can i save these cayenne seeds?
 

since my cayenne plants in the garden are not anywhere near as hot as they were supposed to be (i think long red slim cayenne was mislabeled and is long red thick cayenne based upon the length and thickness of the peppers), saving seeds from them seems like a waste. i have seeds from 5 VERY hot cayenne peppers i ate today that have been in the freezer since last september. are seeds that were frozen ok to use for next year or does having froze them cause problems where they shouldn't be used? i tend to think they are ok but i better ask before i get another nasty surprise!

tom

Could your pepper seed germinate? Yup they sure could.

Would I try a grow out of a pepper I liked? Yup.

If the seeds were frozen after harvest, they should be fine. If the peppers were frozen with the seeds in them, I imagine the germination will be diminished - just like with tomatoes. To what degree, I'm not sure. Peppers have relatively little moisture (as compared to toms) so I'd bet if you over-sowed you'd get some to germinate.

Take a few and do a germination test using the baggy/paper towel method. I'd be curious to hear your results.

Top right in photo are long thin (slim) cayenne, bottom left are thick cayenne, photos from yesterday. If you'd like some fresh seeds of either, hit me with a pm.



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It's worth a try, probably depends on the moisture level in the seeds before freezing. But last year - for the first time ever - I had quite a few clusters of little hot ornamental peppers sprout in mid-summer from fruit fallen the previous fall. Given that they were treated to fall rains, wet snow and below 0 degree F temperatures, I would not have expected them to survive, but they did. :|

[QUOTE=lurley;231496]Top right in photo are long thin (slim) cayenne, bottom left are thick cayenne, photos from yesterday. If you'd like some fresh seeds of either, hit me with a pm.



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i think that picture pretty sums up the situation! the slim peppers are thin like what i have grown the past 2 years and what is in the freezer. what i have this year looks like the thick. the long slim in the freezer completely thawed out due to power outage but i refroze them last night. the seeds i collected the other day were from the long red slim that defrosted, i ate 5 and kept the seeds. they are drying now.

tom

Wouldn't the same rule hold as does for tomatoes? That O.P. varieties will hold true, but hybrids won't? I grow a cayenne that's a hybrid so I always thought it would not grow true. I have another tiny purple pepper that turns whitish and then red that I bought at a farmer's market - the grower said it was an heirloom and I could save the seeds, which I've done for 10 years, and it grows true each year.