Hot Peppers

Cayenne Pepper

Light: Full sun. Fruit size: 5 to 6 inches. Matures: 70 to 75 days. Plant spacing: 12 to 18 inches apart. Plant size: 18 to 24 inches tall. Scoville heat units: 30,000 to 50,000 (hot). This very hot pepper is the prime ingredient in Cayenne pepper, which is made when the dried peppers are ground into powder. This is also the favored spice of Creole and Cajun cuisine used to give gumbo and crayfish dishes their punch. Thin-walled, skinny, wrinkled fruits are 5 to 6 Inches long and very hot. However, they will not be hot when small. Wait until they get at least 5 or 6 Inches long to pick hot ones. They can be substituted for most dishes calling for Serrano, Jalapeno, or Habanero peppers. Easy to grow and tolerant of hot, humid weather, Cayenne will produce peppers all summer. These skinny peppers are also called chili or finger peppers. Great for containers. Some Bonnie Plants varieties may not be available at your local stores, as we select and sell varieties best suited to the growing conditions in each region.

Chile de Arbol Hot Pepper

Chili de Arbol blends fiery heat with smoky flavors that really enhance Mexican cooking. Tall plants (up to 4 feet) bear heavy loads of slender, curved peppers all summer long. This heirloom pepper hails from Chihuahua, Mexico, and is the pepper seen most often in dried pepper strings (ristras) or wreaths because fruits retain their bright red color after drying. Only available in the following state, in limited quantity: CA

Fresno Chili Hot Pepper

Heirloom. Fresno chili is a jalapeño-style chili, but hotter than most jalapeños. High yields of medium-sized fruit are borne on short, upright plants. The peppers ripen from green to red. Excellent for picking, canning, sauces, and salsas. Vigorous 24 to 30 inch tall plants have dense, dark green foliage and are resistant to tobacco mosaic virus. A good pickler, the fruit is also ready to eat at a mature green stage, even before it turns red.

Habanero Primero Red Hot Pepper

If you love the flavor of habaneros but can’t take the extreme heat, this is the pepper for you. Habanero Primero Red hot pepper tastes like traditional habanero peppers but with only about one-third of the heat. One of the earliest ripening habaneros available, you’ll enjoy huge yields of fruit as early as 60 days after planting. The 3-inch fruit is larger than standard habaneros, but the plant is compact, reaching just 18 to 24 inches tall. This pepper grows beautifully in garden beds or containers. Adding a cage to your pepper plant helps support stems when heavy with fruit. Place in full sun and feed regularly. Scoville heat units: 70,000. Wear gloves when handling fruit. Hybrid. Matures in 60 to 65 days (green), 75 to 80 days (red).

Serrano Pepper

This variety is a vigorous bearer of hot, pungent, candle-shaped fruits that mature from green to bright red. Plants do well in most climates and are especially well adapted to hot, humid areas. This pepper is growing in popularity for pickling and salsa, and is the pepper of choice for making pico de gallo.Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Tabasco Hot Pepper

Heirloom. This hot pepper is used to make the famous Tabasco® Sauce. Peppers mature from yellow-green to orange to red and have a unique, smoky flavor that contributes to Tabasco's distinctive taste. While adapted to all areas of the US, plants produce continuously and will therefore produce the most peppers in the South and Southwest, where the growing season is longest. In frost-free areas, plants can live for several years. Easy to grow, the compact Tabasco is also a good choice for containers.