Chilli - Rocoto (Capsicum pubescens)
An unusual medium-hot chilli with black seeds, the fleshy red, yellow or orange fruits are delicious cooked or eaten raw in salads and salsas. Their large size and round shape also make them perfect for stuffing.
Rocotos are relatively cold tolerant compared to other chilies. Although best in a greenhouse, plants will thrive outdoors in summer in many parts of the UK (They will set fruit but it will probably have to be harvested while green and ripened indoors). In the greenhouse, rocotos will continue growing into December if the weather is mild enough, and fruit will ripen on the plant in late October/November.
Plants can also be fairly easily over-wintered indoors or in an insulated greenhouse (all chilies are, in theory, perennial but rocotos are the only ones we have had success overwintering here in the west of Scotland. We have several plants entering their third year in our greenhouse at the moment).
Although plants can be grown in small pots around 7-10 litres, they will produce few fruits. Rocotos are not heavy producers in their first year but If given more room - 20-30 litre pots, or planted straight into the ground - they will grow huge and you will get more chillies. If you can over-winter a plant, it will usually produce a lot more fruit the following season.