Another What Is It ?

AlittleSalt · June 13, 2016

For months now, I've been thinking that I have three Maui Purple ornamental pepper plants growing. They look very nice with purple/black stems, purple flowers, attractive leaves, and 2" peppers. However, I'm not sure that's what they are. The seeds were given to me in a clear bag. I would link the Google image search, but Maui Purple is also the name of inappropriate things for this site. I would like to correctly identify this variety so I can share seeds with you all - it is a very attractive plant. (Last two Pictures)

They look almost identical to Royal Black peppers at first glance (First two pictures) I know the Royal Black plant is what it's supposed to be with little Pequin sized 1" peppers - same color and shaped flowers, etc. All on a somewhat smaller plant. The RB peppers came from Tomato Growers back in 2007.

dmforcier · June 13, 2016

Mmmm. Foliage and color look like Black Knight, but the pod shape is wrong. Black Cuban? Pod shape is very close, but I can't find a good foliage pic. [Did you know that there's a Black Olive? Cool looking pods!]

Did you find the 'Maui Purple' thread on THP? The picture there matches yours almost identically. One guy claims that it is an annuum / frutescens cross. Another site labels it chinense, but I find that doubtful.

Good looking plant. What do the pods taste like?

AlittleSalt · June 13, 2016

Thank you, I'll check it out.

The flavor is interesting/good, and they are burn your mouth and throat hot. I would guess around 100,000 Scoville units hot.

I wanted to get pictures without them being wet and in the sun, but a thunderstorm is about to happen. So far, they are 2' tall and wide.

dmforcier · June 13, 2016

We just had a thunderstorm pass through that was sired by a tornado and born in a hurricane! Curtains of fine soaking rain and wind so hard it was literally blowing the runoff out of the rain gutters! I've never seen that before. Fortunately not that much lightening (it was probably shooting up into the ionosphere...) and didn't last more than a half hour.

Texas. Whew.

Ozark · June 14, 2016

AlittleSalt, Maui Purple Pepper is one variety I really know because I've kept a pot of them going continuously for over 15 years now.

Back then, I bought a pack of seeds on eBay from a lady who lived on Maui. Since peppers are perennials in that warm climate, she said she had a hedge of Maui Purple Pepper plants in her yard. I grew several of the plants in my garden that year and they were so pretty and productive that at the end of the season I dug one up, put it in a pot, and brought it inside for the winter.

I've kept that pot of pepper plants going ever since by bringing it inside during our cold months and keeping it out on our deck the rest of the time. Individual plants die after a few years of course, but they reseed and they like to be crowded - I've got about 9 plants growing in the pot now. This is the only really hot pepper I grow and we enjoy it greatly. The flavor is good and 9 little chopped-up Maui Purple Peppers put JUST the right amount of (nose running, forehead sweating, glass of milk nearby) heat in a half-gallon of my homemade garden salsa. The plants bear about three times a year, so it's nice to have fresh hot peppers like this available year-round, too.

Assuming that the seeds the Hawaiian lady sold me were really Maui Purple Pepper, I'm sure that's the variety you've got - they look the same to me. I just took this picture at night under a porch light, but I think it shows well enough that they're the same peppers as yours. I hope you keep those going and enjoy them as much as we have!

AlittleSalt · June 15, 2016

Ozark, a hedge is exactly what these pepper plants would be best described as. Thank you very much for your reply and info. And wow, over 15 years.

Maui Purple ornamental pepper is a 2' x 2' wide/tall plant that looks proper - like a trimmed hedge. When I tried eating one - it has a complex flavor.

I will save a lot of seeds to share.

June 14, 2016	#5
Ozark Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ozark, Mo. Posts: 201	AlittleSalt, Maui Purple Pepper is one variety I really know because I've kept a pot of them going continuously for over 15 years now. Back then, I bought a pack of seeds on eBay from a lady who lived on Maui. Since peppers are perennials in that warm climate, she said she had a hedge of Maui Purple Pepper plants in her yard. I grew several of the plants in my garden that year and they were so pretty and productive that at the end of the season I dug one up, put it in a pot, and brought it inside for the winter. I've kept that pot of pepper plants going ever since by bringing it inside during our cold months and keeping it out on our deck the rest of the time. Individual plants die after a few years of course, but they reseed and they like to be crowded - I've got about 9 plants growing in the pot now. This is the only really hot pepper I grow and we enjoy it greatly. The flavor is good and 9 little chopped-up Maui Purple Peppers put JUST the right amount of (nose running, forehead sweating, glass of milk nearby) heat in a half-gallon of my homemade garden salsa. The plants bear about three times a year, so it's nice to have fresh hot peppers like this available year-round, too. Assuming that the seeds the Hawaiian lady sold me were really Maui Purple Pepper, I'm sure that's the variety you've got - they look the same to me. I just took this picture at night under a porch light, but I think it shows well enough that they're the same peppers as yours. I hope you keep those going and enjoy them as much as we have! Last edited by Ozark; June 14, 2016 at 11:31 PM.

June 13, 2016	#2
dmforcier Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,825	Mmmm. Foliage and color look like Black Knight, but the pod shape is wrong. Black Cuban? Pod shape is very close, but I can't find a good foliage pic. [Did you know that there's a Black Olive? Cool looking pods!] Did you find the 'Maui Purple' thread on THP? The picture there matches yours almost identically. One guy claims that it is an annuum / frutescens cross. Another site labels it chinense, but I find that doubtful. Good looking plant. What do the pods taste like?

June 13, 2016	#3
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	Thank you, I'll check it out. The flavor is interesting/good, and they are burn your mouth and throat hot. I would guess around 100,000 Scoville units hot. I wanted to get pictures without them being wet and in the sun, but a thunderstorm is about to happen. So far, they are 2' tall and wide.

June 15, 2016	#6
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	Ozark, a hedge is exactly what these pepper plants would be best described as. Thank you very much for your reply and info. And wow, over 15 years. Maui Purple ornamental pepper is a 2' x 2' wide/tall plant that looks proper - like a trimmed hedge. When I tried eating one - it has a complex flavor. I will save a lot of seeds to share.