Q.Can A Pepper Plant Mutate?
I bought a pepper plant in 2021 which produced green peppers similar to bulbs I Christmas lights (0.8mm x 2.5cm. I took it indoors for the winter and transplanted back outside the next summer. The peppers were the same size. I repeated the process in 2022. This year after transplanting it outside the size and shape of the peppers were completely different. Peppers were on average 5.5cm x 4.5cm (about 15 times the normal size). Can you explain what has happened?
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
This will be cross pollination, which will introduce a new set of genetics. This, like humans, means that the new fruit will take the traits of both parents. If you did not have other peppers, then it could have been cross pollinated by one nearby.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/seeds/controlling-cross-pollination.htm
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