Pepper Seeds Growing Diffferent Peppers?

christoph@141 · Sun Sep 07, 2014 5:29 pm

Hi Everyone. I'm Chris, new to this forum. I have a question that I tried to research myself but couldn't find anything.

Ok, so you will all think I'm crazy, but...Last season, I purchased some jalapeno seedlings from a store and grew them. They were really good, so I saved some seeds for this year and germinated them. They grew just fine, and I'm starting to get some fruit, but not jalapeno peppers! I swear they look like bell peppers, and that I'm not insane.

Anyone have an explanation?

Thanks!

applestar · Sun Sep 07, 2014 6:35 pm

Well, even though they seem completely different, jalapeÃ±o is a Capsicum annuum species just like bell peppers, so it's possible the insects pollinated your jalapeÃ±o blossoms with bell pepper pollen and you have a "bee crossed" pepper. Did you also grow bell peppers last season?

It will be interesting to see how these turn out. Please keep us updated.

christoph@141 · Sun Sep 07, 2014 7:18 pm

Ok so, my thought was also some type of cross-pollination. I just didn't even know that was possible.

No I did not grow bell peppers. These were grown in pots on my deck in NJ. I grew these, collards, and basil. No other peppers.

So, the type of cross-pollination you referred to, that is possible? Bell pepper pollen + jalapeno peppers = some type of edible hybrid? (maybe?)

imafan26 · Sun Sep 07, 2014 9:24 pm

If you bought seedlings and grew them and saved the seed,HMMMMM.

If you bought seedlings of Jalapenos and they became bell peppers, they were probably mislabeled.

christoph@141 · Sun Sep 07, 2014 10:26 pm

No, I purchased jalapeno seedlings last summer, 2013. We harvested tons of awesome jalapeno peppers (that looked and tasted like jalapenos). At the end of the season, I personally cut open several of the peppers, that came from those plants, saved the seeds, grew them, and am getting what you see in the pictures. I harvested, dried, stored, and labeled the seeds personally myself. There is no possible way that seeds got mixed up or mislabeled, and there have never been bell pepper seeds in or around my house.

For real. That's actually what happened and I can't figure it out. Definitely going to have to eat one of these soon...

BTW, we just got back from our 4th summer trip to Kauai. We love it there... Sending you some Aloha from NJ!

catgrass · Tue Sep 09, 2014 2:00 pm

The jalapenoes you bought may have been a hybrid. If so, the seeds are not always true to the parent plant. I grew some this year from seed, but I don't remember if it was seed I saved or seed I bought. I, too, had a few jalapenoes that looked like little tiny bell peppers and they were HOT! all on the same plant. Cross pollination with peppers is also possible-a hmmm factor.

Juliuskitty · Tue Sep 09, 2014 5:19 pm

catgrass wrote:The jalapenoes you bought may have been a hybrid. If so, the seeds are not always true to the parent plant. I grew some this year from seed, but I don't remember if it was seed I saved or seed I bought. I, too, had a few jalapenoes that looked like little tiny bell peppers and they were HOT! all on the same plant. Cross pollination with peppers is also possible-a hmmm factor.

Yep, that's exactly what I was thinking too.

christoph@141 · Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:26 pm

Very interesting. I hope mine are hot too! They smell more like bell peppers so I had assumed they wouldn't be hot. The biggest one is still pretty small and probably not ready but I'm going to eat it when I get home anyway.

applestar · Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:37 pm

Interesting to me, too.

I'm so intent on growing heirlooms and open pollinated varieties from seeds that I forget they sell plants generically labeled "jalapeÃ±o" and it could be any variety including a hybrid variety.

christoph@141 · Wed Sep 10, 2014 11:47 pm

Well, I clipped one of the peppers today and tried it... YUCK! It was awful. Bitter and just awful. I got a hint of bell pepper-ish taste, but it mostly tasted like bitter chemicals or something.

It looks exactly like a miniature bell pepper, so my question is, if they are bell peppers and I picked one way before it was mature enough, would it taste awful? Or would it taste like a mini bell pepper? Sorry if that's an odd question.

Here are some pics.

Chris

catgrass · Mon Sep 15, 2014 11:31 am

I'm thinking it may have been bitter because it is so small, and all the seeds are concentrated around the pith, which is mostly what your little pepper is. I have noticed when I chop up large peppers, the areas with the pith have an "off" flavor, though not real bad. Let them get bigger. Usually at this time of year they get red faster, which is superior ripeness. Try one then.

imafan26 · Mon Sep 15, 2014 11:54 am

While I have never had a jalapeno produce a bell pepper. I have grown jalapenos that were supposed to be hot and (Jalapeno M), and found a high percentage of them had 1 out of 5 peppers hot on the same plant. The other four had little to no heat.

I read that peppers that are unstable crosses can be that way. Jalapenos have been hybridized a lot. Some are even bred not to be hot on purpose. The variance in heat also happens with other peppers that have either been hybridized a lot or are new crosses. It happens to ghost peppers too.

It does seem that your jalapeno did cross with another pepper since it doesn't even look like a jalapeno.

If it works the same way as in other breeding programs. 97% of the crosses will be o.k. or mediocre. The remainder may be fantastic.