Any luck with rocoto in the southeast? Zone 7-8

[WhippoorwillG]

I have grown a number of sweet, spicy, and super hot peppers, but the rocoto is the first that I have been unable to get a single blossom to set fruit. While not profuse, there were always a number of purple/white blossoms, but none set fruit...zero.

During the heat of the summer, I just thought it was a heat/humidity issue, but even as the weather cooled a bit, the blossoms just kept dropping. Also, I only have one lonely plant, but it looks very healthy. I have moved it inside and will observe the blossoms on there now, but if none of those set, I can't let it take up valuable light space.

ScottInAtlanta, have you ever tried growing them? Anyone else in similar climate?

[kayrobbins]

I grew it for the first time this summer and I am in zone 9. Because I knew it would have some issues with this climate I started them last fall in the hopes they would gradually get conditioned. I had 7 plants and grew them in large containers that were placed where they got morning sun and afternoon shade. Six of the plants produced peppers but one did not even though it bloomed profusely. I am going to over winter 4 of those plants and have 7 new ones started from seeds I saved that are in 3 gallon pots ready for next summer.

[WhippoorwillG]

Thank you kayrobbins. It sounds like I just need to start over with the rocoto for next year, and earlier. Also, I will try larger pots.

[Wi-sunflower]

While I'm not in your climate, I have grown Rocoto in my greenhouse a few times. It's a mountain pepper so doesn't like the extreme heat of a greenhouse in summer. It would always be Sept before peppers would set for me. But if you can overwinter it so you have a bigger plant to start the growing season with when it's cooler, you have a better chance of getting fruit.

Rocotos are incredibly fussy plants but when you can get some fruit, they are so different from other peppers. While they don't test all that high on the Scoville scale, the unique chemical combo makes them SEEM a lot hotter than they really are and the heat lingers.

Carol

[biscgolf]

Growing them in containers in VA I have had much better fruit set their second year than their first. Still one of the least prolific peppers I have ever grown out of hundreds of varieties. While they are indeed delicious I believe the "juice ain't worth the squeezing" for me.

[kayrobbins]

I have had really poor germination rates with the rocotos both from seeds bought from The Chile Institute and my own saved seeds. Since my lights were not in use right now I decided to try an experiment. I soaked one third of the seeds in buttermilk overnight because my grandmother did that for things like okra. I soaked another third overnight in plain water and I used scarification on the final third. The buttermilk were the first to germinate and has the highest germination rate. The other two are doing better than when I just planted them like I normally would pepper seeds. It looks like I am going to have a lot of rocotos this year.

[WhippoorwillG]

All great help and suggestions! Thank you.

[ilex]

My roccotos grew very well in a fairly shady place.

I'm in zone 9-10 and it doesn't get really hot (think San Diego, CA)

[roper2008]

I tried a Manzano years ago, which is similar to a Rocoto. I had it in full sun and
it was doing poorly. I had a frosted glass table on my deck, so I put the potted
plant underneath it, and it did better, but did not start producing pods until fall.
We had a freeze before they could get big enough and ripen. I was thinking of
putting it in my sunroom, but I changed my mind at it froze outside. This pepper
is not fond of high temperatures.

[dmforcier]

roper is on the right track. I grew Manzano successfully in Atlanta. Temps there can run in the upper 90s for weeks at a time. But I've never seen high temps impede peppers, including C.pubescens. What did the trick for me was to take the pots out of the day-long sun and move into partial shade, where they would get full sun for maybe 4-6 hours, then tree shade. In full sun they bloomed like crazy but never set. When moved they set nicely and produced beautiful pods.

Manzano (and Rocoto is very similar) has a viney habit and fruit weight can split the limbs away from the main stem so be careful. Support where shaky.

[hr]
Now in Texas, I'm having the devil's own time getting some pubes started. In Atlanta of 5 seeds, 4 germinated and 2 made it into the ground (pots). Not a bad rate. Here I've gone through sixty Manzano and Rocoto seeds. Last year 4 of 15 germinated; one made it into the ground - but at 1" tall I bumped it and it broke off. This year 9 of 45 seeds germinated resulting in one healthy sprout about 2" tall.

It has become a matter of principle now. I will have some pubes this year! A good friend has sent me a nice selection of seeds and I managed to score some fresh Manzano pods at Central Market. "weak seeds" is no longer an excuse.

[kayrobbins]

"It has become a matter of principle now."

I am so glad to have someone else obsessing over growing Rocoto peppers in the south. The first picture is of one of the plants I overwinter from last season. It is now 5 feet tall and has 17 peppers on it. It was grown from seeds from NMSU Chile Pepper Institute. The 2nd picture is from seeds I saved from last years plants. I started the seeds in November to make sure the plant had lots of time to grow before it met Florida's heat and humidity. It already has 19 peppers on it.

One of my plants already has a pepper that has started turning colors. Last year that did not happen until August. I think I am making progress growing these but it is still the hardest to germinate with the poorest germination rate of any pepper I have grown. I can't wait to try seeds from my 2nd generation plants to see what happens next year.

[dmforcier]

Nice! What's that white stuff in the first pot? Marble mulch?

[kayrobbins]

I use large flake pine shavings to mulch all of my large containers and raised beds. You can get it at feed stores. It is usually used for horse stalls but I like it because it is kiln dried so there are no pathogens or weeds in it. It is very light weight and breaks down so it can be worked into the soil at the end of the season. A bale is $6.95 here and that expands to 10 cubic feet so it is very economical. I had just mulched that pot today but it gets a little darker after it gets wet.

[dmforcier]

This year 9 of 45 seeds germinated resulting in one healthy sprout about 2" tall.

Wait. Wait. There's more to the story.

Here's what I see when I check the manzano (still under lights).

Followed by what I saw when I pulled the pot to water it. Not exactly a volunteer, but certainly a lost child.

[kayrobbins]

Take good care of the little straggler. I had a couple of ones that were so late germinating and stayed really small for a long time. I considered tossing them since they seemed to lack vigor. Now all these months later I could not tell you which plants they were because they all look so healthy.