Scotch Bonnets

[Holly Daze]

Hello everyone,

I have grown a Scotch Bonnet Chilli plant. I have pampered it, kept it watered in the greenhouse and have been feeding it with tomato fertiliser. It appears to be doing very well with lots of green pea sized round chillies. The fruits were not getting any bigger but looked super healthy. There were so many flowers appearing I snipped the end off each branch so that the plant could deal with what it had at that stage. Suddenly the pea sized chillies are turning black and less hard. Are they ripening and if so, will they get bigger? They are tiny!

Many thanks.

[Scarlet]

How big is the plant? Chillies can fruit right up until Nov/Dec if taken indoors at the right time so it’s often best leave the flowers on if you have room and the plant is big enough to support the flowers. How big is the pot?

I’m not sure what I would do without seeing the plant. Take some photos, upload them and others will have a bit more info I’m sure.

[Small pumpkin]

First thing I would suggest is stop cutting lumps off it!
Chillies can grow very large and are happy to do so in the right conditions.
Until you've answered scarlet's questions there's no other advice I can give.


Welcome to the vine

[Holly Daze]

Scotch Bonnets

Thank you for your responses. Struggling a bit with navigation of the site but I am sure I will get the hang of it soon. Not sure how to upload a picture but I have just come home from an evening (alcohol involved) out and checked my greenhouse and tried one of the chillies and it is not hot at all. Bland.. it is about 18 inches high and as I mentioned earlier, very healthy.

[Holly Daze]

Ok, I have measured the pot and it is 15 litres and the plant itself is as high as it is wide - 36 cm. As I said yesterday, there is no heat at all. Will this develop do you think? Thanks.

[veggiechicken]

Hi and welcome. You may have problems posting a photo as you have just joined and haven't made many posts yet. Keep posting and you will be able to.
Meanwhile, did you buy the plant or grow it from seed. If the latter, was it from a seed packet or did you save it from a pepper?

[Holly Daze]

Hello,
I bought seeds from a garden centre. This was the only plant to germinate.

[Mitzi]

Turning black doesn't sound good; most scotch bonnets turn yellow or red. If they are ripening then they won't grow any bigger. Pods grow to as big as they are going to get before they start to change to their ripe colour.

Small pods are often caused by incomplete pollination / fertilisation. Are there plenty of pollinating insects in your greenhouse?

You're not killing with kindness (overwatering / feeding) are you?

[Holly Daze]

Hi, thank you for your advice. I have been looking on line to see if there are any images like mine and there are none. I have a feeling that my plant is not a scotch bonnet. Goodness knows what it is. I can’t remember the supplier I got the seeds from. It has not deterred me. Next year I will get my seeds from a species supplier. I will let you all know how I get on. In answer to your question, yes maybe I was too good to the plant. However I thought I had followed the rules especially as I it was a hot summer. Never mind. We learn. Thanks everyone for your advice and support.

[keat63]

After about 4 years I eventually gave up on a scotch bonnet.
I never got a pepper any larger than my thumb nail.
I nurtured it, brought it indoors with a south west facing window during the winter, repotted each spring.
It then lived in the greenhouse until the warm weather had truly set in.
The plant survived and grew well, i just never got any decent fruit from it.

[Mitzi]

After about 4 years I eventually gave up on a scotch bonnet.
I never got a pepper any larger than my thumb nail.
I nurtured it, brought it indoors with a south west facing window during the winter, repotted each spring.
It then lived in the greenhouse until the warm weather had truly set in.
The plant survived and grew well, i just never got any decent fruit from it.

It sounds like you just had a dud plant.

This was my harvest of yellow scotch bonnets (and Bahamian Goats which are the peachy orange colour) the week before last:



I've had a few more off since and there are about 4 more pods still on the plant.

[Holly Daze]

I will continue to cultivate the plant but am not hopeful now. Each day the berries are turning black and soft, and still think it is not a scotch bonnet. Will try again next year with seeds from a safe source. Wish I could remember which firm I bought them from. Thanks for your input all.

[Holly Daze]

Now I know!

I have now identified the plant that I thought was a scotch bonnet chilli. I have in fact been nurturing a solanum nigrum! Saw pictures on an American website. Mystery solved. I won’t be eating the berries.

[Jay-ell]

I have now identified the plant that I thought was a scotch bonnet chilli. I have in fact been nurturing a solanum nigrum! Saw pictures on an American website. Mystery solved. I won’t be eating the berries.

aka Garden Huckleberry. Grew them last year - Snadgers growing them this year. I thought that they have a strange taste - slight hint of liquorice.