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| Written by Heleigh Bostwick Tuesday, 27 November 2007 | |||
 Forget poinsettias this year. Colorful ornamental chiles like NuMex Twilight (pictured above) are the hot (pun intended) new plant for the holidays--at least in New Mexico where one researcher has been busy breeding ornamental chiles in holiday colors. According to a recent article in The Albuquerque Tribune, Paul Bosland, professor of horticulture and director of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, has bred colors for almost every US holiday. What makes these ornamental chiles fun and exciting is that first of all the peppers change colors as they ripen, second is that they’re edible and can be used in cooking--and they aren’t lethally hot either--and third is that they are a gift that keeps on growing even after the holiday is over. Bosland has bred these colorful ornamental chiles, which take about five years to create, in shades of green to red for Christmas, orange to purple to black for Halloween, and red to white for Valentine’s Day. The ornamental chiles go by the name NuMex and are flying off store shelves. They can also be grown from seed with a lifespan of about 10 years. For more information visit: The Chile Pepper Institute. Article source: Skip poinsettias; ornamental chiles are the new holiday plants |
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