84 days for fresh seeds to germinate, welcome to my world of C.rabenii x C.tovarii F2s 🫠🌶️🌱 Started on 14th Dec 2025

3 species from 3 clades, successful cross confirmed. C.baccatum, C.tovarii & C.eximium rolled into one F1 🌶️🪄🌱

C.lanceolatum has been flowering under lots of layers of fleece all winter, who says 🌶️ need lots of warmth and heat 🙂 Protection from rain as it’s under glass, no air heating, only gentle bottom warmth from a heated tray 🌱

C.galapagoense underway 🌶️🌱

Wild capsicum seedlings appearing. C.lanceolatum native to southern Mexico, Guatemala & Honduras. C.cardenasii native to Bolivia 🌱🌶️

C.galapagoense from older seed, 28 days to emerge is pretty good for this species even on fresh seed stock 🌱🌶️

Attempt to introduce C.eximium into my C.baccatum var. pendulum x C.tovarii hybrid. That’d be 3 clades, not just 3 species, in the same mix. I’ll almost certainly need to see the flowers on this one to confirm. Trichomes very dominant from the two wilds in this probable F1. 🌶️🌱

Probably C.baccatum var. pendulum x C.eximium F1, early traits looking good. Non-pungent trait in the mix for added interest. 🌶️🌱

More C.tovarii last week 🌱🌶️

Second from left, a possible candidate F2 selection from my Mini Stripey Starfish project which is an interspecific spin-off from my main project. C.flexuosum to the left, Biquinho to the right for scale. More F2s next year for other flavour and colour options but a good fallback 🌱🌶️

Five in a row but not red yet, CAP 1530 C.eximium 🌶️🌱

Not a serious attempt as I only did a single manual cross per pollen batch. However, just for fun and home grower science, defrosted pollen samples I collected around 4 years ago. 🌶️🌱

First ripe C.tovarii berry of the year, many more to come 🌶️🌱

I was thinking

Wild capsicum berries, some gradually starting to turn, others will take months yet 🌶️🌱

C.lanceolatum 🌶️🌱

Photo-bombed by blurry insect C.rhomboideum 🌱🌶️

C.lanceolatum 🌱🌶️

C.baccatum var. pendulum 🌱🌶️

I never compost my failed overwinters until the end of the new season. Why? Combination of laziness and having seen miracles. Stand them all in a tray to catch water in a semi-shady part of the garden. I’ll get a cutting at least. C.galapagonese late-July and back to life 🌶️🌱

After the 🐝🌶️🌱 CAP 1530 C.eximium

Reasons to grow the wonderful C.tovarii, volume 72 🌶️🌱

CAP 1530 C.eximium now setting berries 🌶️🌱

Looking like a good year for C.tovarii berries 🌶️🌱

CAP 1530 C.eximium 🌱🌶️

My C.rabenii x C.tovarii F1 hybrid starting to flower again, year 3 for this plant 🌶️🌱

C.tovarii setting berries nicely for another year 🌶️🌱

Wake up time in wild Capsicum land 🌱🌶️

OK, go ahead and flower in a tiny cup, see if I care. Don’t expect to be potted up and go outside any time soon, this is February in the UK, You’re not in Central or South America now silly! C.rhomboideum 🌶️🌱

Found an F3 similar to the F2, waiting on other F3s to compare. Kept multi-coloured purple-green flower and stayed jellybean sized. Interspecific C.rabenii x (Sugar Rush Stripey x Brazilian Starfish Yellow) 🌶️🌱

Great resource for all you pepper growers 🌶️🌱 youtu.be/KRBxnUKY8Kk

Just about made it this year but not awash with F2 seeds at this point. Domesticated C.baccatum hybrid crossed with wild C.tovarii 🌶️🌱

Capsicum tovarii 🌶️🌱🇵🇪

Fasciating Captain 🌶️🌱

After years of careful plant selection I’ve perfected this new teardrop shaped type. Sweet and refreshing with a little heat. Starts green and ripens to a translucent red with an almost see-through blossom end. Performs well in wet climates. 🌶️🌱🤡

Example of a variegated pedicel & leaf from the semi-variegated section of a C.flexuosum wild capsicum versus normal pedicel & leaf from elsewhere on the same plant. The aim is to mass sow seeds from all the variegated/white pedicel berries to try and find inherited variegation. 🌶️🌱

🚥 mixed messages 🌶️🌱

Also available in square 🌶️🌱

C.lanceolatum fits perfectly on the recessed blossom end of one of my F4 C.baccatum hybrids 🌶️🌱

Wild things 🌶️🌱

Lignification looking good and some nice sprawling surface roots, wild 🌶️ hybrid 🌱

C.rhomboideum, wild 🌶️🌱

CAP 1530, C.eximium 🌶️🌱

C.baccatum x C.tovarii F1 🌶️🌱

Still waiting on these variegated pedicel berries to ripen up, C.flexuosum 🌶️🌱

Who said you can’t grow chilli plants outdoors in the UK? Nearly back to the size it was before being chopped last winter. Granted I’d actually have some ripe berries by now if the weather complied 🫠 C.rabenii x C.tovarii 🌶️ Not that a big greenhouse or poly wouldn’t help! 🌱

Wild Capsicum loving autumn - C.rhomboideum, C.eximium, C.tovarii 🌶️🌱

Interspecific F1 between a domesticated hybrid and a wild capsicum species. Starting to set berries late into season. One of my own domesticated C.baccatum hybrids crossed with C.tovarii 🌶️🌱

C.eximium - CAP 1530 accession 🌶️🌱

C.flexuosum 🌶️🌱