Kung Pao

travis · June 29, 2006

Is anyone growing Kung Pao?

If so, are you growing it from F1 seed or from saved seed?

If from saved seed, does it grow out same as or similar to the F1 original?

If you have pictures of your Kung Pao plant or pods, please post'm with captions to say whether F1, F2, F3, unknown, etc.

PV

sacratomato70 · June 29, 2006

I have one plant of Kung Pao Hybrid. I bought the seed from Park's a few years back. I have grown them in the past from the same packet, but never saved the seed and regrew them. They are a nice spicy pepper on a good sized plant (they can get to 3-4 ft tall).
I know there has been confusion over whether it is a hybrid or not. Some seed companies list it as a hybrid and some do not. I find the more reputable the company is, the truer the strain. That's just my opinion, but not always the case. At this point I assume it is a hybrid. When it is harvest time, I will save a few seeds and see what happens next year.

**nctomatoman** · June 29, 2006

Hey Papa - I am growing Kung Pao F1 this year for the first time and will post some pics tomorrow. I am also growing Thai Dragon F1....but a few Fogo, White Fire and Big Thai F2s- all very interesting. Watch for pics as they develop a bit further.

travis · June 30, 2006

Thanks for the responses, folks. And I'm lookin' forward to pics.

I'm also tryin' to draw comments from Chris who sent me some Kung Pao seeds. I have one growin' that I started kinda late. It's only about a foot tall and has two long, very slender, dark green pods that look like the catalog pics for Kung Pao. The leaves also look like the F1 pics, so I'm wonderin' whether Chris's seeds are F1 or beyond.

I have two other plants from Chris's seeds that was supposed to be Congo Black. One plant looks exactly like a Congo pepper but the other looks almost like the Kung Pao ... just that it's a little "fuzzy" lookin' especially at it's new growth, then turns into foliage that looks almost identical to the Kung Pao.

I'll post pics next week. I'm stayin' home and doin' yard work today, and the camera is at the office.

Enjoy y'all's weekends and celebrate the Fourth 8)

PV

**nctomatoman** · June 30, 2006

Kung Pao F1:

Plant in a pot -

Flower -

Fruit -

travis · June 30, 2006

Okay, Craig, mine is identical to that except yours is way advanced. My plant is much shorter and I took off the lower branches, so it's just starting to fork out again.

I just looked at it while cuttin' the grass a bit ago, and the pods are identical ... looooong, dark green, skinny, and just slightly twisted like maybe a diver doing a swan with a 3/4 twist.

And that daggone thing that's cuttin' off my peppers got the unknown variety that I think came outta Congo Black and looked almost just like Kung Pao foliage but with the fuzzy white powdery fur in the new foliage. I looked at the top that was cut off real close and it was just startin' to flower and had two tiny, elongated pods.

I hope there's enough stem stock to branch out again so we can see what the heck that thing is.

All your peppers look really healthy and advanced for July 1, Craig. Great job

PV

cmpman1974 · June 30, 2006

Papa VIc, looks like you're getting some interesting results this season with peppers. As to the strain of Kung Pao, someone sent me a few plants through the mail last year and this was one of the varieties. I saved seed from it. I am not sure if the original plant was from seed from a company or saved from his own plants.

Got any pics of that "fuzzy" growth. I am thinking Congo Black crossed with Serrano. I had a serrano right in the vicinity. Crossing seems to be very prevalent with peppers I am learning.

I am interested in seeing how some of my varieties turn out this season from my saved seed. I am growing a few long brown habanero plants that I really liked last season.

Chris

travis · July 1, 2006

Chris,

I'm sorry, but I don't have a picture of the fuzzy mystery plant. Now that something viciously topped it yesterday, you'll have to wait until it sends out new side shoots for photos since the fuzziness is only pronounced in new growth. As the foliage matures, the fuzziness disappears.

The one "different" plant that really shows promise is the unvariegated Fish. I'm sure it's from the Fish seeds because I took them out of the pods you sent me and all three pods were faintly striped red and dark pink. I dried up those seeds first and seperately, and when I planted them in cells, they were the first to germinate and the fastest to grow.

I also know this is an "off" Fish because it resembles nothing else I have and especially nothing else I started from your seeds.

This morning one of the pods has gotten as big as an average Jalapeno, and none of the pods have that characteristic Fish faint curl at the tip. And the plant has kind of an umbrella canopy like a Habanero with all the peppers hanging down like pendants.

Anyway, this belongs over in the Fish tread ... more there later.

And I may post a Black Prince thread since those are now progressing with little elongated pods. The foliage is almost identical to Black Pearl, the stems are super erect to, but the pods are different.

Thanks for all your interesting seeds.

PV

bully · July 11, 2006

I'm growing it too, I'll have to check my records as to the origin, I believe I got it from Geza, in Hungary but there is a slight chance I bought it from TGS

username5 · July 13, 2006

No pics, but i grew Kung Pao last year. The seed source was Parks and I got them in 2003, I think, and grew them out in 2005.

Anyway, I didn't save seed and didn't grow them this year.

The reason is I found them very non distinctive. They were basically a red chile pepper. They weren't particularly hot although they are hot peppers. Their flavor wasn't particularly remarkable, but not at all bad.

In the end I took 2 plant's worth and dried them then ground them into pepper flakes. I now use them in place of the red pepper flakes one finds on the table of Italian restaurants. A tad bit more heat, but about the same taste.

Oh, and if you like the Kung Pao dishes you may be disappointed to learn (as I was) that Chinese restaurants aren't getting actual kung pao peppers for those dishes. As best I can tell the actual pepper varies depending on who the restaurant uses for a supplier.

June 29, 2006	#1
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	Kung Pao Is anyone growing Kung Pao? If so, are you growing it from F1 seed or from saved seed? If from saved seed, does it grow out same as or similar to the F1 original? If you have pictures of your Kung Pao plant or pods, please post'm with captions to say whether F1, F2, F3, unknown, etc. PV

June 29, 2006	#2
sacratomato70 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: West Sacramento, CA Posts: 19	Kung Pao I have one plant of Kung Pao Hybrid. I bought the seed from Park's a few years back. I have grown them in the past from the same packet, but never saved the seed and regrew them. They are a nice spicy pepper on a good sized plant (they can get to 3-4 ft tall). I know there has been confusion over whether it is a hybrid or not. Some seed companies list it as a hybrid and some do not. I find the more reputable the company is, the truer the strain. That's just my opinion, but not always the case. At this point I assume it is a hybrid. When it is harvest time, I will save a few seeds and see what happens next year.

June 29, 2006	#3
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Hey Papa - I am growing Kung Pao F1 this year for the first time and will post some pics tomorrow. I am also growing Thai Dragon F1....but a few Fogo, White Fire and Big Thai F2s- all very interesting. Watch for pics as they develop a bit further. __________________ Craig

June 30, 2006	#5
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Kung Pao F1: Plant in a pot - Flower - Fruit - __________________ Craig

June 30, 2006	#7
cmpman1974 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Michigan - Zone 6B Posts: 136	Kung Pao Papa VIc, looks like you're getting some interesting results this season with peppers. As to the strain of Kung Pao, someone sent me a few plants through the mail last year and this was one of the varieties. I saved seed from it. I am not sure if the original plant was from seed from a company or saved from his own plants. Got any pics of that "fuzzy" growth. I am thinking Congo Black crossed with Serrano. I had a serrano right in the vicinity. Crossing seems to be very prevalent with peppers I am learning. I am interested in seeing how some of my varieties turn out this season from my saved seed. I am growing a few long brown habanero plants that I really liked last season. Chris

July 1, 2006	#8
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	Chris, I'm sorry, but I don't have a picture of the fuzzy mystery plant. Now that something viciously topped it yesterday, you'll have to wait until it sends out new side shoots for photos since the fuzziness is only pronounced in new growth. As the foliage matures, the fuzziness disappears. The one "different" plant that really shows promise is the unvariegated Fish. I'm sure it's from the Fish seeds because I took them out of the pods you sent me and all three pods were faintly striped red and dark pink. I dried up those seeds first and seperately, and when I planted them in cells, they were the first to germinate and the fastest to grow. I also know this is an "off" Fish because it resembles nothing else I have and especially nothing else I started from your seeds. This morning one of the pods has gotten as big as an average Jalapeno, and none of the pods have that characteristic Fish faint curl at the tip. And the plant has kind of an umbrella canopy like a Habanero with all the peppers hanging down like pendants. Anyway, this belongs over in the Fish tread ... more there later. And I may post a Black Prince thread since those are now progressing with little elongated pods. The foliage is almost identical to Black Pearl, the stems are super erect to, but the pods are different. Thanks for all your interesting seeds. PV

July 11, 2006	#9
bully Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: S.E. MI Posts: 794	I'm growing it too, I'll have to check my records as to the origin, I believe I got it from Geza, in Hungary but there is a slight chance I bought it from TGS

July 13, 2006	#10
username5 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Zone 5 Wisconsin Posts: 117	No pics, but i grew Kung Pao last year. The seed source was Parks and I got them in 2003, I think, and grew them out in 2005. Anyway, I didn't save seed and didn't grow them this year. The reason is I found them very non distinctive. They were basically a red chile pepper. They weren't particularly hot although they are hot peppers. Their flavor wasn't particularly remarkable, but not at all bad. In the end I took 2 plant's worth and dried them then ground them into pepper flakes. I now use them in place of the red pepper flakes one finds on the table of Italian restaurants. A tad bit more heat, but about the same taste. Oh, and if you like the Kung Pao dishes you may be disappointed to learn (as I was) that Chinese restaurants aren't getting actual kung pao peppers for those dishes. As best I can tell the actual pepper varies depending on who the restaurant uses for a supplier.