Not much experience with pepper root stock here, only branch grafts, so take the following thoughts with a grain of salt:

My experience is that C.Pubescens can be finicky, especially if their roots are disturbed, potting up, etc. This may or may not present a challenge if used as grafting root stock.

I know there are C.Baccatums that take the cold very well, the Aji Habanero is one of them. It is 1) cold hardy, 2) disease resistant, 3) extremely vigorous plant branching and root growth, 4) thick woody dicot stem.

The Aji Polumbo also stays alive longer than other pepper plants in the garden (autumn), it seems to share a lot of traits with the Aji Habanero.

If i were to experiment with a few plants, those two would be the ones i'd try.

Just my 2c,

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: Aji Habanero and Polumbo

This post was edited by sjetski on Sun, Dec 8, 13 at 12:06

Thanks for the advice steve, it's just soo hard to know what they will be like as a rootstock. I will give yours a try. I'll let you know how it turns out.

why not just plant the sweet pepper seeds and grow them normally? I mean, there's nothing wrong with experimentation, I just wonder what the point is? peppers are all fairly cold tolerant, but none of them are frost tolerant.

That's a good question judo. What I am wanting to achieve is a pepper that I can bring in for the winter and take back out in the spring. Bell peppers are really hard to keep alive over the winter while some species will live for 10 years or so. Even though it's work up front, I am hoping I can come up with a plant that will thrive for 2 or 3 years. I do winter over bells with about a 10 percent survival rate and have never gotten a third year out of them. I have friends that have some hot varieties for years and they produce like crazy

ok. this makes more sense now. personally I don't bother growing bells. they're $1.50 per pound at the supermarket. you can't beat that. I prefer to grow things that are harder to find. but that's just me.

I am a vegan so I eat tons of peppers. Around here even in season organic bells are a dollar a peace. Really I'm trying to fill the void of the off season. If I can start the spring with a year old plant I'm hoping it would be producing late spring. Perhaps instead of experimenting with grafting I should look for low heat varieties that over winter well. I was under the impression that if it had little heat it was an annuum but I'm not sure that's true anymore

there are several non anuum varieties that have little to no heat. most of which should over winter well.
examples:
tobago sweet,
aji dulce,
I know there are many more but I'm drawing a blank right now.

I would love to help more, but my growing interests lie firmly in the 100k SHU and above range, with exceptions made for tabasco and thai peppers. I am certain there are people on here who love sweet peppers and can give better answers than I can.

also, why not just start them much earlier under lights?

I start my peppers in January and the still do not produce until July. My dream would be peppers that I could put in the basement at 50 degrees for the winter and replant in the spring. But let's be honest, Mostly I just love to do experiments :)

Try a Habanero Tree. Had one for 5 years then sold it, still growing strong. Kept it in a large pot and put out every spring. got to 8ft tall the last year I had it.

Would any type if habanero work?

In my experience all of the plants that I have overwintered have done fine but the tree has such a thick trunk that if I was going to graft to something I would personally start with that one. email me if you need a few seeds.

How about a sweet habanero? I've been playing with the "Suave" habs. They're nowhere near bell pepper size, of course, but they are an interesting little pepper. I have two red Suave and two orange Suave started from seed in 2011 and still going. They overwintered fine in a semi-heated garage last year.

To: thepodpiper(Z6): I'm grafting this year for the first time, and I'd love to get a few of your Habanero Tree seeds. Is the Habanero Tree just an ordinary Habanero plant grown large by bring it in during the winter? (in which case I could buy Habanero seed at my local garden shop), or is it a different seed altogether, in which case maybe I could bother you for your email and/or phone number?

Thanks, Larry in Golden, CO (Zone 5, elevation 5500 ft.)

Forgot to mention my contact stuff: 303-704-0455 (cell); lrgilmore@hotmail.com