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jungleexplorer

Update: Success!

Back in the spring I posted about my attempt to germinate some tropical pepper seeds that a friend of mine brought back from South America.

Well, out of 50 seeds, only three germinated. I tried to grow them in my green house but the drought here in the south was so hot and dry that I was forced to bring them indoors. I don't know what kind of peppers these are but I have never seen a pepper plant or pepper fruit like this before. The plants are huge! One is about four feet tall and the other is almost five feet tall. Some of the leaves are as big as a man's hand. Several measure 9" long and 4.5" wide.

I was ecstatic when the first blossoms came on. Never having grown peppers inside before it took some time before I realized I needed to apply for a job as a honey bee so I could pollinate the flowers. LOL! After a lot of work and hundreds of blossoms I finally got some fruit. I have 30 peppers growing on one plant right now. I have not been able to get any fruit on the other plant (the taller one). Some have suggested that this might be a male plant. I know nothing about what type of peppers these are or whether or not they are a type of plant that has to have a male and a female.

I am not sure which pollination technique worked. I have used the Q-Tip technique the most. But I have also tried blowing fans from different angles and leaving the big windows open that they are next to on windy days. I must have done something right because I got 30 fruits all at once. I have not been able to get a single fruit since. I would take them outside and place them close to one of my honey bee hives now that it is cooler, but they are so delicate I am afraid it would kill them. Their trunk is so weak and they are so big that even trying to move the base can cause them to bend over.

I am wondering if I need to put a grow light on them. The days are getting shorter and they are not getting any direct sunlight because they are next to my dinning room windows that are on the north side of my house, and of course the sun is moving further south each day. From what I have heard about these peppers, they grow and produce year around in the tropics. I wonder if that is possible here?

I am going to try and post some pictures. I have never done it on this forum.

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Oh! Just in case your were wondering. My wife finally twisted my arm and I let her eat one of the peppers yesterday. It was very hot. Not as hot as a Habanero, but pretty darn close. But the taste is out of this world. No pepper I have ever tasted even comes close. Just aromatic smell of the pepper when crushed is incredible.

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