Hot pepper
Vegetable · warm season · also called chili, chile, chilli, jalapeno, cayenne, habanero
When to plant
- Start seeds indoors about 9 weeks before planting out.
- Plant outdoors about 2 weeks after your average last spring frost.
- Ready to harvest about 70 days after planting out.
Jalapeño, serrano, cayenne. Superhots (habanero, ghost) need 90–120 days.
Frost dates depend on where you live. Enter your ZIP code to get exact dates.
Dates by zone: 3a 3b 4a 4b 5a 5b 6a 6b 7a 7b 8a 8b 9a 9b 10a 10b
Growing basics
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours)
- Spacing
- 18 in
- Soil temperature
- At least 65°F
- Time to harvest
- About 70 days
- Containers
- At least 2 gallons
- Plant family
- Tomato family (nightshades)
- Harvest per plant
- About 1.5 lb
- Seeds keep
- About 2 years
Companions
Good neighbors: Basil, Onion (sets), Carrot
Keep apart: the cabbage family (brassicas). Cabbage-family crops and tomatoes compete and can stunt each other.
Keep apart: Potato. Potatoes share blight with tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant.
Keep apart: Mint. Mint spreads aggressively into neighbors. Keep it in a pot.
Keep apart: Fennel (bulb). Fennel slows the growth of most garden plants. Grow it on its own.
Keep apart: Sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke). Sunchokes spread aggressively and shade neighbors.
Varieties to try
- Early Jalapeño 65 days: medium heat
- Poblano (Ancho) 70 days: mild; dried as ancho
- Cayenne 70 days: hot; good for drying
- Serrano 75 days: hot
- Habanero 100 days: very hot; needs a long, warm season
Pests and problems
Grow it well
Tips
- Use bigger pots than you think. Small pots dry out in hours on a hot day. A tomato needs at least 5 gallons, and 10 or more is better. Peppers and eggplant want 3 to 5 gallons.
- Warm the soil for melons and peppers. Lay black plastic over the bed a week or two before planting, and cut holes to plant through. It warms the soil several degrees, so heat lovers like melons, peppers, and squash get off to a faster start.
- Cut, don't pull. Peppers, eggplant, and melons are firmly attached. Pulling can snap the branch or uproot the plant. Cut them with pruners.
Affiliate links: we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.