Nice looking plant!

Stoney

Thank you. Still growing slowly and now has a friend on the way too.

You are gonna love that plant in a few months.
Bruce

Wow 0_0!

OMG. If mine looks like that, I will be ecstatic! I would really be happy if those I gave as gifts look anything like that for their owners.

Awesome picture Bruce. Thank you.

I would keep pinching of flowers/pods till the plant is a little bigger. You will have a slow growing plant with few peppers if you let him go that early. Just a suggestion. Good luck can't wait to see how it turns out

What Bruce has, looks great.
I have one too. It boomed and fruited a few while inside. Now it is adjusting to outdoor living. I also have and overwintered ornamental Sangria. This one already fruiting ; starts as purple then yellow and finally red. But the pods are sweet.

Seysonn: Yep, they take a little while to get going, but they set a lot of fruit and put out a lot of foliage once the conditions are adequate. And once they get older, you start getting a lot more of the different color phases of the peppers. Here is the one I am growing this season. It is a little hard to see it clearly with the Russian Sage in the back ground, but you can see some nice purple pods with some of the lower yellow phased ones below that were the first pods to set.
Bruce

It's looking great, Bruce!

Josh

Don't mean to hijack the thread...but...I have a pertinent question. This is my first time growing one of these.

How many of you eat the Numex Twilight chili's?

I have one that is at about the same stage as Bruce's. Some purples on top and some yellowish ones coming in.

What happens if you do not pick the peppers? Do they eventually rot off or will they stay fresh on the plant for several months?

They will eventually shrivel and dry, or rot.
It's best to snip them off once they've ripened fully.
I've eaten a few of them, but they have a typical ornamental flavor with a stinging burn, and lots of seeds. I'd rather eat Thai chiles.

Josh

brian6464: Josh is right, probably best to snip them, but I don't very much. They all go through the 4-5 color phases until they are fully ripe (RED). They will stay red and relatively fresh for quite a while actually. I will occasionally snip red ones if I want some for seasoning a food or if I want to harvest seed. But generally, I don't pick them since it is an ornamental and I want the red color phase present. Besides, I am kind of lazy that way. If you do snip some or all of the red ones, it does seem to spur the plant to bloom and set more pods though even though the plant is a great producer regardless.
Like Josh says, they have a sting but little real taste. If you really want peppers for eating, there are better options. If you just want to add zing to something, they will do just fine.

"Will they stay red and ripe on the plant for several months?" No, probably not, more like weeks, but longer than most peppers when they hit the full ripe stage.
Bruce

This post was edited by esox07 on Wed, Jun 18, 14 at 19:04

How many of you eat the Numex Twilight chili's?
%%%

They sure do have that sting.
I use them in cooking, add one or two to cooking oil with garlic, onions, then saute' cook whatever (beans, asparagus, ...). For fresh eating I like jalapeno, serrano and now I am growing Hungarian HW. I am not a super hot muncher . I use a lot of hot sauce tho.

Here is one I got from Bruce. I didn't think those salvia-looking plants would grow so fast. The Twilight is looking awesome, but I might have to cut down those flowers.

This is the plant I had in there before Bruce gave me his

This post was edited by loweride on Wed, Jun 18, 14 at 20:45

As usual, all great looking plants. I will pinch the buds later then. I would like a little bushy plant like those pictured. Thank you.

I just stumbled across the existence of this plant today, and found this thread. That looks amazing @esox07. I want one of these, that looks like that. I was under the impression that the peppers are also good for eating, so I was a little disappointed when I read this thread and see that you guys are saying they're really only good for some heat, not so much for flavor. Even so, I still think I want one.

I live in the Run of the Mill state (New Hampshire), so I think my chances of finding a plant to buy are slim to none. So if I'm going to buy seeds, it makes no difference where I get them from, right? Any advice on getting one to grow like Bruce's?

whatever6441: I will send you some seeds if you like, just PM me your address. I would be really surprised if you found a Twilight to buy in a garden center or nursery. They typically only grow the more common or popular varieties. If you buy seeds, you do need to be really careful where you buy them. Ebay and Amazon are a no-go. There are several reputable online seed companies but they can be hit and miss as well.

Since you are in New Hampshire, your climate should be similar to that of Wisconsin. If so, start it like any other pepper plant in late winter indoors. I start mine around the middle of February and grow them under lights until I can get them outside. You are too late to get one going for this growing season unless you wanted to start one now and over winter it indoors. I did that with one a couple years ago and they do well being over wintered. Then it would be ready to go for you to put outside next spring.
So PM me your address if you want seeds. But if you want to buy them, probably the best place would be from the New Mexico State University Chili Pepper Institute. I think it is a variety that they created.
Bruce

Here is a link that might be useful: Numex Twilight Seeds, Chili Pepper Institute

I will send you some seeds if you like, just PM me your address.

That's awesome, thank you. I would be really surprised if you found a Twilight to buy in a garden center or nursery. They typically only grow the more common or popular varieties.

Yeah, so it sounds like you're saying I'd be hard pressed to find one in a nursery anywhere, let alone NH. If you buy seeds, you do need to be really careful where you buy them. Ebay and Amazon are a no-go. There are several reputable online seed companies but they can be hit and miss as well.

Oh really? What happens -- you get seeds for something else, or duds? But if you want to buy them, probably the best place would be from the New Mexico State University Chili Pepper Institute. I think it is a variety that they created.

That's my understanding from what I was reading yesterday, and they do have a website offering seeds for sale, such as 20-30 NuMex Twilight for $6.00 shipped. Looks like they have about 3 dozen of their own varieties. Since you are in New Hampshire, your climate should be similar to that of Wisconsin. If so, start it like any other pepper plant in late winter indoors. I start mine around the middle of February and grow them under lights until I can get them outside. You are too late to get one going for this growing season unless you wanted to start one now and over winter it indoors. I did that with one a couple years ago and they do well being over wintered. Then it would be ready to go for you to put outside next spring.

For the foreseeable future I will have to over winter it indoors anyway and keep it potted (my understanding being that that works with this plant), so if that means I could start growing it now that's great. I don't have much growing experience.

whatever6441: I will get some seeds out by this weekend. I got your message with address.

Yes, the plants themselves are tough to find in nurseries or garden centers any where, let alone up north. Seeds for them are the same.

If you buy seeds on Ebay, you have probably a 50/50 chance of getting the variety you really paid for. Sellers set up an account, advertise really hard to find seeds and send very common seeds like Jalpeno or bell pepper seeds. By the time the buyers realize they were ripped off, the seller has already sold a thousand $5 packs of bogus seeds and moved on. There are a few legit sellers on ebay, but the many crooks make it tough to find them.
Keep me up to date on the progress of your attempts to grow the seeds I send.
One kind of an "ornamental" that is generally considered desirable for eating is the Fish Pepper. They have variegated leaves and peppers. I am growing them this year but don't have any extra seeds until I harvest some peppers later this summer. Most other ornamentals that I know of are generally not considered prime table fare although they can be eaten and commonly are.
Bruce

Ok, here you go again Bruce. It has been a while again, but my babies are starting to put out some beautiful looks. Still only purple but very cool.

obchilli: They are on their way and looking good. My Twilight is doing good this year as well. I haven't taken a photo of it since earlier this month. I will try to remember to post an updated photo tomorrow. The Twilight is one of my favorite peppers to grow. By the time September rolls around, those fellas are going to look almost fake they will have soo much color.
Bruce

I bought my wife an ornamental (purple and red pods) and it's loaded.
I have noticed shriveling. I think I will snip pods.
Only pepper plant in front yard planter box..lol!

Stoney

If the pods are shriveling, that likely means they are fully ripe and it would be good to snip them.
Bruce

obchili: here is a photo update on my Twilight from this year.
Bruce

Awesome. I can hardly wait for more colors to arrive. Looks very nice.

Yep, you will always have a lot of the purple pods as they are the first color phase which lasts longest. But these plants keep putting out peppers continuous. After a while, you will get more of the color phases mixed in until you get a fully mature plant with all the colors well represented. I would think that someone in S. Cal or Florida would be able to really get a great looking plant with all the extra growing season they have.

Oh, these plants overwinter really well as they are quite small after you prune them way back. However, they don't seem to grow back quite as nicely the following season as a new one does even though they have a big head start.
Bruce