Orange peppers on a ghost pepper plant?

[fonseca]

I grew three ghost pepper plants from seed this year, from the same pack sourced from Baker Creek. Two of the three are putting out lots of deadly pods that ripen to dark red. But the third plant has pods that will not ripen beyond orange.

Did I get a color variant? They have been at the orange stage for 6 weeks now! I think I can assume that they are not going to turn red. In the last few weeks this plant has started to show signs of nutrient deficiency, as all leaves are light green/slightly yellowed. New leaves start healthy but lighten as well. Is that because the peppers have been fully-ripe for so long without being harvested? My guess is stress, but I'm at a loss here. I believe the peppers are fully-ripe, because I ate one and it melted my face.

Unfortunately many of the peppers have sunscald because they have been on the plant so long.

[KC.Sun]

They don't look like bhut jolokia to me because the pointed end is more blunt, but there is an Orange bhut jolokia.

And yes, they are ripe.

The seeds you have was probably crossed. I planted "Trinidad moruga scorpions seeds" this year and they were crossed. Not true to type.

[fonseca]

Thanks for the reply. I think you may be correct about an accidental cross. I guess I will source these seeds from somewhere else next year. I have purchased a lot of seeds from Baker Creek over the years and this is the first time they were not true. Here's a potato cam photo from today. Lots of sunscald and they lost their orange color, but I must have 60 red ones already, so plenty for sauce and chili powder.

[Worth1]

I wouldn't stop getting them from Baker Creek everyone has a crossed or stray seed every now and then.

The peppers look wonderful.

Worth

[KC.Sun]

I agree with Worth.

Bakers Creek is a good seed source. Peppers cross really easily. So if you are comfortable ordering from them, keep doing so.

I recently found a site called refining fire chilies, based in California.

They seem to be really good with their seeds and ensuring they don't cross. Their service is really good and has a much larger range of chilies than Bakers Creek if you want to be adventurous.

[fonseca]

I order from Baker Creek and Southern Exposure at least once a year, sometimes far more often than I should. This won't turn me off Baker Creek, but I do like to grow true seed for new-to-me varieties before experimenting with my own crosses, so I can get a feel for the plant's characteristics. I often order seed instead of using what I saved just to avoid accidental crosses. With so much time invested in my garden, it's worth a few dollars for peace of mind. I usually grow a few of each variety from both saved seed and purchased seed to compare. I have definitely had accidental crosses of both pepper and tomato plants over the years, some of which were a waste of time and space. I need to invest in muslin bags.

I will check them out KC. Although I already went overboard on pepper seeds due to sales. Next year I'll be growing Brazilian Starfish, Sweet Datyl, Aji Dulce #1 , and Aji Amarillo all for the first time.

Some of my pepper plants in 5 G buckets below courtesy of Mr Blurrycam. You can see how yellow the foliage is on the Ghost on the left, peppers exposed to the sun. It looks stressed to me, or maybe entering senescence because I didn't pick. The plant on the far right is also a Ghost pepper. Next year I'm going to try topping some of my plants and do a side by side comparison.

[fonseca]

So my third "Bhut Jolokia" plant is also ripening to orange.

Baker Creek sells a peach habanero, maybe that is the parent.

[roper2008]

They will send you seeds from a different lot, if you let them know your ghost
peppers were orange. It's good to let them know.

[fonseca]

I'm pretty sure the one plant is pure Bhut. The orange peppers are much better flavor actually, super fruity and perfumed. The heat of both is far too much for me to enjoy raw. Everything is going in the dehydrator today to use as powders.

[Tropicalgrower]

Whatever they are,they are beautiful fonseca.I wouldn't hesitate to contact Baker about the seed problem.I am sure that some seed companies purchase seeds for some of their offerings from other growers.If that is the case,then Baker would appreciate hearing about it so they can notify their supplier.If it was Baker produced,then they will certainly make an adjustment.Either way,they will make it right with you I am sure.