josh

I'm growing a couple of chocolate habs along with other habs, bhuts, scorpions, etc., and the chocolate habs are slower growing than all the other chinenses. Only the chocolate habs are yet to produce flowers, let alone pods. About everything else has flowers and pods. Is it typical of chocolate habs to be slower growing than other chinenses?

Thanks, Tom

still a good looking plant Josh! hopefully it takes off int the container!

Eric

Thanks, Eric!

Tom, maybe you're onto something there.
Perhaps if we have enough reviewers, we can gain some consensus on just how slow these grow.

Josh

I dont know what to think, 2 out of my 3 choc habs are growing very quickly it seems, the other is still runty, yet it is the one thats flowering go figure, huh. its funny cause though they were all germinated at the same time and came up within a day of each other the 2 big ones are nearly twice the size of the runt, peppers though they always need the same things, they can still be completely unpredictable, but so much fun! :)

That plant looks healthy to me. I had Choc Bhuts that looked like that size and other varieties next them were double in size. They did have a growth spurt and are doin fine now and have been setting pods. I also recall my Hab's having a slow start last year as well, but they exploded with growth in August and Sept.

I have a runt Pepperoncini this year that is putting out runt pods, but they are delicious anyway :)

Jim

I have three Bhuts and two are a good 2x the size of the third. The third (smallest) is hanging more fruit than one of the two much larger ones however. All plants are from the same planting and have received identical treatment as well as nutrients and water since birth. Go figure.

Josh, aside from the size of your choco hab plant, it looks very healthy.

Most of my super hots have pods and my choco habs are just starting to get a few flowers. I started them all at the same time. The plants are big and healthy so I'm not really worried about it. My white bullet habs are just starting to set fruit as well. I was expecting the super hots to take longer than these 2.

My Bhuts were the first to ripen. But the Cayenne varieties are coming on strong now. Also, I notice my first Orange Habs turning Orange this morning. All my plants were turned loose and allowed to flower at the same time on May 23rd. The only plant that has yet to have any pods begin to ripen is my Charleston. So, about 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 weeks is my flower to ripe time this year. My plants dealt with a cool wet June and then overbearingly hot and dry July so under ideal conditions, I might have done better. If your plants are just now setting fruit, they should ripen quicker because the next 3-4 weeks should be ideal pepper growing weather. I would expect you to get ripe habs about 5 1/2 to 6 weeks from the day they begin blooming.

Thanks, guys, for commenting on the relative flowering length of these plants.
My chinenses are all flowering, but none have set pods yet. Thankfully I have a longish season.
After this Choc Hab, my next smallest plant is a Dorset Naga (also planted in the garden).
That one has great foliage, though, and a nice spread, so I didn't mind leaving it.

Josh