Ornamental Pepper - Question

Was wondering if the seed from an ornamental pepper will produce an ornamental pepper plant that will contain all the various colors of peppers in which the parent plant does? Or will it simply reflect the color of pepper in which it came from? Or some kind of mutant?

Thanks,
Donna

Depends on the type of ornamental pepper. Was it an hybrid or Open Pollinated? Also, were any other types of peppers growing nearby?

If it was an open pollinated variety and no other peppers were near, then your chances of getting something similar to what you just grew are excellent. Peppers cross-pollinate very easily so it's hard to maintain pure seeds if others are near.

Generally, multicolored peppers are just showing fruits in various stages of maturity They start out green or yellow and then start changing to the oranges, purples and reds that you have when the plant is in full fruit. This way, you see many different colored fruits on the plant at the same time.

If it has variegated foliage, all bets are off as to whether you get that again. That's a mutation, and sometimes isn't passed along genetically.

Most peppers termed 'ornamental' are edible too....they're just usually flamin' hot. Plant a few of your seeds and see what happens.....you can always use them in dried mixes or pickles...and pot up the ones that display the characteristics you want.

melody,

I got these from Home Depot. I have 2 diff variations. They said they were for ground cover. If that helps any.

But I'm doing like you said any how, planting the seeds. If it yeilds something I like, great... otherwise... I'll give it away... hehehehe.

Just wanted to know if I could share some of the seeds here at DG.

Thanks,
Donna

melody,

Oh, and you are so right about at least some of them having "heat". While I was extracting seeds, I made the mistake of rubbing my eye. OUCH!!!! It burned my eyelid for hours.

And also, I haven't seen any flowering going on with these peppers. I realize from growing other peppers that they do usually have a bloom. No blooms... it may be they are so small I can't see them... I just see tiny itty bitty peppers emerging from the plant.

Thanks,
Donna

Its a small white bloom. If you like the ornamental peppers, you should try chilly chili. ( I think thats how you spell it-haven't had enough coffee yet!) Its about the size of explosive ember, but it will be covered in peppers that are orange, yellow and red. Really stands out. Medusa is another -same colors as Chilly but only about 5" tall

I've planted seeds from two different ornamental peppers and they looked just like the parents. One was 'Chilly Chili' and the other one was 'Pretty in Purple'. Both were next to each other as well.

Here are the peppers from the first year.

The peppers have to have a bloom. They may be tiny, but there's absolutely no chance that you're getting peppers without them. It's a member of the Solanaceae Family...as are tomatoes, eggplants and potatoes. They all have blooms...The flowers are 'perfect', meaning that the male and female parts are contained on the same blossom, rather than blooms of different sexes..(like a squash or cuke)

As far as trading them....just be sure to state that you're not completely sure that they will produce identical plants. This is sorta like 'Your mileage may vary'...takes the liability off of you. To most folks, it's no big deal as long as they know, and they will happily swap seeds with you. There are a few of us who grow specific plants for the sole reason of producing pure seed, and we jump through many hoops to ensure that we get them. As long as you're up-front about your seeds, and let folks know that there's the possibility, I see no reason not to offer them.

Pollen from pepper plants is insect borne rather than wind borne, but the flowers are extremely attractive to the bugs. They will visit many blossoms over the course of a day. If the insect carries pollen from one variety to another, you will get a cross-pollinated pepper at that flower. That specific pepper has to be harvested and seed saved to produce cross-pollinated plants....the other peppers on the same plant that only got pollen from itself or a plant like it will produce peppers like the parent.

If you get plants like the parent plant from saved seeds and you had more than one variety planted close together...you got very lucky..(or there were few pollinating insects in the area.) A pepper blossom can pollinate itself with no help from an insect...just a slight breeze will shake the pollen loose and let it fall on the stigma.

hcmcdole,

Those are exactly the same 2 ornamental pepper plants that I have!!! Wow, what are the chances?

I have them both planted in my garden some distance a part. I hope they make through the winter here okay. I certainly have seen no blooms... perhaps they are no longer blooming.

Good to know their names!!

Thanks guys,
Donna

Hey Donna,

I think those two plants were mass produced by some grower(s) so the chances of us getting the same thing are probably greater than we realize.

I meant to post pictures of plants one year later grown from seed collected from the parents but had to go out for a few hours. Anyway, here are pictures one year later from plants grown from some of the seeds collected. As Melody stated, you can end up with a cross between the two or for that matter any peppers in the area.

Anyway I didn't see a lot of crossing even though I only grew just a few from seeds. To me, they look very similar to the parent plants. They germinated very easily but I had to do a lot of thinning out (maybe 3 to 4 plants to a six inch pot). Next year, I may just plant a bed of them and see what happens.

hcmcdole,

Wow, good job!! I have put some seeds down in the green house and I am saving some for Feb to put down. Hope mine turn out as well as yours!

I do have other peppers growing and more to grow, but I don't think they will be in the same area. Wonder what a cross between these and a bellpepper would look like? Hehehehe...

Thanks,
Donna

I thought it might be a good idea to post the pics of my 2 ornamentals just to be sure of the ID

Chilly Chili??

Pretty in Purple??

I've got one called 'Pretty Purple Pepper' that's very similar -- low growing with purple leaves -- except the peppers are round like little marbles. A DG buddy sent me seeds that I think were from Rainier Seeds for my first plants in '05, and this summer I grew some from saved seeds that seemed be true to the parent. They're "edible" but have no discernable flavor other than their heat, so I use them as an ornamental. I've got seeds drying now... ;-)

I didn't know 'Medusa' was a low grower too... will have to look into that one as another annual for edging some beds. Does anyone have seeds for it, or for other low-growing ornamental peppers?

BTW, according to the entries in PF, 'Chilly Chile' is a hybrid, but 'Medusa' is OP, and 'Pretty in Purple' is an heirloom (OP) variety.