Crunch Sweet Orange Accidental Cross?

rt_peasant

9 years ago

I'm growing Crunch Sweet Orange for the first time this year. I have 3 plants in containers:

The first 2 plants produced peppers like the pepper on the left. Nice flavor, sweet (no heat), very prolific pepper.

The third plant produced peppers like the one on the right. Not expecting it to be hot, I bit off half the pepper, and it lit me up. Hiccups, watering eyes, you know the drill. I think I may have gotten an accidental cross between a Crunch Sweet Orange and a hot pepper. I'm not very good at estimating Scoville units, but I would place it somewhere around a Fresno, i.e., hotter than a jalapeno, less hot than a Serrano. In fact, it's very similar to a Fresno. The flesh is sweet, like a Fresno or a CSO, but the ribs are fiery hot. With the seeds and ribs removed, it sauteed up with fantastic flavor and just a modest amount of heat.

I may have a new favorite hot pepper. I'm going to try growing it out next year. From other threads, it sounds like it may take many years and many plants to get this cross to be stable. Wish me luck.

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Comments (8)

northeast_chileman
9 years ago
rt_peasant posted, "I may have a new favorite hot pepper. I'm going to try growing it out next year. From other threads, it sounds like it may take many years and many plants to get this cross to be stable.

Wish me luck.

LUCK!
teevoo
9 years ago
Have enough seeds to trade? I tried to grow some this year, but I had a lot of difficulty trying to germinate.
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rt_peasant
Original Author
9 years ago
Are you referring to the Crunch Sweet Orange or the Crunch Hot Orange? If it's the former you're after, I have plenty of seeds. I was planning on doing a seed offer after the season is over, so stay tuned!
teevoo
9 years ago
Crunch Sweet Orange. I never had seeds for the cross :) Though it you plan on trading those as well, I would be interested.
rt_peasant
Original Author
9 years ago
I plan on giving my seeds away, no trades required. Paying it forward, as it were. I should have them dried, packaged, and ready to go in about a month.
rt_peasant
Original Author
9 years ago
Teevoo, my seed offer is posted now. I've got a packet saved for you.
nc_crn
9 years ago
Hey, I'm the breeder of this pepper.

I have never seen anything like the pepper on the right in my breeding lines when it comes to having heat along with the amount of seeds (the Crunch Sweet Orange is generally extremely low in seeds per pod).

It may be an accidental cross...it probably is an accidental cross...but it may be a mutation, too. It's just something I've never seen and none of the parent genetics came from a hot pepper source.

Also, I never stabilized pod variation on this pepper. Sweetness/fruitiness and many other qualities are very stable, but it's not uncommon to get 2-3-4 lobed peppers on the same plant. That said, high seed count is something I've not seen since early in the breeding line cycle and heat is something I've never seen.

Thanks for sharing the pepper with others. Glad you enjoy it.
rt_peasant
Original Author
9 years ago
nc-crn, thanks for breeding this pepper and sharing it with the world! Let me know if you'd like some seeds for the Crunch Hot Orange. I'm going to try to grow it out next year, but I only have room for 3-4 plants, which I'm guessing isn't nearly enough.