u/Several_Scarcity535

Hi, I’m just starting my journey with pepper hybridization. A year ago, I began by crossing an orange habanero with a sweet red-horn pepper. I got one fruit, and upon opening it, found only a single viable seed. Thanks to some beginner's luck, I managed to grow a plant I named "Redbach." The Redbach F1 produced plenty of fruit; the flavor was more like the red-horn—sweet and without heat. See the first two photos. From the F1, I got six F2 plants, three of which are currently in the pre-flowering stage (see photo #3-4). I’d like to strike a balance between hot and sweet peppers, aiming for thicker walls and a crunchier texture. I know there have been many projects like this. I hope the F3 generation starts moving in that direction. If I get stuck, I plan to introduce a cross with "Madam Janet." This year, I also secured a cross between Scarlett and Peppapeach Stripey; I harvested two seed-filled fruits—which I’ve already sown, and I even have the first two seedlings sprouting :) That’s a bigger success, and there’s a chance more will appear... I also pollinated a Scarlett with a Tepin x Lemon Drop cross (shown in the photos). There wasn't a specific goal for that one—just experimenting, as I did with various other peppers. Now, it's time to wait for the results ^^. How do you handle the waiting? Where do I start? I have a window and a balcony (though it's a bit narrow) at my disposal, plus a box with grow lights for smaller plants and seedlings during the winter. I have other peppers too, but I don't want to overwhelm you with a wall of text right away. I wanted to use these first ten posts to say hello to everyone ;) Where are you all based? Are you from the Netherlands? I don't know when you're reading this, but I wish you a tasty coffee ^^

I have three F2 plants, Mother Habanero orange, Father Redhorn - (I understand that this is a trade name, the plant was purchased from a supermarket.)

In the first generation I received only one plant, which also showed such tissue fusion during the development of the pepper. Photo number 4. The other photos are of F2, where this problem also occurs. I'm ruling out the possibility that it's a fertilizer issue; other peppers don't exhibit this problem during development. I assume it's just a problem with genetic stabilization?

Chinense x annumm, is that how it works?

I've been working with peppers for a while now, and I'm a bit puzzled by a problem... Are there any other unusual situations I should be prepared for with the peppers' development?

I'm asking for advice and I'm hoping for help ;)

I’ve been working on a small hobby pepper-breeding project for the past two seasons. I decided to call it Redbach.

The main line is based on a Capsicum chinense × Capsicum annuum cross. For now, I’d rather not reveal the exact parent varieties until I can see what the next generations actually produce.

At the moment, I have three F2 plants. There are already a few minor differences between them. One shows anthocyanin pigmentation around the stem nodes, while another produced a single unusual leaf that looks like three leaves fused together. I’m not treating either of these as important breeding traits yet. The fruit, fertility, flavour, aroma, wall texture and heat level will matter much more.

My plan is to continue the main Redbach line through self-pollination and selection, ideally up to around F7.

The goal is a larger, juicy and crunchy fruit that keeps some of the characteristic fruity aroma of chinense, but is more practical for everyday use. I would like the heat level to fall somewhere around 50,000–100,000 SHU—hot enough for people who enjoy spicy food, but still well below the superhot category.

In a way, I’m aiming for a snack pepper for people with a moderate tolerance for heat. Something you could cut up and eat with a sandwich or take to work, much like a normal sweet pepper, but with a stronger aroma, more character and a controlled level of heat.

One of my main visual goals is a yellow ripe fruit with a purple anthocyanin accent. This could mean dark shoulders near the calyx, purple sun-exposed areas, streaks, or a colour transition from green through purple to yellow during ripening.

Alongside the main Redbach line, I also plan to maintain several separate side lines. Some will focus on improving the chinense aroma, others on fruit size and wall thickness, and others on sweetness, crunchiness and balancing flavour against heat.

If one of these side lines produces a genuinely valuable trait, it may eventually be introduced back into the main Redbach project. However, I do not want to add a new parent every generation and continuously restart the stabilisation process.

Another separate direction is my current Scarlett × Peppapeach Stripey cross, an annuum × baccatum combination.

Apart from the fruit, I’m also interested in the possible flower phenotype. Scarlett contributes anthocyanin pigmentation, while Peppapeach Stripey has the characteristic yellow-green petal markings of baccatum. A flower combining purple margins or veins with visible central baccatum markings could become a distinctive feature of the plant itself and potentially have some value on the collector plant market.

If this line proves fertile and produces useful fruit, selected traits from it might also be introduced into the wider project later on.

For now, the most important step is to see the first Redbach F2 fruits and avoid choosing a “winner” too early. With such a small population, each plant may still represent a very different genetic combination.

Is anyone here working on a similar multi-generation breeding project? I’d be particularly interested in experiences with chinense × annuum selection, or with fertility and flower traits in annuum × baccatum crosses.

Which trait has been the hardest for you to combine and stabilise: flavour, fruit size, heat, fertility, texture or colour?