Hot pepper
Capsicum spp.
More heat than you need, and you'll still grow more next year.
Hardiness: zones 2 to 11
Light: full sun
Size: about 2.5 ft tall, 1.5 ft wide
Harvest: August to September
From: Central and South America
Here: Hardy in the Lake Erie shore climate (zone 6b to 7a), so it can live outdoors in the ground.
Good for: food.
Native to: Mexico, Central America & the Caribbean, Tropical South America. Hardy in zones 2 to 11.
The story
Chiles were domesticated in Mexico and Bolivia thousands of years before Columbus, and within a century of 1492 Portuguese ships had made them the heat of India, Thailand, Sichuan and West Africa. The Scoville scale measures what Mexican cooks always knew by taste.
Planting
Full sun, drained soil, and heat; start seed indoors early, since hot types are slow, and set out after the soil warms. Small types do well in pots.
Growing
Water modestly and evenly; a little stress makes hotter fruit. Feed lightly. Shelter from wind; the brittle branches snap under a load.
Harvest and use
Pick at any stage; heat and colour increase with ripeness, late summer into autumn. Dry, smoke, pickle or freeze whole.
What to watch for
Aphids and cold; handle the hottest kinds with gloves.
See if Hot pepper fits your yard
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More annual vegetables, herbs and grains
General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home