Ornamental paprika care in the pot

At the Naschzipfel (bot. Capsicum annuum), also known as Spanish pepper or ornamental pepper, is a small one Relatives of the classic peppers and in this form especially for use as a pot plant bred. The originally American plant is mostly offered in Germany in a variant that can easily be kept in your own home and whose fruits can be harvested.

Is the sweet tooth poisonous?

Many people wonder if the Naschzipfel is a poisonous plant? This question can be answered clearly and unequivocally with a no. The fruity vegetable has a mild taste, is very digestible and, despite being called pepper, is not hot. This is why the plant is so popular with children. The fruit can simply be picked, cut and eaten. Nevertheless, the question of possible toxicity is not unfounded, ornamental peppers often come from mass production and are treated with the following means:

• Growth retardants: keep the plant smaller than its original shape
• often chemical pesticides

You should definitely refrain from eating such sweets, as they could really lead to general complaints. If you have decided to get a sweet tooth, you should go to a breeder or a specialist dealer and purchase your specimens from there. There you can ask whether the plant was self-bred or whether it was mass-produced. Of course, you shouldn't eat the following parts of the plant:

• leaves
• stems
• root
• green spots on the fruit

Since ornamental peppers are a nightshade plant, these parts contain toxins, such as solanine, that can cause vomiting, nausea, and stomach upset. Otherwise you don't have to worry and you can enjoy the fresh, ripe peppers without hesitation.

Location

The location for the ornamental peppers in the pot should have the following properties:

• Light requirements: sunny to semi-shady
• no direct midday sun
• airy
• Drafts should be avoided
• dry location
• rainproof

Make sure you give the sweet tooth enough sun, as this has a positive effect on the ripening of the fruit. At the same time, this increases the water requirement, which also intensifies the taste.

substrate

The substrate for the ornamental pepper depends on the intended use of the potted plant:

• Ornamental plant: potting or potting soil
• Vegetable plant: Herb or vegetable soil that has not been pre-fertilized

Since the Naschzipfel as a pure ornamental plant does not have to form great fruits, the use of conventional potting soil is sufficient. This provides the plant with a sufficient basis for strong growth. With both variants, make sure you use high-quality soil that is permeable. Too dense soil would have a negative effect on root formation and the transport of moisture and nutrients. If necessary, work some silica sand into the substrate to increase permeability.

repot

You should repot after you have bought a new specimen and the ornamental pepper is too big for your current container. Since the nightshade plant grows extremely quickly with good care, this step may already be necessary for the next season. Repotting works as follows:

• Pot size: diameter should be about 5cm larger than current pot
• Bottom must have drainage holes
• place a drainage layer of gravel, expanded clay or broken pottery at the bottom
• fill in fresh substrate halfway
• loosen the ornamental peppers from the previous pot and rinse off the root ball
• check the roots
• remove brown or rotten roots
• then put it in the new pot
• Fill in the rest of the substrate and press down carefully
• this prevents holes
• then maintain normally, but do not fertilize for twelve weeks

Care

Peppers belong to the nightshade family, which are quite undemanding and can be easily cared for in just a few simple steps. When caring for the ornamental peppers, the most important things are the addition of water, the right winter quarters and the prevention of a possible pest infestation.

Pour

When watering the Naschzipfel, a certain amount of sensitivity is required, as the plant is quite thirsty but does not tolerate waterlogging at all. Proceed as follows:

• Watering is done twice a week over the summer
• the warmer it is, the more frequently it has to be watered
• Soil should dry slightly, but not dry out
• check the surface of the substrate daily using the finger test
• Discard any excess water in the coaster after about 10-15 minutes
• never wet the leaves of the sweet tooth

If the following symptoms occur, you have not watered enough and should make up for it so that the plant does not continue to suffer from the drought:

• Leaves look limp
• flowers or fruit are shed during the growing season

Fertilize

When fertilizing, the ornamental paprika does not make great demands on the fertilizer. Either an organic liquid fertilizer or a fertilizer for vegetables is sufficient here, also liquid. If you have decided on the Naschzipfel as a pure ornamental plant, a conventional liquid fertilizer is ideal. The higher quality fertilizer, the better the plant will do, and the fruits will be tastier and more numerous. Some specimens can train up to 70 peppers. Fertilize twice a month from spring to early December, with purely ornamental plants not being supplied with fertilizer for the first year after purchase. A long-term fertilizer was given to them beforehand.

Cut

It is not necessary to cut the ornamental peppers, but it is helpful to remove dried, bent or weak-looking shoots. The Naschzipfel is extremely robust, tolerates different amounts of cuttings and sprout again just as quickly the following year. To do this, prune the plant back by about half with a pair of clean pruning shears in February or March. You can then dispose of the plant material in the compost.

hibernate

The winter quarters of the Naschzipfel from December to March should have the following characteristics:

• Temperature: 10°C – 15°C
• never warmer, otherwise there is a risk of pest infestation
• bright with no direct sun
• water less
• never let the root ball dry out, only let the soil dry out
• spray the plant with distilled water daily
•  this increases humidity and protects against pests such as spider mites

multiply

The plant is effectively propagated via the seeds that can be found in the fruits. If you do not want to buy seeds and already have an ornamental pepper, you should remove the seeds from the fruit, wash them and dry them. Make sure that no remains of the peppers get stuck to the seed, as this could cause them to rot. Then proceed as follows:

• Germination temperature: 20°C – 28°C
• Time: from February
• Indoor greenhouse is recommended, as the temperature remains constant here
• multi-pot plates are suitable for cultivation
• Fill the pots with classic potting soil
• Put two to three seeds about five millimeters into the soil, then press the substrate lightly
• moisten with a spray bottle
• Lid or foil over the pots
• air and moisten the substrate at regular intervals
• don't keep it too wet
• the seeds need between one and three weeks to germinate
• look at the seedlings
• if several seeds have germinated per pot, you must remove the weakest specimens
• simply pull them out of the ground
• then let them mature into young plants
• repot the peppers as soon as they become too big for the container
• water sufficiently throughout the growing season

diseases and pests

If the care instructions are followed thoroughly, the risk of diseases or pests is quite low. Nevertheless, the ornamental peppers can suffer from the following problems if care errors occur, especially during the winter:

• Spider mites: Webs resembling cobwebs on drying leaves and branching shoots, increase humidity, use soft soap solutions
• Aphids: shoot tips take care of themselves, then die off, fight with flushing
• Whitefly: infested undersides of leaves, yellow-spotted, drying leaves follow, fight with yellow boards
• Verticillium wilt: Leaves turn light green, pathways brown, plant must be discarded immediately
• Gray mold rot: gray mold on leaves and stems, remove affected parts of plant or discard plant

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