Question on Lemon Drop

15 years ago

I received Lemon Drop seeds from two different trades, so I decided to try them both this year. They were different from the time they sprouted. One produced tall and vigorous seedlings, the other ones were smaller and slower growing.

In the pots one took off and got tall (eventually about 4') and sprawly, and I had to use a tomato cage to hold it up. The little yellow peppers came in pretty early in the season and were abundant all summer. About 1 to 2.5 inches long. Mostly drooping like pendulums except when very small. Not as hot as jalapenos but pretty close. Nice lemony flavor.

The other one stayed short and bushy, about 12 to 18" tall. Had a lot of buds but the blossoms kept falling off. I eventually got it healthy with some lime and foliar feeding of epsom salt. The peppers all stand up like mirasol even when they get to full size, but otherwise the fruit is similar in appearance to the tall plant. (I may not have used the best potting medium on this one, but it was different from the start.)

So do I have two varieties of Lemon Drop here, or is it maybe just the potting mix? Any ideas would be welcome.

Thanks - Rick

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

romy6
15 years ago
My money would be that you have two different streins. I don't think the potting mix would cause that much of a difference. I have seen people growing aji lemon call them lemon drops and vise versa :) Can you post any pics.
smokemaster_2007
15 years ago
A lot of people and venders mix up the C.Baccatum and C.Chinense that have similar names.
Aji Lemon , Lemon Drop ,Aji Limon , Limon and Lemon are interchangable to some venders.
Seed companies sometimes interchange the words to sell what they have at the time.
I forget what company sold a plant as just LEMON PEPPER.
It was the chinense one year and Baccatum the next.
Both years the tags were the exact same ones on the plants.
Related Professionals
Montgomery Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Lynchburg Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Morgan City Landscape Contractors · Cincinnati Landscape Contractors · Dallas Landscape Contractors · Charleston Landscape Contractors · Magog Landscape Contractors · Pine Bluff Home Builders · Panama City Home Builders · Winston-Salem Home Builders · Virginia Beach Home Builders · Huntington Home Builders · Olean Home Builders · Altoona Home Builders · Chatham Home Builders
rick_in_va
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks to romy6 and smoke for the suggestions. I finally got to take some pics. It has been raining constantly for several days here, been a cool wet summer in general.

The tall "lemon drop" has stopped flowering due to cool weather, but the blooms were unremarkable as I recall. It started producing pretty early and was prolific. Fruit was larger and mostly drooping down. Hotter than the other one.

You can see the short "lemon drop" still has blooms, not so bothered by the cool temps and they are larger and more complex, almost waxy looking. But the harvest has been slow. The fruit is smaller and mostly erect like mirasol.
smokemaster_2007
15 years ago
Baccatums have gold specks on the buds.
Chinense don't.
Chinense also has several buds off the same node.
The gold specks should be the easist way to see what you have growing-Chinense or Baccatuum.
rick_in_va
Original Author
15 years ago
Finally got the pics to appear in my post. This may start a new thread, I don't know. If so, details are in earlier thread. Thanks.

Two different "lemon drops".

Detail of tall "lemon drop"

Detail of short "lemon drop". Notice the blossoms.
smokemaster_2007
15 years ago
As a side note.Baccatums tend to be taller than Chinense.
Baccatums can be VERY tall plants.Big Bushes.
I have a picture of a friends Bishops hat/Crown that is easily 12-15ft tall.