Rocotos grow well on my farm at 2390 meters in Ecuador directly on the equator. Great info, spot on. I discovered a rare variety in norther Ecuador that is almost as big as a bell pepper and easily produces 100 fruit at a time. It’s also a very hot/sweet variety.
My rocoto seeds only took 1 week to germinate, similar to other types of peppers. I used the wet paper towel/baggie method, and kept it in my pocket where my body heat warmed it to probably 80-90F. Now that they're a 4 months old and in ground, they're really taking off, with something like a dozen simultaneous flowers on each plant and a dense 2ftx2ft canopy (about 1.5ft tall). Temperatures for the past few weeks have been averaging in the high 70s in the day and high 50s at night which they seem to like.
I’m growing locoto from store bought seeds my wife brought back from her country Bolivia , I’m growing these peppers and a special spice that’s is a popular staple in a salsa they serve with dinner that she loves , just growing these so she always has a taste of home
I live in the Walnut Creek area and we do have a few days of temps that drop below freezing in Winter. I would love to over winter this lovely plant. What's the best way - keep it outside with a frost blanket - or dig it up and overwinter indoors like my other peppers!
I'm growing a variety of rocoto peppers here in Canada (southern Ontario). We have cool summers - well, relatively cool, similar to those of Santa Cruz with days in the 70s-low 80s. We don't have anywhere near a 365.24 day growing season though, so I started them early under grow lights in late February, then moved to the greenhouse in May and in-ground early June. Now they have a nice canopy of leaves about 2ft across and I'm getting the first purple flowers. I've never had a capsicum pubescens before (neither grown nor eaten, grocery stores don't carry them here) so I'm pretty excited. If I can handle the spiciness, I'll try overwintering them. If they can handle the colder temperatures of our spring and fall, that's a bonus, and could extent the growing season from about 4 months for regular peppers, to 6 months for these, I'll just have to bring them inside on the coldest nights of May and October that have occasional frosts (ie grow in containers). Maybe they can even grow by a window during winter if they don't need that much light?
Tomorrow looks like it will be the last warm day of this fall "heat wave" at 70F. After that, the forecast calls for days in the 40s and nights in the 30s. We had a hard frost on Monday morning (26F), so I had to dig up the peppers that I wanted to keep. I put the rocotos into 3 gal pots and pruned them back. They were 6ft tall and 6ft wide when I dug them out, with roots 1/4" thick. Pretty impressive for a pepper plant I only started under grow lights in early March. I did get a couple red fruits, but there's a lot of green fruit on them. I removed 2 lbs of green fruit from my 3 plants when I pruned them back. Now that they're pruned back, they're still about 3.5ft tall with a few dozen green and near-ripe fruit on each plant. I'll keep them in the attic when it gets cold where there's a sun-roof. Since they're adapted to cloud forests, I'm hoping they can do alright with the light from a window/ambient indoor light and overwinter for a head start at the 2024 season.
How would these do in the Central Valley , California where it gets over 95 degrees hot for at least 3 months in the summer ?? Any tips on maintaining their health in this climate ?
Big mistake there, Rocoto is native to the andean mountains of Peru, and was then introduced to the "altiplano" (Bolivia) which has a completely different climate. Check out the native rocoto species from the Ancash region in Peru, probably the best Rocotos ever. People there have been growing them for thousands of years. I myself am a HUGE Rocoto enthusiast and eat one or two every single day.
@Alan Capotale Alan, my wife is Peruvian and I have been to Peru several times. You are exactly correct about Peruvian rocotos versus others. I live in the USA. Do you know where I can buy some good rocoto seeds? The ones I brought from Peru 4 years ago are no longer viable.
Growing for the first time this year! Excited! Should I overwinter it indoors - or outdoors (we do have a few days when temps drop just below freezing in Winter!)
@@aaron7da got any super hots you want to exchange? Never traded seeds in my life but I'm willing to give it a try. I got native rocotos from Ancash, very hot, orange and red. I also got aji charapita, arnaucho and some others.
@@luiggiibanez I don’t have any seeds of super hot peppers. The hottest I have rocoto seeds my mother-in-law brings me from Peru. The problem I have is getting my rocoto plants to set fruit. They grow beautiful foliage and purple flowers but never set fruit. If I can get some rocotos, I can save you some seeds. Do you live in the U.S.?
I've just germinated a "Rocoto Brown", im more than welcome to tips as im going to try to have it for multiple years. Even tough i live in Scandinavia..
Good to know. Did a search for "locoto pepper" on the Google and most of the returns are call it a "rocoto pepper". Seems to be interchangeable depending on your location.
Rocoto is original from Peru, not from Bolivia thank you very much. You are mix up Mr. Azteca do not know rocoto, and Bolivia do not know how to cook rocoto only Peru and in a place called Arequipa know how to prepare different dishes with it one of them is called stuffed Rocoto ( Rocoto relleno).
Beautiful plant, thanks for sharing!
Rocotos grow well on my farm at 2390 meters in Ecuador directly on the equator. Great info, spot on. I discovered a rare variety in norther Ecuador that is almost as big as a bell pepper and easily produces 100 fruit at a time. It’s also a very hot/sweet variety.
Would you be waking to share the seeds?
@@keithseeger3150 possibly, after I successfully grow them on my land I will be willing to help this incredible variety spread and grow.
My rocoto seeds only took 1 week to germinate, similar to other types of peppers. I used the wet paper towel/baggie method, and kept it in my pocket where my body heat warmed it to probably 80-90F. Now that they're a 4 months old and in ground, they're really taking off, with something like a dozen simultaneous flowers on each plant and a dense 2ftx2ft canopy (about 1.5ft tall). Temperatures for the past few weeks have been averaging in the high 70s in the day and high 50s at night which they seem to like.
Thank you very much for a very informative and entertaining video. Planning on growing some of these myself :D
Awesome Information! Thank you
I’m growing locoto from store bought seeds my wife brought back from her country Bolivia , I’m growing these peppers and a special spice that’s is a popular staple in a salsa they serve with dinner that she loves , just growing these so she always has a taste of home
I live in the Walnut Creek area and we do have a few days of temps that drop below freezing in Winter. I would love to over winter this lovely plant. What's the best way - keep it outside with a frost blanket - or dig it up and overwinter indoors like my other peppers!
I keep mine in pots and move them to a sun facing greenhouse in the cooler months.
I'm growing a variety of rocoto peppers here in Canada (southern Ontario). We have cool summers - well, relatively cool, similar to those of Santa Cruz with days in the 70s-low 80s.
We don't have anywhere near a 365.24 day growing season though, so I started them early under grow lights in late February, then moved to the greenhouse in May and in-ground early June. Now they have a nice canopy of leaves about 2ft across and I'm getting the first purple flowers. I've never had a capsicum pubescens before (neither grown nor eaten, grocery stores don't carry them here) so I'm pretty excited. If I can handle the spiciness, I'll try overwintering them.
If they can handle the colder temperatures of our spring and fall, that's a bonus, and could extent the growing season from about 4 months for regular peppers, to 6 months for these, I'll just have to bring them inside on the coldest nights of May and October that have occasional frosts (ie grow in containers). Maybe they can even grow by a window during winter if they don't need that much light?
Tomorrow looks like it will be the last warm day of this fall "heat wave" at 70F. After that, the forecast calls for days in the 40s and nights in the 30s. We had a hard frost on Monday morning (26F), so I had to dig up the peppers that I wanted to keep. I put the rocotos into 3 gal pots and pruned them back. They were 6ft tall and 6ft wide when I dug them out, with roots 1/4" thick. Pretty impressive for a pepper plant I only started under grow lights in early March. I did get a couple red fruits, but there's a lot of green fruit on them. I removed 2 lbs of green fruit from my 3 plants when I pruned them back. Now that they're pruned back, they're still about 3.5ft tall with a few dozen green and near-ripe fruit on each plant. I'll keep them in the attic when it gets cold where there's a sun-roof. Since they're adapted to cloud forests, I'm hoping they can do alright with the light from a window/ambient indoor light and overwinter for a head start at the 2024 season.
Damn dude I lived in santa cruz for a few years, wish I spent more time learning about this stuff
Can they grow inside next to a window sill in the summer when the temperature is 90+ outside?
Why does a pepper that prefers cooler climates need 80+ degrees to germinate? Is that a fact?
Great video. We live in Live Oak and lost ours this past winter due to frost I believe? Got a new one growing now!✌️
Thanks! Yes, it was a long cool winter and most peppers won't survive those prolonged cool temps. Good luck with your new one!
Great video very interesting!
Glad you enjoyed it!
How would these do in the Central Valley , California where it gets over 95 degrees hot for at least 3 months in the summer ?? Any tips on maintaining their health in this climate ?
I have 2 ,plants and during summer with temperatures over 90 all flowers dropped,it only produced
around end of September when temperatures got cooler
From what I have read online, provide shade during the hottest part of the day and water the plants a little more frequently.
Big mistake there, Rocoto is native to the andean mountains of Peru, and was then introduced to the "altiplano" (Bolivia) which has a completely different climate. Check out the native rocoto species from the Ancash region in Peru, probably the best Rocotos ever. People there have been growing them for thousands of years. I myself am a HUGE Rocoto enthusiast and eat one or two every single day.
@Alan Capotale Alan, my wife is Peruvian and I have been to Peru several times. You are exactly correct about Peruvian rocotos versus others. I live in the USA. Do you know where I can buy some good rocoto seeds? The ones I brought from Peru 4 years ago are no longer viable.
Growing for the first time this year! Excited! Should I overwinter it indoors - or outdoors (we do have a few days when temps drop just below freezing in Winter!)
@@aaron7da check out Jimmy Pickles, he has some isolated rocoto seeds.
@@aaron7da got any super hots you want to exchange? Never traded seeds in my life but I'm willing to give it a try. I got native rocotos from Ancash, very hot, orange and red. I also got aji charapita, arnaucho and some others.
@@luiggiibanez I don’t have any seeds of super hot peppers. The hottest I have rocoto seeds my mother-in-law brings me from Peru. The problem I have is getting my rocoto plants to set fruit. They grow beautiful foliage and purple flowers but never set fruit. If I can get some rocotos, I can save you some seeds. Do you live in the U.S.?
I've just germinated a "Rocoto Brown", im more than welcome to tips as im going to try to have it for multiple years. Even tough i live in Scandinavia..
I actually bought seeds for a red capsicum pubesens! I can't wait to grow them
Have fun with your peppers!
Anything speical to Think about with the growing eviurment with rocotos? Im trying to grow a few but the seedlings dont realy grows well
They are super slow
@@chompers11 thanks iv were just a bit unluckey back then, now iv notice they arent mutch of a diffrence then other capsicum species
It’s from Peru thanks 😊
Erika from Peru...Yer welcome!
Indoors i should say, moved them to a cooler roam
Here in Bolivia I've only seen it called 'locoto' not rocoto.
Good to know. Did a search for "locoto pepper" on the Google and most of the returns are call it a "rocoto pepper". Seems to be interchangeable depending on your location.
Rocoto is original from Peru, not from Bolivia thank you very much. You are mix up Mr. Azteca do not know rocoto, and Bolivia do not know how to cook rocoto only Peru and in a place called Arequipa know how to prepare different dishes with it one of them is called stuffed Rocoto ( Rocoto relleno).
Cuzco as well, they have a different way to cook Rocoto Relleno.