you can buy the naga morich on peppermania.com for 2.50. which is essentially the same pepper grown in a different region. I bought bhut jolokia seeds from some joker called crackpot on ebay, and not a single one germinated. then i bought them from peppermania and they were up in 10 days!

THATS what i am afraid of on EBay...get 2-5 seeds and they are old and dont sprout,and they cost a fortune for 2 seeds! I'll have to look up this peppermania later today. People are being so nice here.

If you stop looking for chile seed on Ebay you will be happier. Bad expensive seed that isn't what the seller said it was.

Find a reputable chile seed purveyor.

goose77, did you ask for your money back and/or file a paypal dispute?

You can get Bhut Jolokia from The Chile Pepper Institute at NMSU.

Here is a link that might be useful: bhut jolokia seed from nmsu/cpi

When I bought my seeds I bought them from England, I can't recall if they were E-bay. They were expensive yes and I got 3 out of 10 to grow. The three plants grew well and produced prodigiously--I now am selling the seeds (and plants) from them on Toronto Craigslist. I have about a near 100% success rate and the plants were grown by themselves so no hybridization. From my experience this year with my seeds they sprout very quickly, unlike some of the other peppers. They are HOT beyond words.
{{gwi:1151350}}

Hmmm... those dont LOOK very hot... I dont believe you!

Have you ever taken a big mouthful bite out of one or is that just too dangerous? A Korean friend of mine was insulting my lemon drops because they had "no heat", so I want to give him one of these bad boys, but at the same time I dont want him to die...

PS he is crazy because my lemon drops are plenty heated (I can eat a whole lemon drop, but i always regret it when I do!)

Don't believe me then...your seeds are on the way and you can try them yourself in a few months. Please have someone around to take a pic about 5 seconds after your first bite:)
DO NOT given anyone of these peppers as a joke--they are hot beyond belief. I have family members who regularly eat raw hot peppers like nothing-- both my dad and brother eat whole Red Savinas like jellybeans. My dad could only WIPE A PIECE of the BJ on his food for heat, he ended up eating a piece of the flesh but only a tiny little piece. I have cousins that cover their food in pepper sauce and still have a whole pepper in hand to bite while eating. Believe me when I tell you these are hot and definitely not to be fooled around with. Even now I am cautious handling the seeds from last year!

pepper rancher. I sent him an email by clicking on the link that says ask the seller a question. I sent him an email, and told him that none of the seeds germinated and he might want to check it out for himself, because he is probably screwing other ebayers. I spent 7 bucks for 15 seeds. Within a second....i kid you not....i got a reply email saying i have not bid or won any auctions within the last 90 days. It had only been 45 or so. Im not too worried about it, i just learned a lesson.

I ordered mine from the NMSU and have not been dissappointed. So far out of 23 seeds (i got 3 more than was supposed to in the packet), all but 3 of them have germinated. Thats a very good germination rate!
I put them in those germination trays with the cardboard ice cube looking trays, filled with super soil and added the seeds, then topped with about 2mm of sphagnum peat moss. I watered it with luke warm tap water (which is very hard btw) initially then covered with the clear top. I put a daylight CFL on top and left it on all the time. The seeds started coming out after 10 days exactly, and my most recent came out at about 20 days. The three left i'm still waiting on it.

Well...thanks to a nice TRADE with a wonderful pepper forum member...I will soon have my seeds! And he will have mine. The last posting is the only one to offer help in germination. it got taken over by other topics.
But that happens. I guess it isn't any harder to grow them than any other hot pepper?? No special soaking or nipping part of the seed coat off? Now I just need to find out if it will sprout in my AeroGrow hydroponic garden,or not. Waiting on that answer from an email I sent to someone.
Thanks all for the help and information.

I ordered some Bhut Jolokia seeds from http://www.greenhousebusiness.com/bhjoseandpl.html

So far I have had 90% germination. I have also had great results from rareseeds.com

Thank you all for the help. I have several trades in the works...and if they come trough,...they are all members here,...so I think they are honest and i will get them, and they will get mine. I have sent mine out to them already.
So now I will have some Bhut seeds and the 'Lemon Drop' pepper seeds from 'pepper rancher',...cant wait to get them all!
I'm going to try a few in the AeroGarden to germinate. And plant the rest outside in the hot Fla sun! And hope I get some plants out of these.

Can anyone tell me what these little guys growing on my plant are? Flowers or peppers? I have no idea, this is my first attempt at growing this pepper. I'm just curious and excited and any info would be great!

Hehe well those would be flowers, the flowers have to be fertilized(pollinated) before they turn into peppers ;)

hah awesome, thanks! So I hear you take a Q-tip and get some pollen on it but, where or what do you rub it on? heh and how long do you wait for the flower to be ready for this "act". Like, right away when it blooms?..or is there a special time of the month or something? I'm not trying to be an idiot..I really know nothing about growing plants but reading about this pepper really made me want to try it and I'm really getting in to it. Thanks again for the info!

Here's a picture of basic flower anatomy

So there are definitely a number ways you can fertilize a flower if you don't want to rely on bees, one of which is use a moist Q-tip or small brush. I had heard the pollen is the "ripest" in the early afternoon but I can't really tell you that's fact or just some random statement someone claimed. What you want to do it rub some of the pollen off from the anthers of a flower and deposit it on the stigma of the flower (the center most part). It's a bit hard to be precise with pepper flowers since all the parts are so small, just try you best to make sure you have some yellow pollen on the end of the tool and gently rub the center part of the flower a few times.

As for time of the month, there is no best time and most flowers are ready to be pollinated shortly after they are fully blossomed but can be pollinated until the stems start to turn yellow and they fall off.

Hope that helps. Anyone else should feel free to chime in if I missed something or gave misleading information.

thanks a lot, that makes sense and seems easy enough. I'm sure the bees might take care of it but just incase..good to know. thanks again for the help.

Actually, a dry Q-tip or tiny paintbrush works best. Pollens viability is eliminated by water. Don't worry, unless you are into making hybrids, you won't ever need to pollinate your own peppers, the wind and insects will do it for you. Good luck TiMoTeO

I grew these last year, and actually had good germination rate from the ones I got from NMSU. And I planted two leftover ones, and both came up for this year. I started them VERY early last year, on 2-8-07, the plants were almost full sized by transplant time, and I got two crops of peppers. They were very determinate - would not get another flower on them until nearly the last ripe pepper was off the plant. I only started them at the time I start all the rest this year, to see what happens.
Here are my photos of the naga dorsett and bhut jolokias from last season:
http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c18/pepperhead212/Bhut%20Jolokia%20and%20Naga%20Dorsett

The naga dorsett was very close to being as hot, but was a totally different pepper, in that it had a very strong habanero flavor, while the BJ had none at all. It was also much later, and less productive, though this year I have a clone of it, which I started in September, and it has been cut back several times already! It is loaded with flowers, though it remains to be seen if any will produce, once put outside.

The only thing I have found that can be made with these peppers is Chinese hot oil, which is basically an extract, and only a drop needs to be used, in place of a tsp.

Dave

Anyone know the "best" way to grow these? I've seen all different PH levels for water, some use peat moss and some say miracle grow is fine. How many hours of light is best for them? (I see full sun and partial shade on different sites). I'm starting to get confused with all the different info. My leaf tips are yellow (some brown). I'm wondering if it's not been humid enough for them. Other than the tips the plant is showing new growth and flower buds and is super green and healthy looking..soil is moist (not overwatered). Flower buds aren't blooming..one bud fell off (more growing though). Just curious and would welcom anyone's opinion. I'm in Ocala (central) FL. The plant is about a foot high planted in Miracle grow soil. We've been experiencing about 50% humid days and 80% + at night. Temps in the upper 80's. I don't expect anyone to do my homework for me but I figured I'd ask and see what you guys think I should try. Thanks either way (just for reading) if you made it to the end of this =).
Dan

My bhuts were growing so SLOWLY until this recent heat wave in CA. I forgot about them(since I was living at college) and when I came home, they looked much bigger. I just have to be sure they get watered every so often and they seem to be crawling along. I'd say these lil' guys are the absolute slowest growing thing i've ever had, and also the most cared for. Hopefully they will keep up the good work during the summer. Good luck to yours too!
Brian

My plants actually grew fairly fast in the pots last season, even before putting them outside, so it was only 65º max. inside. It was 3 months before transplant, so that's the same as 7-8 outside, started at my normal 4-1, and none of my peppers are ever that big by then. The thing that may have done it was the 18 hr/day lighting - much more than they will get anywhere outside. The first full grown green was 4 1/2 months after seed was planted, and the first ripe one was about 5 months + 1 week after seed, if that gives you any idea as to when you will be expecting.

I had one in a 4 gal. and one in a 3 gal. pot - didn't matter much, but both did much better than the one in the ground. They were in MG organic soil, with some gardens alive! tomato food added in the beginning, as well as another dose in Aug. I also had a drip watering system on them, though watering is not that important with peppers, IMO - just made it easier! Humidity doesn't seem to be important, but it was hot here last summer - a record hot summer, in the 90s so much that I lost much of my tomato blossoms, and didn't get much until it got cooler in Sept., and they flowered again. Peppers always do better in heat, and this is no exception, but you should be as hot or hotter than me down there!

Good luck, and be patient!

Dave

Thanks for the advice, My peppers seem to be growing slightly quicker now with the heat. If you can believe me, they are about 4 months old and less than 3 inches tall. My bigger one has maybe 5-6 leaves, while my small one has two "sprout" leaves-it's been having trouble growing since it germinated. I have been fertilizing with fish emulsion and some Hydrogen peroxide. I couldn't resist buying a Caribbean Red Habanero because I can't wait to try them. They're supposedly second hottest, but I figure they are more like 3-5th hottest. Happy growing!
Brian

Is the Bhut Jolokia and the Naga Morrich the same pepper? I have planted the naga morrich because at the time I couldn't find the Bhut and depending on who you ask and where you look they are either the same or not (wipkidia lists it as the same). Even reading the NMSU link has me confused.

I found that with my Bhut Jolokia,Naga Morrich,Dorset Naga, and Naga Jolokia(C.Chinense) plants they don't like fertilizer-even weak mixes when they are young.They also don't like damp soil either.
They seem to prefere bottom watering that only gets the soil moist not wet at the bottom of thepot,not all of the soil in the pot.
They like to sip water with the roots ends not have them all in moist soil if that makes any sense.
Once they have some leaves on them they still don't like cold but I've had them loose all their leaves(overnight) and grow them back after being just a stick in the pot.
A week or so ago we had mid 40's nights and I thaught I'd loose my plants when I saw them the next day with all their leaves on the ground.
A few days latter they had small leaves growing on every place it had them before.
I think they can recover from cold or wet but not both at once.
They do seem to like Hydrogen Peroxide and Epsom salt put in the water every so often-every couple weeks for the epsom salt and once a week for the peroxide.It really greens them up.
My 7 pots and Trinidad Scorpions are allmost the same way about growing conditions but only a little less picky.
All my plants are in containers.

Hey Smokemaster - What concentration of peroxide are you using? How much peroxide per gallon of water? How about the epsom salts? My Bhuts are looking a little thrashed and my Peter Pepper is looking fragile and starting to yellow. Any ideas on what I should try?

I get 3% peroxide at the 99 cent store and put the whole bottle in a 2 gal. sprayer.
I drench everything with it.Bugs don't like it at all and the plants seem to be liking it.
I put about 1 tbsp. of Epsom salt in the 2 gal. sprayer and soak the soil with it.
What I've read your supposed to use 35% peroxide at 2 1/2 tsp. per gal.

I was afraid I'd kill bennificial stuff in my soil if I put too much.I don't know what my amount compares to per gal. of 35%-parts per....

Your supposed to use 2tbsp of Epsom salt per gal. of water but I think it might be too much and build up.

With fertilizer and everything else I use small/weak amounts often rather than full amounts every month or whtever the box ,can or bottle says to use.

For my pots I like mixing everything in my 2 gal. sprayer and spraying the plants before I water.
I'll water whatever I'm spraying into the pots just until water starts comming out the bottom.
Every 4-5 days I'll flood the pots,let them drain then water again to get any buildup out of my soil.
In general except for the epsom salt I don't think I really have to worry about buildup.
I use fish emultion and Seaweed extract so I think that both are pretty organic and probably break down or get used up before I could come close to overdosing my plants soil.
I think about every living thing must like to eat the fish emultion.You don't have to leave it mixed up long before it starts to ferment.
Once I left a partially filled container of it in my shed when I got sidetracked.The next day it stank so bad you could smell it a mile away.
I bet you probably couldn't overdose your plants with it,too much stuff likes to grow in or off of it.The microbes etc. would probably eat it up before it overdosed your plants.

Seaweed extract though can be strong stuff.I've heard people say they burned their plants with it.
I have noticed that if I put a little extra of it in my mix because my plants look like they need a boost it doesn't take long before you see them react to it.
Only takes a day or so to see a difference like as if you were using a chemical fertilizer.
I didn't like Seaweed meal when I used it before.
It's powdered seaweed.
I put some in the soil when I was repotting a few plants.
Someone told me it was good for transplanted plant roots.
I only put in what the box said to,maybe a little less because I wasn't sure of using the stuff.
It burned my plants really bad.I had to flood them for allmost a week to wash it out to where the plants started to come back.
I had only used it on a couple plants,not all I was repotting that day.The ones without the seaweed meal were ok.
I think it might be good stuff to mix with compost as a mulch topper, where it can slowly wash into the soil but I'll never put it in potting soil again where it can come in direct contact with the roots.

In general I don't like putting anything but dolomite lime and bonemeal in my soil mix.

That way I can put whatever I think my plants need on them as they need it.
I know it's not because the water and heat that day made the slow release fertilizer go off all at once or that my plants need fertilizer because the slow release stuff isn't dissolving.
Besides messing with my plants keeps me out of trouble. :)

The tree habanero is full of pods turning orange and getting more new buds allready.
I've got quit a few pods on several plants too.

My fish pepper crossed with who knows what and it made a small bush that has a ton of 2 1/2 inch pods on it now.
I gotta wait to see about taste and heat.

Whats strange is that I sent seeds from the fish pepper in trades and nobody got crosses that I know of yet.
Several traders said theirs is a pure fish and doing great.
My cross was a couple shades of green but has no cream color.Small plant but bushy and a real pod producer.
I hope they are hot and tastey.

Stop by somretime.I need to put pots where the extra smokers at.
At least the boss stopped telling me to get rid of it-gave up I guess,at lest for now.

FloridaBear.....
I got my seeds from NMSU like some of the previous posts mentioned.......with an incredible germination rate. Out of the 20 seeds I ordered, 18 grew to fullBlown plants........no problem.
I don't know about other sources, but the price on NMSU seeds weren't too pricey at all........especially when you figure in the amt of heat you're getting per pod. You could probably put one pod in a huge caldron of stew and it would be too hot! Same goes for making a hot sauce. More bang for the buck, so to speak...

Floridabeer picked up his marbles and went home.
Unless he changed his name,he hasn't come back to post that I know of.
Might be lurking though.
He got his seeds a long time ago.

He dished out a lot of crap when he was here...

What is your problem Smokemaster? I am sorry, I didn't know it was required to reply to every post. AND didn't someone on here, that was offering Free Lemon Drop seeds, NOT SEND ME ANY???? But took my seeds...and then didnt send me any..and tells me in the postings that I wont be getting any. HMMMM Smokemaster...who was that???? Yet I am suppose to keep replying to idiots that steal my seeds and send me nothing????
I have better things to do. I don't need to speak to thieves. As I said when I the last post I left!
Who was it that has so many Lemon Drop seeds, and was sending them out to anyone that asked for some,...yet I send MY Chinese pepper seeds to get some...and I get NONE in trade! ho was that Smokemaster??? So why would I want to deal with people like this? Snotty thieves. Still no Lemon Drop seeds...hope you enjoy MY peppers from MY seeds. Now,leave me the fu-k alone! I dont have time to deal with a bunch of thieves. Who was making that offer SmokeMaster? hmmm...who was that???

So maybe now SmokeMaster will contact his buddy 'pepper rancher'...the Lemon Drop pepper seed thief,...and tell him it is HIS fault that I want NOTHING to do with anyone on this board! Got it? I send him MY seeds and I get nothing in return...as I said. So why would I want to talk to a bunch of thieves? I bought my seeds...trading with a bunch of crooks got me nowhere...and his 'kind' offer of free Lemon Drop seeds got me a big 'ol envelope of AIR! THANKS! I hope all my peppers that come up from my seeds die in your garden. Now...leave me the hell alone. Is that clear enough??? You can all thank 'pepper rancher' for being a thief for my reason for being so ticked off at THIS pepper forum! Smokemaster....drop it and stop bugging me!

Floridabeer picked up his marbles and went home.---

You said you weren't comming back the last time you sent me a nasty E-Mail.
Unless he changed his name,he hasn't come back to post that I know of. ---

An observation on my part.

Might be lurking though.---

I guessed right.

He got his seeds a long time ago.---

You did get the bhut Jolokia seeds you were looking for plus other super hot seeds,from me and others.
They are probably really big by now with all the manure you've got an overabundance of.

He dished out a lot of crap when he was here...

Read your last posts.

From your post I can see your in good health.Same old Floridabeer.
Welcome back LOL

Wow...just...............wow...............

All this swearing is unneeded on a public forum! C'mon, seriously. I have to imagine with all the extras you were sent by members that more than made up for some lemon drop seeds. Also, didn't members on that other forum (The Hot Pepper) help you too?

Can't we just drop the derogatory comments once and for all and move on? It's all in the past.

Chris

hey HEY hey. Good to see everyone's getting along so well. I hear bhut peppers cause the medulla oblongata to become enlarged resulting in fits of rage...seriously though, my bhut is doing great..i think. I have about 20 flower buds coming in with about 5 flowers going now. One flower fell off the other day (it was 3 days old)..is that normal for starting flowers or is there something I can do or need to be doing to promote fruit growth? It's been unusually dry in FL..but the humidity is picking up and my plant is super deep green with no more yellow tips. Thank you guys for all the help!!

I'm here to find out if others are finding that their Bhut seedlings aren't growing as well as their other pepper plants. That's the case with me. My Cherry Bomb and King Arthur bell pepper seedlings look great, but the Bhuts are struggling. They are much more pale, too. Same planting mix and conditions, so I'm a little bummed. My hope is they will kick in once they are in the ground and summer comes. My guess is they need HOT weather.

Yes 'kenmandu'...they NEED HOT weather,and warm/hot roots. All of my Bhuts have twisted and stunted growth. I would swear they have some kind of virus or pest. But I cant see a pest. And if its a virus,I have no idea where it came from.
My yellow Bhut Jolokia is looking the best, of them all, only 2 feet tall, and it had over a hundred blooms, and is still blooming. BUT only 5 small peppers are on the plant.
Here is south Fla,it is already in the 90's during the day, well over 100 in the sun all day! And it is bone dry! I have to soak them daily, they come from India, and I am sure they are bone dry there in nature, but I try to keep mine hydrated.

I think I started all mine way to early, and ended up with stunted plants,and now have these twisted leaves at the top...but they are all putting out buds now, on very tiny plants that are still alive, of the red Bhut Jolokia,and Naga Morrich.

I dont know what area you are in, but give them heat, sun and room to grow and they will grow! Last year mine looked great,but I only got 1 pepper. This time I have like 5 plants,and 5 peppers on the yellow Bhut Jolokia,...after well over a hundred flowers. The red ones, and the Nagas are just starting to show buds, maybe they will do better,now that it is ungodly hot,dry,and in bigger pots.

But the super hots that I started in my AeroGrow garden, and was so worried about transplanting into soil, are the only peppers I have that are tall, perfect leaves, still growing, and look normal. I think there was something in my soil that I bought that the peppers just didnt like.

So I have a Congo Trinidad, Red Bhut Jolokia, Brazilian Pumpkin and a Naga Morrich all doing great! So maybe I will get a bumper crop from them....time will tell.

I have read that a certain range of nighttime and daytime temperatures are needed to prevent blossom drop. We have no clue what that range is for these peppers. Just hope I get lucky.
One more description I can give about my Bhut seedlings is that the internodal length is amazingly short, as though they're midgets. WTH? Here's hoping for a hot summer.

My Bhuts (and Choc Habs) are very compact....
I noted that the root-development was quite minimal, as compared to Chocolate Habs,
Arbols, Poblanos, and Tobasco. I assume that the lack of soil-warmth contributed to
the limited root-growth. Now that they're all planted in the garden, I'll just have to
hope they survive until the soil-temps are satisfactory. I have them covered under old
waterjugs for a bit of extra "greenhouse" warmth.

Josh

Hazzard's wholesale seeds sells 100 Bhut Jolokia seeds for $8.53, is that a good price? You also get your order in four to six days and they are a reputable company.

Here is a link to an Indian girl trying to eat 60 of these Bhut Jolokias while also rubbing them into her eyes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWs8x3pq_1s&feature=related

If you can get that many REAL Bhut Jolokia seeds,at that price, and that fast,go for it! I planted what I thought was going to be an Orange Habanero, from a very reliable company. I now have a nice plant full of what look like plain old Jalapenos. Waiting to see if they change color or not. But so far they have next to no heat and are not shaped like Habaneros. Good luck.

I started growing bhut jolokias a couple of years ago. They do have a low germination rate. It is very important to use fresh seeds that were dried properly. Last year I spent close to $20 on about 30 seeds and had good germination from them. They came from a company called "seed man". I have read good and bad about the company. I had very good germination rates from most of it, but low on a couple of them and none of the Vietnamese Hot peppers germinated at all. So you spend your money and take your chances I suppose. Seeds are living things and some just don't do well.
The seeds I saved had much lower germination rates. I'm still learning how to handle them and prepare them properly.
This year I bought live plants, mostly for convenience and I suspect my own had bred with other varieties.

But these Jolokies do not like the cold, they prefer high temperatures. And bugs love the leaves so you have to keep them dusted.

Also, they are very late season, so people in northern latitudes have to get started indoors really early if you expect to get anything ripe.

On the positive side, they apparently do well indoors. I brought one plan in for the winter. After loosing some foliage from the shock it took off and grew really well all winter. Lots of foliage under no light other than a 26 watt CFL (100W equivalent), but didn't produce any flowers or peppers all winter.

Bhut update here in northern Ohio.

My plants are much healthier now that they are in the ground and established. I used fertilizer, which I've heard is arguable regarding pepper plants. In any event, they are lush. The growth is unusual to me in that they are very bushy, with a lot of branching from the bottom of the plant. So much so that I decided to prune all those bottom branches off of one plant as an experiment.

The biggest issue right now is blossom drop. I do not have a single pepper yet, as every blossom has dropped. Anyone else having this problem?

When the weather finally began to warm, I fertilized lightly with a bit of Osmocote scratched into the soil. About a week later, I added a dose of Alaska Fish Emulsion. Peppers aren't heavy feeders like tomatoes, but they do need nutrients during development. In-ground, the consequences of over-fertilization are minimized.

I try to encourage bushing on my plants so that they are sturdy and wide, and able to support a great deal of fruit.

Don't worry about the blossom drop. The plant will set pods as soon as it is ready. A little more time is needed.

All of my peppers are flowering prolifically, but only my Thai chili (that I over-wintered) has set pods - two peppers at the moment.

Josh

Sweet! I have peppers! Counted at least three, but there should be a bunch more soon.

Josh, you were right. Maybe that initial blossom drop is a characteristic of the Bhut. I'm thinking that because there really hasn't been any change in the daytime/nighttime temperatures.

Ken

I have just ordered my first Bhut Jolokia seeds...and have been doing a great deal of reading up on how to grow them. I have read that rich nitrate fertilizers cause alot of blossom drops as well as do temps over 95 degrees. I am wondering if anyone has tried to grow these hydroponically and if so what results. I'm thinking with my seeds I may take a few of them and try it that way and if anyone has a suggestion on which hydro method works better I'd greatly appreciate it. As I live in the Great North Woods these peppers will have to be container plants kept mostly indoors with growth lights anyway.

I have enjoyed reading the forum except for the drama hissy fits above about who got what seeds and when....for those people here's a thought.....registered mail.

Anyway any thoughts and suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)

My first bhuts have germinated! Very excited. I got them from this source btw:
http://www.pepperjoe.com/