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Pepper

Capsicum annuum

Sweet and hot peppers are grown for colorful, crunchy pods, from blocky bells to fiery habaneros. They love heat, and in Florida they often keep bearing for many months and can live through mild winters.

Growing facts

Scientific name
Capsicum annuum
Origin
Mexico, Central and South America
Plant size
18–36 in bushy plants; stake heavy-bearing types
Growth rate
Medium
Sun
Full sun; light afternoon shade helps in extreme heat
Soil
Rich, well-drained soil; even moisture
Soil pH
6.0–7.0
Pollination
Self-pollinating; bees help. Hot and sweet types can cross, which affects saved seed, not this year's fruit.
Cold hardiness
Killed by frost; stalls below 55°F
USDA zones
Annual in most zones; short-lived perennial in 10–11
Harvest
60–90 days from transplant for green fruit; 2–4 more weeks to full color
When to plant (zones 9–11)
Jan, Feb, Mar, Aug, Sep
When to plant (zones 5–8)
May–Jun
Water
About every 3 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young
Feeding
About every 21 days
Taste
Bells are sweet and crisp; hot types range from mild jalapeño to searing habanero
Nutrition
Ripe red and yellow peppers are among the richest vegetable sources of vitamin C, with vitamin A

Is pepper safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

  • Fruit, green or ripe, raw or cooked
  • Young leaves are cooked as greens in some cuisines (Filipino tinola), never eaten raw

Toxic parts and cautions

  • Take care: Hot pepper oils (capsaicin) burn skin and eyes. Wear gloves to cut hot peppers and don't touch your face; wash with soap, as water alone spreads it.
  • Take care: Leaves and stems contain solanine-type alkaloids. Don't eat them raw.
  • Good to know: Very hot peppers can trigger stomach pain and vomiting, especially in children.

Pets: Sweet pepper flesh is fine for dogs in small amounts. Hot peppers cause pain, drooling and stomach upset. Keep pets from chewing the leaves and stems.

How to eat and enjoy pepper

  • Raw in salads and with dips
  • Stuffed, roasted or grilled
  • Salsa, hot sauce and pickled jalapeños
  • Sofrito (with aji dulce or cubanelle)
  • Dried and ground into flakes or powder

When it's ripe

Pick green once the fruit is full-sized and firm, or leave it to turn red, yellow or orange for more sweetness. Cut, don't pull, to avoid breaking branches.

Storing it

Refrigerate unwashed for 1–2 weeks. Chopped peppers freeze well without blanching; hot peppers also dry or pickle well.

Pepper varieties (7)

  • Aji Dulce · also Ají dulce, Aji cachucha

    Looks like a habanero and has the same perfume, but with little or no heat.

    Origin: Caribbean and Venezuela · Taste: Fragrant, sweet, mild · Size: 1–2 in

    Capsicum chinense. A sofrito staple in Puerto Rico; thrives in Florida heat.

  • California Wonder

    A classic blocky bell pepper, green maturing to red.

    Taste: Sweet, crisp · Size: Large

    Sets fruit poorly in high heat.

  • Cubanelle

    A long, thin-walled sweet frying pepper, light green ripening to red.

    Taste: Sweet, mild · Size: 6 in

    Common in Latin Caribbean cooking.

  • Habanero

    A very hot, fruity-scented pepper that ripens orange.

    Taste: Very hot, fruity · Size: 1–2 in

    A different species (Capsicum chinense). Loves heat; slow to start.

  • Jalapeño · also Jalapeno

    The everyday medium-hot pepper, picked green or red.

    Origin: Mexico · Taste: Medium heat · Size: 2–3 in

    Productive and dependable in heat.

  • Shishito

    A thin-walled frying pepper eaten whole and blistered; about one in ten has some heat.

    Origin: Japan · Taste: Mild, grassy · Size: 3–4 in

    Very productive; pick often.

  • Sweet Banana · also Banana

    A long, tapered yellow sweet pepper that ripens to orange and red.

    Taste: Mild, tangy · Size: 6 in

    Heavy bearing.

Pests and diseases to watch for

  • Scale insects

    Small bumps, waxy or shell-like, on stems and leaf veins; sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below.

    What to do: Scrub small colonies off with a soft brush.

  • Mealybugs

    White cottony clusters in leaf joints, under leaves and on fruit stems; honeydew and sooty mold.

    What to do: Blast off with a strong spray of water.

  • Aphids

    Clusters of tiny soft insects on new shoots; leaves curl and get sticky.

    What to do: Spray off with water.

  • Sooty mold

    Black, papery film on leaves and fruit that wipes off; it grows on honeydew.

    What to do: Control the insects making honeydew; the mold then weathers away.

  • Spider mites

    Fine pale speckling on leaves, dusty undersides and fine webbing; leaves bronze and drop.

    What to do: Hose the undersides of leaves.

Growing peppers? Let Gardyn keep track.

Gardyn tells you when your pepper needs water based on your local weather, reminds you to feed and prune in season, and keeps every harvest and photo.

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General guidance, not medical or veterinary advice. Poison Control (US): 1-800-222-1222. ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435.