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I have tried to grow Bhut Jolokia peppers a few times in the past with no success, not even germination. Partly because they were kept with my other plants as I started them indoors and the required temperatures were different but also because they can be so finicky.
They are an extremely sensitive plant and require very specific conditions for optimal growth.
This a copy of some of their requirements I received from from one company.
"Bhut Jolokia require soil temperatures to be between 80 and 90 degrees F for proper
germination. You may need to supply bottom heat with the aid of a propagation mat.
Soil must be kept moderately moist, never being allowed to completely dry out and never
allowed to become soggy.
The Bhut Jolokia can take up to 36 days just to germinate and sometimes germinate 70 days after
planting and have a very long growing period, up to 160 days after transplanting before any
harvest.
The Bhut Jolokia plant is also very fragile and will require staking to keep from falling over or breaking
as the plant grows."
I came across a guy that had a beautiful Bhut plant growing and I was lucky enough to receive a fully ripe pepper which I cleaned, dried and saved the seeds from.
Even though the first plants won't go out into the garden for another Month and the Bhut will need at least 2 more Months before it is warm enough and can go in the ground I decided to start one early just for fun.
These seeds are supposed to be a more stable strain, develop into a stronger plant and produce great fruit.
This little beauty came up in just over a week and is doing great.
Just starting to form it's first set of true leaves
I have it in a mixture of some of my compost that I cooked in the oven (covered in foil until internal reaches 180 degrees then for a minimum of 1 hour) to kill off any bugs, eggs or fungus that may be living inside. Mixed that 50/50 with a mixture of sphagnum peat moss, perlite, and 2 kinds of limestone. It's a mixture for more sensitive plants.
Once it warms enough to where the nighttime temperature doesn't drop below 70 I will plant it int he garden and then at the end of the season save the seeds for next years crop.
I will post updates as things progress from transplanting and harvesting in Spring and Summer to seed saving in the Fall.
They are an extremely sensitive plant and require very specific conditions for optimal growth.
This a copy of some of their requirements I received from from one company.
"Bhut Jolokia require soil temperatures to be between 80 and 90 degrees F for proper
germination. You may need to supply bottom heat with the aid of a propagation mat.
Soil must be kept moderately moist, never being allowed to completely dry out and never
allowed to become soggy.
The Bhut Jolokia can take up to 36 days just to germinate and sometimes germinate 70 days after
planting and have a very long growing period, up to 160 days after transplanting before any
harvest.
The Bhut Jolokia plant is also very fragile and will require staking to keep from falling over or breaking
as the plant grows."
I came across a guy that had a beautiful Bhut plant growing and I was lucky enough to receive a fully ripe pepper which I cleaned, dried and saved the seeds from.
Even though the first plants won't go out into the garden for another Month and the Bhut will need at least 2 more Months before it is warm enough and can go in the ground I decided to start one early just for fun.
These seeds are supposed to be a more stable strain, develop into a stronger plant and produce great fruit.
This little beauty came up in just over a week and is doing great.
Just starting to form it's first set of true leaves
I have it in a mixture of some of my compost that I cooked in the oven (covered in foil until internal reaches 180 degrees then for a minimum of 1 hour) to kill off any bugs, eggs or fungus that may be living inside. Mixed that 50/50 with a mixture of sphagnum peat moss, perlite, and 2 kinds of limestone. It's a mixture for more sensitive plants.
Once it warms enough to where the nighttime temperature doesn't drop below 70 I will plant it int he garden and then at the end of the season save the seeds for next years crop.
I will post updates as things progress from transplanting and harvesting in Spring and Summer to seed saving in the Fall.
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