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Orange rocoto? (pics)

15 years ago

I bought a few new (to me) peppers at an asian grocery here last week, labeled "chilaca". As soon as I looked them up I knew that was wrong... I'm pretty sure these are really a small orange rocoto / locoto / manzano. Capsicum pubescens.

A few have a purplish cast you can barely see on one of these. They're getting old and wrinkled now too. The biggest one is about 1 3/4" (4.5 cm). They have a sweet flavor and nice long, slow burning fire.

If that's what it is (any others similar with black seeds?), does anyone know how well they could overwinter in a sunny house window, where I've overwintered smaller ornamental types before; or under super bright overdriven fluorescents? I'd like to get them started if they're really as slow to bear as I read.

Oh one more question- has anyone dried them, and do they keep a nice flavor? I'm thinking of powdering some.

Thanks,

Vincent

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Comments (5)

User
15 years ago
I have over wintered pubescens with some success but i would save some seeds for spring in case you run into problems like pests indoors. I think they work out better freezing them unless you have a dehydrator ( because of the thick flesh).

john
dirtmonkey
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks John- I do have a dehydrator so no problem. I can never get things dry enough to pulverize without it, or I'm burning things in the oven trying to crisp them up (but the 'toasted' porcini mushroom powder turned out well for a goof). I will save seeds, too.

Did your plants winter over in natural light? I don't know how much room I'll have under lights this year, and don't have a greenhouse any more :-/

Vincent
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User
15 years ago
Yes they were in natural light but they were full grown plants which had been outside not seedlings. Let us hear how it gos.

john
brien_nz
15 years ago
Here is a copy of an email that I sent to Cabrita on overwintering (Red)Rocotos - might be of use.
Hi Cabrita,
I thought I would give you my experience. I have just brought my Rocoto through its first winter successfully!! I live in Christchurch, New Zealand, so we are just coming into our Spring here. I am new to growing chiles and I made a late start last summer, in fact I was not able to ripen any Ancho's, but I have got about six fruits off my Rocoto! (one is still ripening on the vine). I grew my Rocoto in a 37cm (15in) pot against the brick wall on the sunny side of the house. When winter came I put a mini greenhouse 60x120x60cm high (2ftx4ftx2ft) around it, but standing on its end, so that it was 4ft high, with the open back against the wall. It gets pretty cold here in Christchurch - there was snow on the ground a couple of days, and although there was some protection from an overhanging eave, and I threw an old sheet over it on a couple of occasions, the minimum temperature I recorded was still -1.9C (28.6F). However although it is a bit ragged around the edges it seems to be OK (it has a bad infestation of aphids at the moment and I am waiting for a warm day to take it out of its greenhouse and spray it with my garlic, chile and pyrethrum spray - the forecast max for today is 10C (50F))!
Btw the last pepper I harvested had about 67 seeds, and I threw them into a plastic container with moist seed raising mix, covered with plastic food wrap and put it on a heating pad in my garage. They are coming up like grass - 57 seedlings so far!! Don't know what I'll do with them all.
Good luck with your chiles,
Brien Halpin
cabrita
15 years ago
Brien, thanks for the message!

I wish I could get some of your 57 seedlings! In any case, we do have a few seedlings and we are not giving up. One of the problems is that we did not realize they are 'cool' weather peppers, and kept them in the green house too long. Another problem, apparently peat is the wrong medium to grow hot peppers (according to a commercial seed supplier). Yet another problem, we mixed up some of the seedlings hoping for manzanos, and it turned out they were tomatillos. We got some real manzanos on the ground now, but still far from flowering. Lucky for us we still have time to hope for some flowers (and fruit).

Just like the OP, we bought manzanos from a local grocer and used the seeds to try sprouting them. They look just like the peppers shown in the pictures above.

Cabrita

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