Spud Viper

• Grown, sold, and described by Bunny Hop Seeds
• Plant growth: semi-determinate, dwarf
• Leaf type: potato leaf, rugose
• Time to maturity: midseason
• Approx. number of seeds per pack: 15
• Germination tested after Hot Water Seed Treatment for fungal and bacterial diseases

“Spud Viper” is a dwarf variety with striking striped, saladette-sized, green when ripe bicolor fruits. Spud Viper, by Blane Horton, is a potato leaf sibling to Pit Viper, both from the Rumpelstiltskin project, by using Dwarf Wild Fred and Keith Mueller’s H-28. Spud Viper normally does extremely well in my hot and humid climate, which is not the case for many dwarf varieties. The flavor of the fruits has been very good, juicy and more sweet than tart…fruity green-when-ripe flavor. I grew it in an Earthbox with two other dwarf varieties, and Spud Viper topped at 3.5 feet tall. I could see it growing taller in the ground, under good growing conditions.
Something that many people admire in this variety is the red/pink “bulls eye” spot in the center of the sliced fruits. There is something really interesting about the red bulls eye…it is a bicolor issue. I have been observing this pretty carefully for nearly two years now. Please note that this is observation and not a scientifically proven fact by any means. The second (inner) color of any bicolor will show best when the fruit has fully ripened in the heat…and usually that takes place on the plant, depending on your season. When you pick the fruits at breaker, as I usually have to do, if they ripen indoors (70-80F depending on the season) they will not show the inner bicolor at all in the cooler ripening temps, even when ripened fully to soft and mushy.
So from the SAME plant for Spud Viper, I have observed fruits with and without the bulls eye completely according to where they were ripening and what the heat was. Those left on the plant longer with greater exposure to heat in ripening had by far the best color. Those that were picked right at breaker and ripened over time on a tray at 77-80F showed often no inner bicolor at all.
Note: One packet per order please, limited stock this year.