Lemon Drop / Aji Lemon is a good choice. c.baccatum

Most of what I grow is c.annuum (big jims, poblano, guajillo, etc..) followed by c.chinese.

Well, I'm a pepper wimp compared to many regular contributors to this forum. And I've only been growing peppers other than bells for four years. But my impression is that there is such a wide variety of annuums that anyone who's growing peppers for eating (as opposed to proving one's cajones or playing cruel jokes on one's inlaws) shouldn't rule out all annuums. I've grown about a dozen different kinds, and most were well under 5 feet tall. The only ones i've grown that got that tall were poblanos and a guajillos. Most were closer to 2-3 feet. This year I'm growing heirloom Mexican, New Mexican, Italian, Hungarian, and Thai chilis as well as an American hybrid. No bell pepprrs among them. Yum!

Fatalii yellow is a great pepper and heat range is in the habanero range so it's not blow your face off hot. Peppadew is also a mild pepper that's tasty. If you are interested in these two varieties let me know. Send me an email if you want seeds.

Mark

If you want to try your hand at growing some "fun" peppers, you might want to try some of the various ornamentals out there. Most of them are edible however they are grown more for show than for eating. Many of them are quite compact also with many only getting 1-2 feet tall. Here is a Twilight plant from last year. It is in a 16" wide pot for size reference.
Bruce

I know you said that you are not interested in "blow your head off" type of peppers, and truthfully I wasn't either. Even today I can't handle spice, especially jalapeno. That is probably the only pepper I don't like the flavor of.

Anyway, after 2 years of growing habaneros and falling in love, last year I luckily found a bhut & chocolate bhut. Yes they were much hotter than habanero but either fresh, or dried/powdered they add so much flavor and dimension to any dish. If you like sweet and spicy, both the habs and bhuts work really well with that combination. The key is all in moderation.

I have friends that eat bhuts like candy. I also have friends that can't eat mild salsa as it's too spicy (this was me 4 years ago). I've been able to make several things with both varieties and change the level of spice to accommodate mild to "blow your head off so hot that I won't even dare taste it myself" when handing it over to my brother in law. I just pray it tastes good. I've had nothing but rave reviews and I know it's because of the pepper's flavor.

All I'm trying to say is if you have room for just one more plant try an orange/chocolate habanero or bhut jolokia. You may just enjoy it and if not, give them away :)

Anyone else turn from a novice to a full blown chilihead similar to me?

Lol, oh yes HillSeeker. Jalapenos used to burn me up. Then, like you, I discovered habaneros and instantly fell in love with the taste - the heat was a little much though at first. But like you mentioned, it's all in moderation. I would seed every habanero I received, cook it into whatever I was making.. noticed it wasn't too warm - the next time throw a few seeds in as well and progressively do that till I could tolerate a whole one.

By the way: Habaneros on pizza is amazing.

> "Can you guys recommend ... peppers to try to grow that aren't blow-your-face-off hot?"

And the point would be what ?? ;-D

I second fatalii. They grow about 3' high and across and will give you all the peppers you need. They are hot, but you can get one from Bonnie Plants at any big box store garden center as "World's Hottest Habanero". Makes the world's best guacamole. Also Numex Twilight, though not for eating.

Grow poblano or cubanelle for a mild pepper that can be used like a bell with its thick flesh. Not as hot as a jalapeno and tastier. Can also be had in stores for $3-4. You'll want more than one of these.

While those are pretty much sure-fire, try growing some from seeds, too. Don't worry about isolating from cross-pollination. That just isn't an issue unless you are a commercial seed grower.

Okay, a few follow up questions:

1. Fatalii seems promising. From online searching it seems like c. chinese. You're saying they are sold as habaneros from Bonnie Plants? or is there somewhere I'm supposed to be able to find seed for them?

2. Can you grow pappadew in containers successfully? It seems like some folks grow habaneros in container and the size of container stunts or dwarfs the hab, but it will still produce at least some peppers. Any experience with pappadews in containers or can almost all peppers survive a container?

3. I'm not sure how much to worry about crossing. I'm certainly no commercial seed producer, but if I intend to save seed and regrow the following year, it seems like crosses could lead to crazy hybrids, or situations where the sweet peppers pick up spiciness from an unintended cross. From what I've read, peppers can self pollinate, but their open flower design makes out-crossing pretty likely.

4. I have some seeds I got from a swap that are labeled "chinese 5 color" from searching online they look like the twilight, and wikipedia at least says they are similar (or am I missing something?). Both are c. annuum though, but if I grew it out in the front yard, the house would probably be a decent block against crossing, no?

I agree with DMForcier, I don't think you need to worry about crossing. I've grown many varieties from seed I saved myself and have never grown a chile that seemed to be different to the parent (and I plant about 2 feet apart in my small garden).

Hello emcd124.

For us to better answer your questions, I have a few for you *smile*.

Why not annuums?

Are you interested in starting from seed or only purchasing plants?

How many plants are you planning to grow?

Are you going to grow in pots or ground (or both)?

How do you plan to use your pepper harvest?

Rick

emcd124 5 ::

1. Fatalii is C. chinense, from Africa. I recommended them for their own sake, but also because you can buy a well-started plant for cheap. You can get seeds for fatalii - and much much more - by hanging around here and being (or at least acting) interested. Too bad you missed Bonnie's newbie seed swap.

2. You can grow anything in containers. You can also kill anything in containers. Might as well try growing some in containers this year and see what's up. Peppadew grows as well as anything else in a bucket.

3. Don't worry anything about crossing. Put that right at the bottom of your list. 95% of the seeds grown by folks here are "open pollinated" and while you will occasionally see an odd-looking pepper, it is nothing to worry about.

4. Grow where you will get sun and remember to water them (or not). 5 color looks like a good choice. Why not try starting some seeds now?

Great Advice. For some reason I fell in love the minute I tried the habanero. I hope to convince myself to eat a smoked bacon wrapped Bhut Atomic Buffalo Turd this year. (Stuffed slow roasted pepper). Anyone else make these? What peppers should I try? Yumm

EMCD I can spare some orange habanero and red bhut seeds and will send them ASAP. Hopefully it won't be too late for you to start. Send me a message but please include your email address. You should be able to find habs for sale and try these seeds next year. I've seen them at every greenhouse.

Yeah, don't worry about cross-pollinating. Unless you are specifically doing it by hand, the odds are you won't have it happen even if the two plants are directly next to each other.

The reason is because peppers are self-fertile with hermaphrodic flowers. They have both male and female structures, and generally speaking a half way decent breeze or a brush by you or the dog is all it takes to knock some pollen loose, which then falls directly onto the stigma and pollinates it.

Much like the commercials I kept hearing for the Hunger Games, the odds are forever in your favor... of getting a pure seed.

Gah! This place is very very dangerous. My husband is going to get wise and start trying to keep me off GW because every time I come on here I wind up tripling the plants I'm planning to grow in our little garden! Your enthusiasm is contagious. I can't believe I'm getting talked into trying the habaneros. but I lived for years in ghana and they cook everything with little green and orange peppers that look a lot like habaneros (I've never been able to figure out what they were botanically, ghanaians just call them peppers). So maybe I'll find out I can take the hab heat.

@Hillseeker: I PM'ed you my email address

@Rick:
Why not annuums? Well mostly it was from the impression that spicy annuums would cross readily and often with my sweet annuums and make seed saving a nightmare. The experienced folks on here have convinced me otherwise, so I guess I"m open to giving them a whirl.

Are you interested in starting from seed or only purchasing plants?
I am interested in starting from seed, but whether I am gifted at starting from seed may be a different story. most everything else I start I wintersow, but peppers dont do great with that method. This year the DH has bought me a fancy seed starting tray that is self watering, so hopefully will spare the seedlings my forgetful irregular "feast and famine" watering regime.

How many plants are you planning to grow?
I was thinking just one, but with some flexibility, proximity and buckets, I could probably grow at least three different kinds.

Are you going to grow in pots or ground (or both)?
I have room for 1-2 small in ground in the front flower garden, and 1 medium in ground in the back veg garden. Anything else in buckets.

How do you plan to use your pepper harvest?
Fresh eating over the summer, and ideally some dried peppers for use throughout the year

Ok. So if I was gonna grow two or three varieties that needed to be on the compact side, I’d think about the following:

Filius Blue : An interesting ornamental and edible pepper bearing very hot, purple-blue colored fruits which ripen to orange and yellow. The plant itself is notable for its gorgeous dark purple foliage. The plant is fairly compact, to 12-18", with heavy fruiting. The small peppers are conical, to 1/2-1", with a fairly hot flavor.

Thai, Orange: Hot ornamental pepper used for seasoning. Plants bear 2- to 2 1/2-inch, finger-shaped, green fruit ripening to orange. Good for containers.

Thai Sun: This miniature compact, mound shaped plant only grows ten to twelve inches high and about one foot wide. The half to one inch peppers grow facing the sun and ripen to red. One plant has literally hundreds of small edible very hot chiles. The chiles ripen early and produce all season long.

Fresno: (the red pepper in the pic) Fresno peppers are similar in shape and heat to jalapeño peppers and are grown extensively in California, Texas and New Mexico. This cold tolerant plant grow approximately 2-2.5 ft tall by 20 inches wide and are prolific bearers of upright arrow shaped 2-3 inch long by 1in wide peppers which mature from bright green to orange to a beautiful deep red . The peppers have a slight sweetness about them and are fantastic when used fresh for salsas. Fresno is also known as Chile Carbide or Chile Cera.

Doe Hill: (pre 1900) A very rare family heirloom from Doe Hill area of Highland County, Virginia. This is without a doubt one of the very best peppers for short season areas, also one of the tastiest. The small round lobed peppers are the shape of old fashioned tomato peppers and turn gold at maturity. They are very sweet and productive. Excellent in salads or any dish that requires sweet peppers. These would also make cute little stuffed peppers. EXTREMELY RARE.

Feher Ozon Paprika: (aka Feherozon) Originated in Hungary. Productive dwarf plants produce 5" long fruits that ripen from creamy white to orange to red. Exceptionally sweet flesh. Dried fruits can be ground to make paprika powder. 80-90 days from transplant. SWEET.

So, in summary:

The Filius Blue, Thai Orange and Thai Sun are often used as ornamentals and would work nicely in your front flower garden. They would also work well in pots. All of these dry easily and can be crushed or ground for flakes/powder. All of them are also on the hot side, but the peppers are small! *smile*

Fresno is a mild/medium heat pepper with a great flavor. Its’ walls are a medium thickness and is usually eaten fresh in salads, salsas, stuffed, diced in an omelet, etc. It would probably do ok in a pot, but it might do best in your veg garden. If I could only grow one pepper, Fresno might just be it.

Doe Hill and Feher Ozon are sweet peppers and can be used like a bell pepper. Both plants are fairly compact, growing to 2 - 2.5 feet. Could probably grow in a pot, but ground would be better. Nice flavor and colorful.

I don’t know if you can find plants for any of these but, I’m pretty sure I have seeds for any and all, if you’re interested.

Rick

P.S. Sorry for being long-winded, but there's a lot of peppers out there *smile*.

emcd,

Got your e-mail and replied via GW. Post her if you didn't get it and we'll try again *smile*.

Rick