Pick a peck of peppers for holiday color

Published 4:05 pm Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Paul Bosland is a pepper plant breeder whose specialty adds zest and dazzle to the holidays.

So far, he’s introduced ornamental chili plants for Halloween (orange and black fruit), Thanksgiving (cream-colored pods that turn orange), Christmas (red and green), St. Patrick’s Day (green and orange) and Valentine’s Day (cream to pink to red).

In the works for 2009 are multicolored pepper varieties commemorating the Chinese New Year (burnished orange) and Cinco de Mayo (yellow to red).

The ornamental NuMex line developed by Bosland is built primarily around the ancient Capsicum pepper species, a shrub native to South and Central America that exhibits a range of desirable traits.

Bosland assembles decorative new cultivars from a small group of parent plants having different colors and shapes and the promise of high yields and low maintenance. All produce nectar-rich blooms before they fruit, making them excellent border plants or attractive choices for potting.

“(Commercial) greenhouse growers were looking for additional plants to grow during the major holidays, like Mother’s Day and Christmas,” said Bosland, a horticulture professor at New Mexico State University and director of the school’s Chile Pepper Institute.

“By associating the different color combinations to other holidays, I am hoping that it helps marketing and sales.”

While these multicolored chilies aren’t likely to replace poinsettias as the top-selling holiday plant, they are a hot option, Bosland said.

Ornamental chili peppers are stunning as they flower and again as the fruit ripens. Chilies bring a different look to flower gardens: eye-catching when placed alongside more traditional flowers or when displayed alone in containers. The plants also are drought-tolerant.

“They are as easy to grow as a potted mum, and if someone wanted, they could be kept alive for years,” Bosland said. “Those that have the dwarf gene make a good indoor plant as long as you put them by a bright window. But varieties that get kind of tall do better outside, in sunny gardens.”

Ornamental peppers are frost-sensitive and generally grow best when planted in well-drained, slightly acidic soil. They perform as soft perennials in frost-free zones, Knoop said.

“Although they self-sow, it’s best to buy new plants off the shelf each year for more consistency,” he said.

Their drying ability is another plus, said Janie Lamson, whose Cross Country Nurseries at Rosemont, N.J., turns out some 500 pepper varieties.

“You can cut a whole branch of them and they will dry and display well on a wall or hanging from the ceiling,” Lamson said. “A lot of people use them for table arrangements. They’re thin-skinned. When you want to use them to spice up some food, they will crumble easily in your fingers.”

All peppers are suitable for eating, fresh or dried, whole or ground.

“Some of the potted peppers will be marked ‘For Ornamental Use Only,’ but only because they’ve been sprayed with something not for use on edible crops,” Lamson said. “If you grow your own, they’re edible.”

But for the most part, the ornamentals are raised primarily for their dense, multibranched foliage and colorful fruit. “Ornamental chilies can have all the colors of the rainbow, often displaying pods in four or five colors on the same plant at the same time,” Bosland said.

Colorful holiday plants

Here are some elegant and carefree holiday houseplant suggestions:

Amaryllis: These bulbous plants bear one or more lilylike flowers on a single, strong stem. They come in different sizes and colors and usually are sold in 6- or 8-inch pots. They also make gorgeous holiday bouquets when freshly cut. They are long-lasting and low maintenance. Some selections are fragrant.

Christmas cactus: A sun-loving succulent that flowers during the holidays and makes a good foliage plant when tended minimally the rest of the year. They flower in red, white, pink and violet, and look good in containers or hanging baskets. Christmas cactus is a long-lived plant. Many are passed along from family member to family member through the generations.

Christmas topiary: Potted plants, usually English ivy, rosemary, juniper or an assortment of miniature conifers, used for tabletop display. Most are trimmed into holiday shapes — Christmas trees, reindeer and ornamental balls, among others — and draped with ribbons and miniature lights.

Ornithogalum (White Star of Bethlehem): This fragrant flowering plant produces a number of white, star-shaped blooms on two or three tall stems. The flowers generally last several weeks. The plant originates from a bulb that has growing habits similar to the amaryllis.

Antherium (Hawaiian Volcano Plant): These tropical plants are valued for their heart- or arrow-shaped leaves and contrasting red or yellow flowers, which will last for weeks. They are a great choice for table or mantel arrangements.