Ornamental peppers a holiday favorite

By Dean Fosdick | For The Associated Press • Published November 15, 2008

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

Some holiday houseplants

Although poinsettias of all stripes and colors remain the best-selling holiday plant of choice, there are a number of good, winter-blooming options. Here are some elegant and carefree holiday houseplant suggestions:

•Amaryllis: These bulbous plants bear one or more lily-like 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. "Topiaries are time consuming if you do them well," said Byron Martin, owner of Logee's Tropical Plants in Danielson, Conn. "They can be beautiful, but it takes a long time to make a quality one."

•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 mantle arrangements. "You can't kill it," Martin said. "It flops down if it gets too dry. But after you give it some water, it perks right up again. An unbelievable plant for the holidays or any time."

Dean Fosdick/For The Associated Press

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 hybrid-wise for launch in 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 wide 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 — unique and 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."

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