Topic: overwintering habanero

[jokey]

Hi all

all my chilli's are doing brill except the habanero which was slow right from the start.  its really healthy and bushy but has not even started to flower just very small buds.  has it got time produce this year and if not how would i overwinter it (cut it back etc) to get it going early for next year :-[

any help please

[Mitch Griffin]

Hi Jokey, only just read this,I have over wintered some chillies for up to 12 years.I usually cut them back and change the soil mixed with compost in late November.They seem to like being pot bound so a twenty cm pot seems to do the trick.

[Vinlander]

Hi Jokey, only just read this,I have over wintered some chillies for up to 12 years.I usually cut them back and change the soil mixed with compost in late November.They seem to like being pot bound so a twenty cm pot seems to do the trick.

Ever tried grafting onto C.pubescens? I'm considering it for next year - I'm relatively new to overwintering chillies but I've been very impressed with its hardiness, and in 20-odd years of pushing the envelope on exotic fruits I've always found the roots are the most important part of surviving damp chilly UK winters...

Except in my case I'm not interested in overwintering hotter chillies - I want to overwinter milder ones - like Trinidad Perfume that seem impossible in anything but the hottest summers here.

Cheers.

[tricia]

My Pepperdoo ( ;D) is fruiting nicely in its third year Vinlander. I am growing one new plant from seed too; which is no further ahead than the overwintered one. Lots of green fruit on both, but no ripe ones as yet.
The new plant is indoors - the old one in the greenhouse.

I'm so looking forward to the first crunchy, cherry sized fruit - stuffed with cream cheese - yum!

Tricia

[Vinlander]

According to wiki the piperdoodle is a C.baccatum that just happens to be the size and shape of a cherry tom and has to be de-seeded and pickled before it becomes mild enough to appeal to the general public.

It actually sounds rather similar to Bulgarian Teardrop - does it have a slightly angular appearance? Most C.bs are odd shapes - oddest in the genus probably.

Does it have that catty (ripening guava) citrusy smell?

All C.bs are supposed to be tough and you have a bit of an advantage over me on location - not a huge one (I'm in N.London).

Nevertheless I'd appreciate any tips for overwintering them - I tried both citrus house 4C and bedroom window @ 15C.

I'm hoping all my C.bs will survive the next winter - the last one was just too severe for everything except C.pubescens.

[tricia]

Hi vinlander - this is what they look like. I took them out of the freezer to show what they look like as the ones on the plants are still green.

[attachment=1]

I don't do 'very hot' and I can eat several of these, deseeded and filled with cream cheese without having to reach for a glass of water!

I cut the plant down to about 8 inches after harvesting the last of the fruit - usually end of November or thereabouts. I then park it somewhere indoors and only water it occasionally until it shows signs of new leaves. Then it gets repotted with fresh compost and moved in front of my south-facing patio windows. I'm going to try to curb the height next year by cutting the growing tip so that it branches out sooner. The one I currently have by the patio windows is well over 6 feet tall!

Tricia