Plant Encyclopedia

Group/Class:  Sweet Chili

Description:

A lovely variety that produces high yields of 12" long, sweet cayenne peppers; ripens from light green to red; can be harvested at any stage of ripeness; great addition in salad, stir fry or dried to make seasoning; suitable in sunny containers or gardens

Edible Qualities

Sweet Cayenne Pepper is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces light green long peppers (which are technically 'berries') which can be harvested at any point. The fruit will often fade to crimson over time. The peppers have a sweet taste and a crunchy texture.

The peppers are most often used in the following ways:

• Eating When Cooked/Prepared
• Cooking
• Baking
• Drying
• Pickling

Planting & Growing

Sweet Cayenne Pepper will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 inches apart. This vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.

This plant is typically grown in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Sweet Cayenne Pepper is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.