What is the difference between decorative pepper and other representatives, growing in room conditions, reproduction, pests and diseases, facts to note, types of capsicum. Capsicum is also referred to as Ornamental Pepper, Capsicum or Vegetable Pepper, which belongs to the genus of plants belonging to the Capsiceae tribe of the Solanaceae family. This plant should not be confused with the Pepper (Piper), which is included in the Pepper family (Piperaceae). The native places of growth of this representative of the flora most likely fall on the regions of Mexico and Guatemala, as well as the lands of South and Central America, where the subtropical climate prevails. The plant was first domesticated by the Maya and Aztecs. The fruits were actively used in cooking, replacing salt, since at that time it was not known in this region. But the sweet "brothers" came to taste just like a vegetable crop. A large number of varieties have been bred to date.
Capsicum bears its name in Latin thanks to the word "capsa ae f." - a bag resembling a fruit. It is sometimes found under the name "annual paprika" or "Mexican pepper".
Ornamental peppers can be grown as an annual or as a perennial. Usually the form of growth they have is shrubby and those that are grown indoors rarely reach a height of half a meter. Especially appreciated are those varieties whose branches vary from 20 cm to 30 cm. Their shoots are distinguished by abundant branching and a large number of leaves. The pubescence on the stems may be present or they grow naked. The leaf plates are whole-edged, the color is saturated, green. The surface is glossy.
When flowering, buds originate from a leaf fork. They can appear both singly and in pairs. The color of the petals is in the colors of snow-white and purple tones.
Capsicum pleases the eye of its owner, first of all, the bright color of the fruit. This includes shades of red, burgundy, yellow and purple colors, but there are also green or almost black colors. Their shape varies and can be elongated, pear-shaped or curved, in the form of a cylinder or almost regular cone, rounded. The apex is pointed or has a blunt nose. The fruits also vary in length from short to elongated. The peppers can be hanging or pointing upward.
Up to fifty brightly colored peppercorns can ripen on one plant. Although the fruits are edible, they have a pungent taste. It is usually used as a spice.
Tips for growing ornamental peppers, home care
- Lighting and selection of a place for a pot. The plant is found in nature in woodlands and bright, but diffused light will be comfortable for it. Direct sunlight threatens to burn foliage. In this case, the pot with the capsicum is placed on the window of the east or west location. With the arrival of the autumn-winter period, supplemental lighting is recommended, otherwise the shoots will begin to stretch strongly. In the summer, you can move the bush with ornamental peppers to the garden or terrace, but the place must be protected from direct UV rays.
- Growing temperature the capsicum should be within a moderate, that is, a year-round heat range of approximately 20-25 degrees. At the same time, frequent airing of the room where the pot with decorative pepper is installed is recommended. It is important to remember that the plant is afraid of the action of a draft. If winter comes and the illumination is not organized with the help of fluorescent lamps or special phytols, then the temperature is reduced to 15 units. The minimum limit that will not damage the capsicum is 12 degrees.
- Air humidity when keeping a plant, an increased one is required, recall that this plant comes from tropical territories. Spraying the deciduous mass is recommended daily. And also flower growers increase humidity by installing the pot in a pallet with expanded clay or pebbles poured into it and water poured into it. You just need a little liquid, and it does not reach the bottom of the pot.
- Watering. In the spring and summer, the capsicum will need to be watered abundantly so that excess fluid flows out of the drainage holes. The signal for watering is the drying of the topsoil in the pot. With the arrival of autumn, soil moisture is reduced and brought to moderate in winter. But in any case, drying the earthy coma will lead to the fact that the buds and flowers will fly around, and the peppercorns will wrinkle. Water is used only soft and with a temperature of 20-24 degrees.
- Fertilizers for capsicum. Since the activation of vegetative processes in ornamental peppers occurs in the period from the beginning of spring to September, then at this time, top dressing is applied. It is better to use complex mineral preparations. If in winter it is possible to carry out lighting, then fertilizing is also needed every 20 days. But if the pepper is kept without artificial lighting, then you should not fertilize it.
- Pruning for ornamental peppers, it must be performed periodically, and at least half the length of the shoot is removed. In order for the level of fruiting to become higher, then with the appearance of new ovaries, it is recommended to pinch the branches.
- Capsicum transplant and soil selection. Since transplanting for ornamental peppers is a lot of stress, the pot is changed to it by transshipment. In this case, the root system of a plant with an earthen lump is removed from the old container (if the old substrate has fallen off by itself, it’s not scary) and in this state is placed in a new prepared flowerpot, in which a drainage layer is laid at the bottom and a little fresh soil is poured. Then new soil is poured along the edges and moistening is carried out. Broken shards of medium size, broken and sifted bricks, expanded clay or pebbles are suitable as a drainage material. The substrate for capsicum is mixed from leaf and sod soil, peat and coarse-grain sand are also added there (in a ratio of 1: 1: 1: 0, 25).
Recommendations for breeding decorative peppers with their own hands
Propagate decorative peppers by sowing seeds or cuttings.
Seed material is recommended to be sown in February days or at the very beginning of March. Seeds should not be deeply buried in the soil. Pots with crops are covered with a plastic transparent bag or a piece of glass is placed on top - this will create greenhouse conditions with high humidity. A transplant, like all nightshade peppers, is difficult to tolerate, so the seeds are planted in containers for planting from peat-humus material (often a peat tablet is used), in order to then transfer the seedlings to larger pots without transplanting.
For planting seeds, a mixture of leafy and humus soil with river sand (2: 2: 1) is used, but any other nutrient substrate can be used. A common problem in capsicum seedlings is the "black leg" (fungal disease), therefore it is recommended to disinfect the seeds and soil before sowing, as well as take other preventive measures.
Crops are placed in a bright and warm place, but without direct sunlight. The temperature is maintained at about 25 degrees. With proper care (airing and moisturizing), you can see the first shoots after three weeks, but do not worry if this period stretches to a month.
When young capsicum seedlings start to grow, it is recommended to pinch the tops to stimulate branching. If this procedure is not performed, then the stems of the plant begin to stretch up strongly, especially if there is not enough lighting level in the spring. Humidity should be kept moderate in pots or tablets, as too much moisture can lead to the onset of root rot.
If young capsicums begin to activate in growth, then they should be moved to larger pots, and not wait until root processes appear from the edge of the tablets. And unlike other representatives of the nightshade, this may not happen in ornamental peppers, and the seedlings will begin to lag behind in growth and development.
If the decorative pepper is propagated by cuttings, then shoots about 10 cm long are cut and the planting is carried out in the substrate specified for seed propagation, since later transplantation can be omitted. Cuttings will require support of heat indicators of about 20-25 degrees. After the cuttings are rooted, they are pinched to increase bushiness.
Pest and disease control of ornamental peppers
If the conditions of detention are violated, for example, the humidity in the room drops, and the temperature is elevated and no ventilation is carried out, then aphids or spider mites may be damaged. If the humidity is high, then this threatens the appearance of a mealybug. It is recommended to carry out the treatment with insecticidal preparations, for example, Aktara, Aktellik or Fitoverm.
Also, the following symptoms are associated with problems associated with improper care:
- wrinkling of pepper fruits occurs due to dry air and insufficient soil moisture;
- falling flowers are also characterized by the above-described violations;
- when the lighting is insufficient, then in winter the foliage begins to fall off;
- with a decrease in humidity, the leaf plates fade and become soft to the touch;
- slowing growth in capsicum and shredding of foliage provokes a lack of nutrients in the soil and insufficient lighting.
Facts to note about capsicum
Many of the varieties of ornamental peppers (namely, Chilli or Cayenne pepper) are first mentioned in the Aztec codes (Telleriano-Remensis Codex) and there the plant is called "chile". And according to these sources, Kausolotl (Sholotl) or Chantiko was considered the god of this representative of the flora.
When the conquistadors seized the American territories, then either hot peppers were discovered at first, and only later sweet species. There is evidence that even in some battles, the Indians, standing on the windward side, carried trays of clay. On these trays were smoldering coals, which were sprinkled with a strange powder (it is clear that it was hot pepper). When the smoke reached the Spanish conquerors, they began to tear up and they were deprived of the opportunity to defend themselves in this state. Thus, the victory often went to the Indians.
Interestingly, the Cayenne pepper variety (Capsicum cayenne) tends to act on human thermoreceptors without dilating the blood vessels. Therefore, this type is widely used for medical purposes in the treatment of pain syndrome. This can be pain in the lumbar spine, and at the same time, an ointment with capsaicin extract, which is abundant in this plant, is prescribed.
Types of decorative peppers
- Capsicum (Capsicum annuum) is a herbaceous plant and is an agricultural vegetable crop. According to the taste of its fruits, all varieties can be divided into sweet and bitter ones. Of the bitter ones, we are well aware of the type of red pepper, the pungent taste of which is provided by the alkaloid capsaicin. This is a perennial, the shoots of which are distinguished by excellent branching and can reach up to 1.5 m in height. The shape of the leaf plates is conical, 25 cm long. They are located on the shoot singly or collected in sockets. During flowering, buds of large sizes are formed, which can also be single or form bundle inflorescences. The color of the flowers is snow-white, but occasionally there are purple stripes on the surface of the corolla. When the fruiting process begins, peppers appear of various shapes, it changes from narrowly elongated to rounded and with some flattening. The color can also be red, yellow and green.
- Cayenne pepper (Capsicum cayenne) often referred to as Cayenne piperis, as well as Cayenne Capsicum, Hot Peppers or Chili Peppers. If the plant is cultivated, and even more so in wild growth, then its shoot height can reach 1.5 m. When the shoots are still young, then the nodes have a purple color, sometimes there is pubescence, but most often they are bare. The bark is rough and light brown in color. Leaf plates grow up to 15–20 cm in length, they are located on the shoots in the next sequence. Their shape is elliptical, the surface is smooth. Flowers are formed in a snow-white color or white-purple, the process of flowering and ripening of fruits takes place almost all year round. When peppercorns appear, their shape can vary from spherical to proboscis outlines. The pericarp is not juicy. Capsaicin provides the pungent flavor to the fruit. When the fruits are fully ripe, their color becomes white, yellow, red, purple, often reaching black. When the peppercorns are not yet ripe, they are usually purple or green.
- Tabasco Pepper (Trade House Seeds) also often referred to as Tabasko Hot Chile Pepper or Capsicum frutescens, Cayenne Pepper or Bush Pepper. This species grows on the territory of tropical America and the peoples who have inhabited these lands have known it for a very long time, as evidence is found in the burials of Peruvian settlements. The cultivation of Tabasco was carried out long before the foot of a European set foot on the land of America. At the moment, it is cultivated in many countries, but most of the plantings can be observed in India, Thailand and the Mexican territories. But wherever this kind of ornamental pepper is grown, it is distinguished by a thirst for "shoots" and then calmly grows in the wild. Perennial, bush-shaped, with elliptical leaf plates with a shiny surface. The leaf has a narrowing at both ends, its color is dark green, pronounced veins are clearly visible on the leaf. This plant blooms in single buds, the petals of which, when opened, are cast in a whitish-green color scheme. The fruit is a pod, which varies in length within 2–5 cm. The shape of the pods is narrow, vertical, white, yellowish, plants with red or purple fruits are found. The taste is quite pungent.
- Chinese Pepper (Capsicum chinense), which is also called Habanero Pepper. The fruits of this variety are distinguished by the most pungent taste among all representatives of peppers with ripening fruits in the form of pods. Scoville pungency reaches 100-350 thousand units. The plant got its specific name due to the fact that Nikolaus Jacquin (1727-1817) a botanist from Germany believed that this pepper began its distribution from the Chinese lands, but this is a mistake, since its native habitat is in South America. Perennial plant with shoots reaching no more than half a meter in height. The foliage has an ovoid shape, the surface is wrinkled, the color is light green. The flowers appear whitish-green in color and small in size. They can grow both singly and gather in inflorescences in the form of bunches. The fruits have a red tint. The shape of the fruit is very diverse, the color is red.
How to dive decorative pepper seedlings at home:
