Did you buy Trifetti every year, asarum? Have you ever saved seed and grown your own plants?

How hot are Trifetti's peppers? Do you eat them or just grow the plant for its good looks? We don't have a vegetable garden this year, but my husband is talking about preparing a spot this Fall and growing veggies next year. A few hot peppers might be fun.

Leslie: I just grow them for looks, but the peppers are hot. I am not enough of a hot pepper fan to be able to rate them. I have never saved pepper seeds, but I might try it someday. It would be nice to select seed from the most variagated plants. I do save some seeds now, but just from flowers, not from any veggies.

I put the 'Black Pearl' fruits on my windowsill, hoping they'd turn red and I'd be able to harvest some seeds. They just seem to be shriveling up instead of ripening, but if I do manage to get any seeds, I will try growing pepper plants next year. (I could also buy a packet of 'Black Pearl' seeds from Park's if all else fails.) I'd have to try a pepper, just to taste how hot it is, but a taste may be all I can stand. The plant itself, and its fruits, are so black that I'd be happy with it purely as an ornamental.

FWIW a black pearl is about 30,000 scoville units.

As a comparison, Franks RedHot Sauce is about 450 scoville units, a jalapeno pepper is 2,500-5,000 scoville units, and a scotch bonnet pepper is over 100,000 scoville units.

I grew Trifetti this year. I am a fan of hot peppers, and they have quite a kick, especially once they've dried. I also used them in a stew, and two were plenty to give the stew a nice bite to it. They are rated at 5,000 (when purple) to 30,000 (when red) scoville units.

I also have started several from seed this winter , and they seem to come true from seed, need no stratification, and about 75% of the seed came up.

Okay! Myksyl has inspired me to try to save seed. And, I am adding black pearl to my list for this year.