Crossing chilli plants is a fun (and surprisingly simple) way to create your own new chilli varieties. Here’s a quick how to guide on how it’s done.
- Choose Your Parent Plants:
- Pick two healthy plants you want to cross — one will be the “mother” (the plant that will produce the seed) and one the “father” (the pollen donor).
- Ideally, they should be flowering at the same time.
- Prepare the “Mother” Flower:
- Select a fresh flower bud on the mother plant just before it opens.
- Carefully remove the flower’s anthers (the parts that produce pollen) using tweezers or small scissors — this prevents it from self-pollinating.
(This is called emasculation.)
- Collect Pollen from the “Father”:
- Find an open flower on the father plant.
- Gently rub a small paintbrush, toothpick, or even a cotton swab over the anthers to collect pollen.
- Pollinate the Mother Flower:
- Lightly brush the collected pollen onto the stigma (the sticky part in the center) of the prepared mother flower.
- Protect the Cross:
- To avoid accidental pollination by insects, you can bag the pollinated flower with a small mesh bag or a piece of breathable fabric.
- Mark Your Cross:
- Tag the branch or flower with a label — write down which parents were crossed (e.g., “Jalapeño × Habanero”) and the date.
- Wait for Fruit:
- If successful, the flower will turn into a fruit. When the pepper ripens, you can harvest the seeds — they will carry the new genetic mix!
- Grow Out the Seeds:
- Sow the seeds from your cross. The first generation (F1) will have traits from both parents.
- Later generations (F2, F3) are needed to stabilize if you want a consistent new variety.
Important tips:
- Some crosses are easier than others — Capsicum chinense crosses tend to be more delicate.
- For easier success, start to cross within the same species (e.g., Capsicum annuum × Capsicum annuum) .
- Use clean tools to avoid contamination.
Special Tips for Crossing Capsicum annuum × Capsicum chinense:
- This cross can be more challenging because they are different species, but it’s definitely possible!
- Choose vigorous, healthy parent plants to increase the chances.
- Perform emasculation very carefully: C. chinense flowers are smaller and more delicate.
- Pollinate early in the morning when flowers are most receptive.
- You might need to try multiple pollinations on several flowers to get a successful fruit.
- Be patient: sometimes only a few seeds are viable from this type of cross.