How to grow and care for ornamental pepper "Capsicum", and can you eat it?
The bright colors of the decorative pepper Capsicum mix will revive the most boring kitchen and turn the balcony into a real garden. An unpretentious plant will be strewn with multi-colored fruits, even with minimal care. However, not every housewife who planted this pepper will answer the question of whether it is edible or not.
The content of the article
Description of the variety - is it possible to eat decorative pepper
Native to tropical Central America, where pepper is still found in the wild. In ancient times, on the territory of modern Mexico and Guatemala, people used the distant ancestor of this pepper for cooking various dishes and decorating their homes.
Since then, the plant has changed a lot. Now pepper has many different varieties, one of them is decorative Capsicum, and even it has varieties.
Capsicum is often called pepper, like many of his relatives, but this is a delusion that even penetrated into his name. The fruits are quite spicy, but do not belong to the genus of peppers. Capsicum is closer to eggplants and tomatoes, as it belongs to the genus Solanaceae (like bell peppers).
The plant is considered a shrub, but at home it is not large. In a pot, Capsicum grows from 20 to 50 cm. It has thin, highly branching branches, the leaves are elongated, tapering towards the end.
Despite the fact that the pepper is decorative, its fruits can be eaten... They are most commonly spicy and are used as a substitute for seasoning in some dishes. The fruits are dried, ground and added to food.
Pros, cons and features of the variety
The variety has many advantages:
- unpretentiousness - this pepper does not need constant care;
- rapid growth - during the season it is able to grow, bloom and bear fruit;
- a wide variety of colors, types and shapes;
- the plant gives a lot of fruits, they can be used for food.
But even such a plant has disadvantages.... For example, in Siberia and other regions with a cool climate, it will not work to grow it on the site - it is afraid of the cold and dies in case of frost. Remarkably, in very hot regions it will not grow either: temperatures above 20 ° C and low humidity are detrimental to the plant.
Other types of decorative and exotic peppers:
Growing decorative peppers "Little Miracle"
Fruit characteristics and yield
The color, shape and size of the fruit depend on the subspecies, but most often there are Capsicums with red, yellow or purple peppers. When the ripening period comes, the whole bush is strewn with small bright fruits, sometimes they can hide under the leaves, and sometimes they protrude upward like small horns. In some varieties, they are highly elongated and wriggle.
Fruit color changes with maturity, which is why peppers of different shades can coexist on the same bush.
How to grow
It doesn't take much time and effort to grow Capsicum... The plant is unpretentious and has a high growth and development rate. For this reason, pepper is very popular with gardeners.
Illumination and location
Most of all the plant loves light., so it will be difficult to grow it in a dark room.It is most convenient to grow it on a windowsill, but excess direct light can burn the plant, so a south-facing window with darkening is preferred.
Attention! Capsicum does not like cold and hot places: look for a place where the temperature is kept in the range from +10 to + 20 ° С.
Features of watering and humidity
Moderate watering will be enough for Capsicum throughout the year... But in summer, during flowering, plants need to be watered quite often: once every 3-4 days with settled water. The basic rule of watering is not to leave the soil dry.
Watering is reduced if:
- tied up and began to ripen the fruit;
- the temperature dropped below + 15 ° С (reduce to 1 time per week).
It is necessary to spray the plant every dayto maintain the required air humidity.
How to feed properly
To feed Kapsikum, you will need several kilograms of mineral fertilizer... The plant is fed from March to September 2 times a month. However, if additional lighting is installed in winter, then you will have to feed it much more often - once every 20 days.
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Breeding features
Capsicum is propagated by the standard seed method and cuttings... Before planting, the seeds are soaked for 1 hour in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Can be planted immediately after soaking, or put in a damp cloth first where they hatch. Once the root appears, the seeds can be planted. After that, they are placed in the ground to a depth equal to the diameter of the seed.
So that the seeds sprout as quickly as possible, the container is placed in a warm place with a temperature of about 25 ° C, and as soon as the first shoots appear, they are moved to a cooler place.
Cuttings are carried out only in spring or autumn., for this, the cutting is planted in the ground.
Reference. The capsicum stalk quickly takes root in the ground. As soon as this happens, you need to pinch.
Prevention of diseases and pests
Diseases and pests can appear from insufficient care... If you rarely spray the plant, then red spider mites can settle on the leaves. Excessive watering leads to the occurrence of root rot, with a lack of fertilizers, the growth of Capsicum slows down. Several hours without a warm heater in winter will soften the leaves of the plant and wither.
The most common problem is mealybugs... These white insects carry microorganisms that attack the leaves. For treatment, the plant is wiped with a cotton swab dipped in soapy water. If the problem has become threatening, infusion of tobacco or garlic is applied to the stems and leaves of Capsicum with a cotton pad.
Reviews
Gardeners who tried to plant Capsicum were pleased with their choice.
Vladimir, Novgorod: “They put the pepper on a glassed-in balcony, where there is both sun and shade. They began to water it regularly, fertilized it a couple of times. The pepper quickly gained strength: it began to bloom thickly, and then the harvest was ripe. Such wonderful fruits have grown. We tried the peppers - they have a specific taste, you won't be able to get poisoned, but I didn't really want to eat either ".
Elena, Rostov: “I bought Capsicum seeds, planted them in pots. Plants are not capricious, they love light, water, no special care is needed. They quickly grew and bloomed with small white flowers. A few weeks later, small fruits appeared - green peppers, then they turned yellow, then turned red. Very beautiful! I gave several pots to my friends.
Conclusion
Capsicum is a great plant for the home: bright fruits will cheer you up even on cloudy days. Easy to grow, it will be a pleasant addition to a life full of troubles and worries and will return a piece of bright summer on winter evenings.