Lemon Drop Peppers (08/22/2017) *** Terminated 12/26/2018

[drbanks]

I germinated this seed in Frankenstein and today, it took up its new home as the sole occupant of my first Extra, formerly home to my Yatsufusa plant.




(C. baccatum) Seasoning pepper from Peru ripens to a clear lemon yellow, sometimes with a dark purple blush. The flavor is a very clean, uncomplicated, slightly citrus-y heat. Plants are covered with the thin-walled, conical fruits which reach 2-3 inches in length, with very few seeds. Also known as Aji Limon.

Plants of this variety are typical representatives of the species Capsicum baccatum. In the first year they can reach a height of 1.50 to 2 meters. The plant grows upright and is highly branched. The leaves are dark green and relatively narrow, the petals are whitish - green and carry yellow - green spots on the base. Lemon drop is a high yielding chilli plant, in a year one plant can produce over 100 fruits. The time between fertilization of flowers and ripening of the fruit is about 80 days

Scoville heat units: 15,000 – 30,000

[Shawn]

So far so good.

[drbanks]

[drbanks]

I was getting some leaf curl at first, perhaps because the nutes were too rich, but it seems to have grown into it.

[drbanks]

Had to raise the hood for the first time this morning.

[MaryL]

Do you do an initial prune on your peppers, Dawn?  

[drbanks]

Usually, but I've had such a hard time getting one of these going that I'm too afraid to.

[drbanks]

A couple more weeks later:

[drbanks]

The left and right rear pods are wildly unsuccessful attempts to sprout Orange Manzanos (capsicum pubescens) on the left and Sport Peppers on the right.

I think I have bad seeds in both cases.

[drbanks]

This plant seems to be heading into some kind of growth spurt.  Branching and growing perceptibly every day.

Last time I saw anything comparable was the Yatsufusa plant that used to be in this AG.  I'm thinking this particular Extra is blessed.

[drbanks]

Another week, more explosive growth.  In contrast to Mike's experience and my prior experience.  These seeds were from Baker Creek.



I've completely extended the bottom segment of the light stand, and am well into the second segment, and still, I have to raise the hood virtually every day.

[drbanks]

I'm still flabbergasted at the growth spurt.

I started this topic when the plant was nearly a month old, and then, it was barely a seedling.  Why it took so long to get that far is beyond me, but generally reflects my lack of success with this breed.

Now, in less than a month, it's already towering above the Serranos in the neighboring Extra.

[MaryL]

Maybe you’re right, that is a lucky machine.   Were your and Mike’s prior seeds from the same vendor (as opposed to this being from Baker Creek)?

[drbanks]

I am so fascinated by the flat-sided trunk of the Lemon Drop plant.  It appears to have a pentagonal cross section.  So, I ran over to the other C. Baccatum in the house, namely the Aji Pineapple, and the effect there is even more pronounced.  And five sides again.

This is a close up of the Lemon Drop:

[MaryL]

So interesting!

[drbanks]

As a side project, I've also been using some of the sites on this garden to try to sprout two types of pepper that have been even more elusive than the Lemon Drops:

1) Anything Capsicum Pubescens.  I've tried seeds from three different vendors, and no luck in over 3 months

2) Sport peppers.  Finally got some from Reimer that'll sprout.  I plan on moving this one to a Harvest that I'm about to tear down.

[drbanks]

I've got the hood on this garden about as tall as it's going to go.  If this thing keeps growing, I'm going to try the system I assembled to add another half foot (one custom 3-D printed extension for the rod, one extension cord using the fittings in use on the light hood and cable).

Starting to see a lot of tiny little buds popping up around the branching joints.

[drbanks]

[drbanks]

The thing about this plant is that even though it's pretty tall and well branched, it doesn't seem to be as dense as others I've planted.  Of course, this is my first Capsicum Baccatum (along with the Aji Pineapple that looks similar), so maybe that's just how the breed works.

Still, it leaves me to wonder if it's not done growing (vertically) yet, or if this is just what I should expect.

[MaryL]

Oh yes, I can see the difference you’re talking about.  I don’t think I’ve ever grown a pepper like this.