Home › C › Cultivation (Being natives of tropical)
Cultivation (Being natives of tropical)
Being natives of tropical countries, Capsicums cannot always be depended upon to thoroughly ripen in the open air; but a good crop of green fruits may generally be obtained by preparing the plants early in the season, and planting out in a warm situation.
Sow the seeds in February or early in March, in pots or pans, placing them in heat; and so soon as the plants are large enough, pot off singly into 3in. pots, still keeping them in heat until well rooted. Place them into 6in. or 7in. pots before they become starved; and gradually harden off and plant out about 2ft. asunder, in June. The fruits ripen better if the plants are placed against a south wall and tacked on to it. The safest plan to obtain a crop of ripe fruits is to cultivate under glass. Pots of 7in. diameter are large enough. Rich soil must be used, and any spare frames are suitable in summer. Plenty of water and frequent syringings should be applied, as the plants are very liable to injury from red spider and other insects if this is in any way neglected. The fruits will keep some time after being ripe, but are never better than when fresh gathered; they may, however, be kept on the plants for a considerable period.
Sorts. Chili, Long Red, Long Yellow, Small Red Cayenne, Round Red, and Round Yellow. Good ornamental varieties are: Little Gem, a very dwarf variety, of comparatively recent introduction, covered with small, erect, red pods; and Prince of Wales, free fruiting, with hanging bright yellow pods. C. annuum (annual). Common Capsicum. fl. white, solitary. June. Petioles glabrous. fr. oblong, pendulous, and erect, red or yellow, variable in shape. h. 1ft. to 2ft. South America, 1548.
C. baccatum. Bird Pepper or Chili. fl. greenish; peduncles twin. June. fr. small, erect, almost globose. l. oblong, glabrous, as well as the petiole. Branches angular, striated. h. 2ft. to 4ft. Tropical America, 1731. Greenhouse shrub.
C. grossum (large). Bell Pepper. fl. white. July. India, 1759. CARAGANA (Caragan is the name of C. arborescens among the Monguls). Siberian Pea-tree. ORD. Leguminosae. Very ornamental hardy deciduous trees or shrubs. Flowers usually yellow, axillary, either solitary or crowded, but always single on thin stalks. Leaves abruptly pinnate, the midrib ending in a bristle or spine; leaflets mucronate. They are well adapted for shrub-beries, and are of the easiest culture in sandy soil. Propagated by cuttings, made of the roots, or by seeds; the low-growing shrubs by seeds and layers. Caraganas are generally increased by grafting on C. arborescens, which is easily raised from seed, sown when ripe or in spring.
C. Altagana (Altagana). fl. yellow; pedicels solitary. April to July. l. with six to eight pairs of glabrous, obovate-roundish, retuse leaflets; petiole unarmed. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Dahuria, 1789. Shrub.
C. arborescens (tree-like).* fl. pale or bright yellow; pedicels in fascicles. April, May. l. with four to six pairs of oval-oblong villous leaflets; petiole unarmed. Stipules spinescent. h. 15ft. to 20ft. Siberia, 1752. Tree. (B. M. 1886.) C. Chamlagu (Chamlagu). fl. yellow, at length becoming reddish, large, pendulous; pedicels solitary. May. l. with two pairs of distant, oval, or obovate glabrous leaflets; stipules spreading, and, as well as the petioles, spinose. h. 2ft. to 4ft. China, 1773. Shrub.
C. frutescens (woody).* fl. yellow, resupinate; pedicels solitary. April. l. with two pairs of leaflets, approximating the top of the petiole, obovate-cuneated; stipules membranous; petiole furnished with a short spine at the apex. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Siberia, 1752. Shrub. (S. B. F. G. 3, 227.) There are one or two varieties of this species.
C. jubata (bearded).* fl. white, suffused with red, few; pedicels solitary, very short. April. l. with four or five pairs of oblong. lanceolate, lanuginously-ciliated leaflets; stipules setaceous; petioles somewhat spinose. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Siberia, 1796. Shrub. SYN. Robinia jubata. (L. B. C. 522.) C. pygmaea (pigmy). fl. yellow; pedicels solitary. April. l. with two pairs linear, glabrous leaflets, approximating at the top of the very short petiole; stipules and petioles spinescent. h. 1ft. to 3ft. Siberia, 1751. Shrub. (B. R. 1021.) C. spinosa (spiny).* fl. yellow, solitary, almost sessile. April, May. l. with two to four pairs of cuneate-linear, glabrous leaflets; stipules small, spinose; adult petioles permanent, strong, and spinose. h. 4ft. to 6ft. Siberia, 1775. An excellent shrub for forming impenetrable hedges, on account of its long branches and strong thorns.
CARAGUATA (its South American name). ORD. Bromeliaceae. Stove epiphytes, allied to Tillandsia. For culture, see Billbergia.
C. lingulata (tongue-shaped-leaved). fl. white; flower-stalk erect, with numerous large, broadly-lanceolate, brilliant scarlet bracts. l. tufted, broad at the base, linear-lanceolate and recurved. h. 1 1/2ft. Columbia, 1880. C. Van Volxemii (Van Volxem's).* fl. yellow, in close spikes, protected by crimson bracts. l. tufted. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Columbia, 1879. (I. H. 326.) C. Zahnii (Zahn's).* fl. pale yellow, in dense oblong compressed panicles; bracts scarlet. May. l. linear-ligulate, 1ft. long, yellow, with crimson stripes, the upper part bright crimson; semi-transparent. h. 1ft. Chiriqui, 1870. (B. M. 6059.) CARALLUMA (C. adscendens is called Car-allum by the Telingas). ORD. Asclepiadeae. Stove evergreen shrubs, with almost the habit of Stapelia. Peduncles solitary, one-flowered, rising from the axils of the teeth. Stems tetragonal, toothed along the angles. For culture, see Stapelia. C. adscendens (ascending). fl. variegated with purple and yellow, usually drooping; segments of corolla reflexed at the edges, acuminated, glabrous. Branches slender, ascending, each bearing a solitary flower at top. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Coromandel, 1804.
C. fimbriata (fimbriate). fl. axillary, solitary, sub-campanulate, drooping; segments of corolla falcate at top, with replicate fringed edges; marked with many transverse purple lines, pale yellow beneath, upper part purple. Branches elongated, attenuated. h. 6in. Burma, 1829. (L. B. C. 1863.) CARAPA (Carapa is the name of C. guianensis in Guiana). ORD. Meliaceae. A small genus of stove trees, natives of the West Indies, Tropical America, and Guinea. Calyx usually of four distinct sepals; corolla of four or five oblong, egg-shaped, spreading petals. Fruit large, and containing numerous seeds. These trees are of economical utility, and probably the only one in cultivation is C. guianensis. They succeed well in a mixture of loam and sand. Ripe cuttings will root in sand, under a hand glass, in a moist heat. C. guianensis (Guiana). November. fr. the size of an apple. l., leaflets eight or ten pairs, alternate or opposite, elliptical, oblong, acuminated, coriaceous, shining. h. 60ft. Guiana, 1824. (A. G. 387.) The other species quoted as having been introduced to this country are: C. guineensis and C. moluccensis.