Brown Berbere in 5 gal?

12 years ago

Is this plant too large for a 5 gallon pot?

I had one 5 gal pot left so I stopped by a local nursery with a good pepper selection. I had a choice between Ethiopian Brown Berbere, or Jwala Pepper (Indian Finger Hot). I chose the Ethiopian simply because the plants looked healthier and I was indifferent. Now I am kicking myself because the Jwala grows to 24"-36" while the Brown Berbere grows over 4 feet.

Would I be better off scrapping the Berbere and putting a Jwala in? My concern is that the EBB will overgrow the container and get root bound in a hurry, and from the looks of it a Jwala wont have that issue.

Thanks

-Phil

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Comments (6)

romy6
12 years ago
I don't think so. A 5 gallon pot should sustain it for at least a year. Then you can repot or pot up. Last year I had a red savina in a 3 gallon pot and it was 4 feet tall and I got 100's of peppers. I potted her up to a 5 gallon this year and she is loving it. I have one hab almost the size of a pool ball. Double the avg size from last year. Here is a pic.
Phildeez
Original Author
12 years ago
Wow, that really does look like a huge hab. Glad to hear it should be ok, I was worried I bought a monster, especially because the starter was more the size of the belle peppers than the other hots. It was probably just grown out longer.

Sites say Brown Berbere peppers are 1000-5000 scoville, but they are described as very hot. I assume they are hotter than that, I hope.
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User
12 years ago
If it grows true (was labeled right), it will do fine in a five gallon pot. I grew it a few years ago from seed I received from fiedlermeister. I grew it in a 3 gallon pot, all I had left at the time. It got to over 2 feet and produced well for its size. I'm growing it again this year in a 5 gallon pot.

As for heat, 1,000 - 5,000 scoville is way too low. I'd say it easily hist 50,000+.

Here's a shot of my plant E Berbere in desperate need of feeding.
romy6
12 years ago
Hey Ottawa . Didn't you say in another post that you intentionally stress your peppers out when they are ripening to get added heat? They sure look yummy.
Phildeez
Original Author
12 years ago
Romy, my dad says the same thing. Also, hotter weather is supposed to add heat. Something about stress causing the plants to store sugar, if I recall correctly? It has been a while.
User
12 years ago
romy6, Phildeez,

When I stress pepper plants it involves holding back water... letting them wilt for a bit before I give them some water.

The nutrient stressed Berbere in the pic was just another problem (not planned) in a season fought with problems a few years ago. The Berbere was only one of 15 out of 200+ starts that survived after a Thrips attack. Then things got worse LOL. Sometimes ya just gotta roll with what nature dishes. At least I got a decent harvest of Berbere. I dried and powdered it for use in some Ethiopian recipes - yum.

Bill