Capsicum pubescens
Rocoto
Common names: Tree chili, Manzano chili, Manzano pepper
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 70 cm, rows 90 cm
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Sowing
- Jan–Mar
- Harvest
- Sep–Nov
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 2 °C
- Water need
- Medium
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The rocoto, botanically Capsicum pubescens, comes from the Andes of South America, where it grows at altitudes too high for most other chilies. For this reason it tolerates cool conditions better than its relatives. This perennial plant reaches 1.5 to 2 m in height when grown in a container and can be recognized by its soft, downy leaves, violet flowers, and black seeds. The round to apple-shaped fruits measure 4 to 8 cm across, have a thick, juicy wall, and ripen to yellow, orange, or red. The flavor is fruity and juicy, and very hot. Because the wall is so fleshy, the fruits are hard to dry. They are used fresh in salsa, stuffed and baked, or pickled. The rocoto is slow growing: seven to eight months pass between sowing and the first ripe fruits, so cultivation begins in January.
Care instructions
Sow rocoto as early as January, as it germinates slowly and needs seven to eight months until the first harvest. Place the pots in a bright, warm spot at 25 to 28 °C. After the Ice Saints in mid-May, it may go outdoors, ideally in a container holding at least 20 litres, in a bright, wind-sheltered location. It tolerates partial shade and cool conditions better than other chilies, but dislikes intense midday heat under glass. Water evenly but sparingly, as waterlogging damages the roots. Support the stems with a stake, because the heavy fruits would otherwise break the branches. Since it flowers late, the fruits ripen only from September and continue into November. Move the container indoors before the first frost, or you will lose the harvest. Rinse off aphids or leave them to beneficial insects. Harvest the fruits once they are fully colored and feel firm.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingJan–Mar
HarvestSep–Nov
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 18 °C, ideally 26 °C
- Days to sprout
- 14 to 28 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 0.5 cm
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, well-drained, nutrient-rich, loamy
The rocoto grows best in humus-rich, loose, nutrient-rich soil that holds water without becoming waterlogged. In a container, use a free-draining compost with a drainage layer of expanded clay at the bottom, because it tolerates wet feet poorly. Since the plant can stay in the same pot for several years, replace the top layer of soil with fresh compost-enriched soil in spring. The pH should be slightly acidic to neutral.
The rocoto belongs to the nightshade family and shares diseases and pests with tomato, pepper, aubergine and potato. If it stands in a bed, keep a four-year break for this family on the same plot. In a container, replace part of the soil every spring.
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Months
May–Aug
The rocoto is a heavy feeder. In spring, work mature compost into the container compost or the bed. From June, give an organic liquid fertiliser or diluted nettle feed every two weeks, a little more often in high summer if needed. Once fruit sets in August, one feed per month is enough. Too much nitrogen produces strong, hairy leaves but few, late-ripening fruits.
Overwintering
The rocoto tolerates cool conditions better than other chillies, but not frost. Bring the container indoors before the first night frost. Overwinter the plant in a bright spot at 8 to 12 °C, for example in a cool stairwell, an unheated conservatory or a frost-free greenhouse, and water only enough that the root ball does not dry out. In February, cut it back by a third to a half and repot it in fresh compost. From mid-May it may go back outside. Older plants often flower and fruit earlier than freshly sown ones.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Cuttings
You propagate the rocoto from seed or cuttings. The black seeds germinate very slowly and often need three to six weeks at a steady 25 to 28 °C. So sow as early as January or February, March at the latest, 0.5 cm deep, on a bright windowsill or in a mini greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings as soon as they show their first true leaves, and pot them on several times. Take cuttings in spring or late summer from non-flowering shoot tips with three to four pairs of leaves and insert them in seed compost; at 20 to 25 °C and high humidity they root in two to four weeks. If several rocoto varieties stand side by side, they cross via insects.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
mint family (Lamiaceae)
particularly well establishedYou will find that basil next to tomato and pepper improves taste and keeps whiteflies and aphids away.
For example LavenderThymeBasilRosemarySageHyssop and 43 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
borage family (Boraginaceae)
Borage attracts pollinators and is supposed to keep tomato pests away from the nightshade family.
For example BorageCommon comfreyLacy phaceliaForget-me-notLungwortSiberian bugloss and 2 more species in the catalogue
Source: organic greenhouse companion planting practice
Rather not
gourd family (Cucurbitaceae)
You should avoid planting potato and cucumber together because they share disease pathogens such as leaf and brown rot and stand in each other's way as strong feeders.
For example CucumberPumpkinCourgettePickling cucumberButternutHokkaido and 15 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop-rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Rocoto yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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