Most of the cross pollination is by insects but can also be by wind. The general distance given is 500 ft. This is not practical for most of us so people make bags from tulle, use glue, or just don't bother and hope for the best. I have too many plants to fool with trying to isolate so mostly don't and still have pretty good luck with things comming true ( I think being in Maine helps--a friend in florida has more problems with crossing). As a member of Seed Savers Exchange I offer seeds and only offer isolated seeds. To get those I bring plants inside in fall, strip them of all pods and blossoms and wait for them to produce pods inside. Long winded answer.

john

Never bagged ever and this is year six with a big garden. All of my peppers are on a windy balcony with plenty of pollinating insects making their way through. I've only had one potential cross and it's a purple jalapeno I'm growing this year. The only noticeable affect is the pod size, they are huge (could be weather conditions though). Flavor and heat seem unchanged. Next year I'm going to try to cross a couple on purpose and see how that works.

My understanding is they generally go back to their true form after a generation.

Any thoughts on that? I know someone here was having luck with a "jalanero" (jal/hab). Sounds tasty to me. =)

-HabBob

Now that you mention it, John, I did read about the glue method here recently. It was the first time I had heard of it. The glue method sounds simple and effective. I will try it next year.

HabBob, with peppers or tomatoes, where I will grow only a small number of each variety, I want to be certain of seed purity so I don't waste my efforts on an unknown cross and perhaps end up with few or none of the one I wanted. Also, it's best when trading or gifting to offer pure seed. Something like beans, where you plant a lot of seeds, is less critical.

On the other hand, accidental crosses can be fun. I had a mystery tomato hybrid this summer which was vigorous, large and good tasting. I plan to grow it for another generation or two to see if I can get a good stabilized variety out of it, just for fun.

"My understanding is they generally go back to their true form after a generation."

In the F2 (second generation), traits from the parents will combine in all sorts of combinations, some of which may resemble one of the parents. At that stage, you can select seeds from plants showing traits you want to see in the F3, and repeat the process until you have a variety which breeds true and has the traits you want.

Good luck with your intentional cross. You may get hooked on pepper breeding. :-)

Jim

Do the blossoms of plants in a greenhouse need to be bagged if multiple veriaties are in the same greenhouse.

Unless there a lot of insects in there I would say,no.

john

Thank You

Grow out as many F2's as you can (and following generations) and see if you get anything worth keeping...

I've grown out 2 pepper projects over the past 3 years and I've made 1 forced hybrid that was not a project as much as a curiosity.

My forced hybrid was a bust as a F1 because of bad taste, one of my hybrid pepper projects became a bust in F3, and my other pepper just produced it's F5 generation and has been *mostly* stable since F3. Considering I'm getting this out of 10-20 plants to select from I think I've been a bit of luck to go along with my plant care/selection skill. Luck works, though. I'll take it.

From the nursery two years ago, I planted 2 jalepeno plants. One is in the shade mostly and one full sun. I live in the desert, so we do get heat! They both survived and produced last winter, and are now trees!! I got jalepeno trees!! I got jalepenos running out my ears!!

I just dry the red ones on the kitchen counter. Might decorate with them for christmas...... But they are full of seeds. I am not sure, but my "trees" are covered with flowers, and still producing like crazy!! I have a feeling they will never die!

I do blend many of them up with water and make a "cocktail" that I splash on certain areas to keep unwanted pests out!

Happy peppering!!