The Best Varieties Of Peppers To Grow
1. ‘Black Pearl’ Ornamental Pepper
Time of fruiting: midsummer to frost
Description: 18-inch plant sports black leaves and clusters of shiny round black peppers that turn red at maturity.
*Unlike many petite ornamental peppers, ‘Black Pearl’ is not strictly a front-of-the-border plant. From mid-June to September, its decorative dark foliage and shiny clusters of “black pearls” are beautiful additions to borders or containers.
2. ‘Mariachi’ Hot Pepper
Days to maturity: 65 (from transplant)
Description: medium hot, 3-to-4-inch cone-shaped peppers are pale yellow blushing to orange, then red.
*For a hot pepper, ‘Mariachi’ is relatively think-walled. This makes it ideal for grilling, stuffing as hors d’oeuvres, or adding to salsas, anything you might want to use a hot pepper for. It is mild.
3. ‘Carmen’ Sweet Pepper
Days to maturity: 75 (to red)
Description: Two-foot-tall plants produce 6-to-8-inch peppers.
*You might expect a pepper name ‘Carmen’ to have a fiery disposition, but this is not the case. The fruit has the look of a jumbo cayenne (long, slender, and with the “rumpled” quality), but a taste that is wonderfully sweet, without an extravagance of seeds.
4. ‘Socrates’ Bell Pepper
Days to maturity: 65 to green; 80 to more red.
Description: Thick-walled, blocky bell pepper, early. Satisfying to grow and eat.
*If you have trouble growing a hefty, juicy pepper, you need to try ‘Socrates’. It measures about 5 by 7 inches and starts producing in late July and continues into the fall. Harvesting will require pruners due to the size of the peppers.
5. ‘Sweet Spot’ Banana Pepper
Days to maturity: 65 to 75
Description: Produces prolific amounts of delicious 6-to-8-inch, slender, mild fruits that mature to red. Bred for resistance to bacteria.
*These sweet yellow peppers will produce all summer, except when heat gets to them for a long period of time. Brown spots will appear on some of the fruits. Production will become great when there are cooler nights and even milder summer days.
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