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In spring of 08' I planted some of the "large thick" species of cayenne plants (from seed). They didn't do anything but produce a single stalk on each plant that came up about 3 1/2 - 4 ft. No branches. Winter came, and I thought they had died.
I noticed that the stalks were dark red and quite flexible during the winter, so I though maybe they had potential to make it through the frigid season. I was right (they survived temps in the low 20's
). It's year two now, and the plants are almost SEVEN FEET TALL. They're branching out in a very...odd pattern. One of them is shooting new stalks up from the base with several small branches all the way to the top. The other plant is oddly shaped due to being bent in a storm, but is still healthy and branching out in a fan pattern (all the branches are almost exactly on the opposite sides of each other). There are no flowers or fruit on these plants.
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Summer is about to start winding down here in the southern states, which is when my smaller pepper plants usually yield fruit. These, I'm not so sure about. They didn't yield last year (hell they barely even grew last year), so I'm worried I'll have the same problem this year. I'm very careful about watching for pests on these plants, as I've had problems with caterpillars as well as aphids. There are no signs of flowers, and I read that it takes ~70 days for the fruit to mature. In 70 days, it'll be starting to get randoms frosts, which will kill the fruit.
Has anyone here had any experience with this species of cayenne plant? How long do they last and how big do they get? When can I expect fruit?
(for reference, these are planted in large pots with potting soil because my area has poor natural soil quality. If anyone wants pictures Ill be happy to oblige
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