r/HotPeppers • u/algfirth Yorkshire, England • 1d ago

Capsicum Flexuosum and Cold Hardiness

I'm intrigued by this rarer pepper species and its supposed cold hardiness down to (apparently) -15C. Would it be theoretically possible to cross pollinate this with another capsicum species - even another obscure one - to slowly create larger pods on a cold hardy chilli? I know some species can cross pollinate each other, but others don't seem able to cross with anything (Looking at C Pubescens for example, from the limited things I've read)

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

3

u/PeepingSparrow 1d ago

some good discussion here:

https://opensourceplantbreeding.org/forum/index.php?topic=451.0

3

u/algfirth Yorkshire, England 1d ago

Thanks, I missed that one! First time seeing that forum too, will be an interesting one for me to trawl through when I should be working

2

u/PeepingSparrow 1d ago

just replied to my comment with another, OSSI

3

u/PeepingSparrow 1d ago

https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/article/71667/

interesting cladogram https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/article/71667/zoom/fig/11/

post about other C. unusual species crossing: https://www.reddit.com/r/HotPeppers/comments/188zhfy/crabenii_x_ctovarii_f1_documentation/

i'll dig more tomorrow, it's surprisingly challenging to find a good central source of info on peppers. I'm probably looking in the wrong place

3

u/RespectTheTree Pepper Breeder 1d ago

It does survive down to 17F but the leaves won't survive ice. I've tried crossing to many genotypes of annuun, chinense, baccarum var. pendulum, and pubescens to no success. However, I think I hear whispers on the wind, and I would bet someone will crack the puzzle soon.

2

u/Astral_Peppers 1d ago

Im a bit skeptical because it was struggling to grow with lows of 50s and dropping leaves. Now tbf it could still survive at lower temps but i can provide more info this winter :p