more on bird pepper . . .

     due to the length of the last post, i did not mention any horticultural particulars about bird pepper (Capsicum annuum var glabrisculum)......let's remedy that right now.........

growth habit -- bird pepper lives as a small shrub/shrublet, most often in the understory of open-canopied woodlands (light shade to occasional [no more than a few hours at a time] direct sun), where it averages about 2'X2' in height/width.....gardeners can set it in similar situations, or, give it up to 4 hrs direct sun, in which case it sprawls/crawls into a somewhat larger mass.........in 4 hr direct sun situations you can also consider planting it on a small trellis (5' tall X 2' wide) where it will run up, thick and vine-like(!) and cover the whole thing. gorgeous..........plus, even more pepper production this way.

soil type/moisture regime -- likes decently-drained/porous, circumneutral (pH 6.8-7.0) soils best; however, i've been growing it in circumneutral (pH 6.85) clay at our place, and it responds nicely.....i just try to locate plantings in sloped/raised areas where i know that rain will run off of the site......it should do nicely in well-drained containers as well; just make sure to add a little alkalinity (like a small amount of dolomitic lime, for example) to the pot media.......moisture-wise, do not overwater! in the ground, the plant can take a good bit of moisture, but it's not really happy about it. i'd say it likes its moisture medium to medium-dry.

hardiness -- as with any pepper, its top growth dies back each winter.......it is certainly fully root-hardy in agricultural zones 8b-9 but the jury's still out on zones further north, like 8a for example.........north of zone 8 (shreveport-monroe in louisiana) it may act more like an annual than a perennial.

other -- even if bird pepper is only an annual in your garden, that's cool, since it germinates so easily from seed; as easy or even easier than other pepper varieties......down here in south-central louisiana, we sow seed (no pre-treatment necessary) in february, and it's usually up within a month.........seed is tiny and wafer-like so don't cover it deeply.........maybe just a drizzle of soil, then tamp down gently................re: aesthetics, this is a fabulous plant: smooth, small, "pointy" emerald-green foliage; tiny, white, star-shaped blooms all summer; pencil eraser-sized fruits beginning in august and ripening from emerald-green to fire-engine red.....even the dead, winter-killed stems of the plant are pretty, creating thin, zig-zag-shaped, buff-brown lines.