Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
PEPPER
Capsicum
spp.
The genus
Capsicum
comprises 25 species, all native to Central and South America, with the greatest
diversity in the Andes of southern Brazil and Bolivia. Most cultivated peppers belong to
C. annuum
,
the rest to
C. chinense
,
C. frutescens
,
C. baccatum
, and
C. pubescens
. Except for
C. pubescens
, these
species can all cross with one another. Because of this, many varieties do not obviously belong to a
particular species.
The bushy plants of this genus are grown as annuals or perennials. Perennial varieties are not at all
hardy but can be overwintered indoors when vegetation is cut back in the fall. Fruits come in all
shapes and sizes, including pointy, bell-shaped, round, cubical, and elongated. The range of colors is
also very large, with unripe fruits appearing green, violet, or light yellow, and ripe fruits becoming red,
orange, yellow, or brown. You will need to acquaint yourself with each variety to know when they are
ripe and if the seed was crossed.
Pepper seeds
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
• six to 12 healthy plants
• diverse array of flowers in garden to distract potentially cross-pollinating insects
• a greenhouse, or a climate that allows fruits to ripen
• support poles
• for hot peppers: rubber gloves and goggles for seed harvest
POLLINATION NOTES
Peppers are primarily selfers, but all species can be cross-pollinated by insects,
especially honeybees and bumblebees. When bees are desperate, pepper flowers will do just fine, and
they often visit before flowers have a chance to pollinate themselves. For this reason, it may be best to
propagate only one variety at a time in the greenhouse. Interspecies cross-pollination is also possible.
Flowers are white, yellowish, or light or dark violet.
