Conservatory Grown Chillies- An Update

I’m long overdue an update on the blog so I think it’s fitting I start off with my 3 year old red scotch bonnet plant. I’ve overwintered this plant since I planted it back in 2010. The last couple of years i’ve kept it well trimmed with the idea of turning it onto a bonchi (chilli bonsai) plant.

This year it’s been living in our south facing conservatory which gets plenty of sun. It’s really responded well to this years weather and is currently sitting with about 15 large pods on it in various states of ripeness. As a rewards for it’s longevity it now takes pride of place on the kitchen table…

Also in the conservatory are some other plants scattered around. In the picture below from left to right are a demon red (which is covered in tiny green fruit), a Naga Jolokia that is slowly getting going and starting to flower. The third plant on the window sill is an Orange Scotch Bonnet which is stunted and is about to discover the compost heap! Finally on the crate is a super chilli (on the crate) that has a nice spread of pods on it waiting to ripen.

At the other end of the conservatory is the Aji Lemon or Lemon Drop chilli as they are sometimes known. This is the first year i’ve grow Lemon Drops before and having tasted it I really don’t know why it’s taken me so long to try this variety. They pack a reasonable punch but produce an amazingly citrus flavour. Without a shadow of a doubt this will be the first variety on my grow list for next year. As you can see the plant is quite stragley, needing a fair bit of support. However they are very productive. The plant below currently has about 50 pods on it and it’s still producing flowers.

Elsewhere the Orange Rocoto has a few small pods and is producing some beautiful flowers.