Re: [CH] Dormancy cycle
Doug Goldenberg (dgoldenberg@sprintmail.com)
Fri, 5 Nov 1999 16:30:08 -0800
Yeah - I've never heard of plants getting "worn out" from growing
year-round, but it can disrupt some plants' flowering cycles - some plants
need to go thru a winter to initiate flowering. Some of the less hardy
chiles tend to die over the winter, I guess due to the poor conditions I
give them. I'm not sure what makes some varieties tougher than others, as
far as overwintering ability.
My hunch is that chiles don't really "need" a dormancy period, as they don't
have real leaf drop and bud formation like real dormant plants. They just
seem to drop leaves in response to reduced light, drought, cold conditions,
etc.. - stress. To test that theory, you would need an artificial growing
environment and grow some with a period of reduced light and temperature,
and some without, and see what happens. Maybe the ones that were given a
"dormant period" would end up more productive and longer-lived, but I don't
think so. Some of the wild ones do grow in winter-dry subtropical areas. I
wonder how they behave there? Some tropical plants drop their leaves in the
dry season, due to the drought, rather than due to it being too cold/dark
for growth. I'm not sure if that leaf drop is directly due to the drought,
or is triggered by the relatively small changes in day length.
You know - maybe they don't need a dormancy period, but then it would be
really hard not to give them one, unless you had a really nice greenhouse
with lights and heaters and stuff, or kept your house a lot warmer and well
lit than mine!
----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Campbell <jim@wildpepper.com>
To: Byron <Byron.Bromley@gsd-co.com>
Cc: <chile-heads@globalgarden.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 1999 3:23 AM
Subject: Re: [CH] Dormancy cycle
> I don't believe so. In Jamaica Dave Anderson & I saw chiles that were
> several feet tall & several years old. The limiting factor seemed to be
> disease and virus rather than any plant life cycle. The chiles there
> grew vigorously year round.
>
> -Jim C
> MWPH
>