Peppers for all seasons

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Photos provided by AAS, Mark Dwyer and Respective breeders

Basket of Fire

Basket of Fire combines ornamental and edible variety characteristics.

Russell Plowman, horticulture instructor at Texas Tech University, said it offers months of color in the south.

“It’s typically planted in June [in Texas], and they grow superbly all summer with blooms and peppers that emerge early and can last through December,” he says. “There are not many ornamental plants you can get seven months of color out of.”

The Basket of Fire pepper is an annual plant bred especially for hanging baskets, but it also serves as a good edible ornamental pepper for beds, vegetable gardens or containers. It grows to 12-14 inches tall with a 20-inch spread with white, star-shaped blooms and fruit that matures from a creamy yellow to orange and finally red. Fruit sets typically last 90 days, he adds.

“The pepper has a low, spreading branching habit, which makes it ideal for hanging baskets or planting with other ornamental or edible plants,” he says. “You can plant it with pansies or cabbage, and it will perform well.”

Plowman said the pepper will thrive in cooler temperatures and in extreme heat and low humidity. It prefers full sun and adapts to most soils but needs good drainage.

“The hotter it gets the more this plant likes it,” he says. “It also does better than most pepper plants in cooler temperatures, and the peppers’ colors intensify as temperatures cool. So, it’s also a good addition to any fall garden as well.”

It can produce hundreds of peppers per plant, and peppers are relatively small at 1-2 inches, with a heat rating of approximately 80,000 Scoville Heat Units, which for comparison would fall between Cayenne and Thai peppers.

Black Olive

Black Olive is an All-America Selections winner and another good option for southern growers and retailers. According to AAS trial managers, Black Olive kept its upright habit with nicely draping leaves and dark purple/black fruit all season. Fruit appears in small clusters along the stems. As summer progresses, the fruits mature to red giving a beautiful contrast against the dark purple foliage and bright purple flowers. Retailers and growers can sell this multi-use ornamental as a 20-inch border plant, a great color splash for containers, or as a cut flower in mixed bouquets. It blooms from summer until frost and is typically ignored by deer. Use it in mass plantings, border edging, containers and hanging baskets.

Black Pearl

Black Pearl is a dramatic selection with its black foliage. But, according to AAS judges, the standout quality is that Black Pearl looks better as the summer season progresses. The plant branches out, producing more clusters of black, pearl-like, shiny peppers. The plant grows taller and wider developing into a black pyramid shape without pinching, pruning, or grooming. Black Pearl is exceptionally heat-tolerant and requires minimal water and fertilizer. It is easy to grow from seed, bedding plants or pot plants with fruit set. There are no serious insect or disease problems. As the plant matures, the black peppers turn red, adding a new color to the plant. While edible, the peppers are very hot. The black foliage does not fade in the full sun garden. Black Pearl is an effective background plant particularly with silver, white or pastel flowering annuals in the foreground.

Explosive Embers

Explosive Embers produces conical purple pods which grow in upright clusters on the plant, and eventually mature to orange, then red. It also features purple and green variegated leaves, as well as purple flowers and stems. According to County Line Nursery, the showy peppers are carried in abundance from mid-summer to early fall. Its attractive pointy leaves remain dark green in color with showy purple variegation throughout the season. It features subtle purple star-shaped flowers dangling from the stems from late spring to mid-summer. This plant is primarily grown as an ornamental, but it's also valued for its edible qualities. 

NuMex Easter

Bright pointed peppers in pastel shades of purple, yellow, cream and orange dot the top of this compact, well-branched small pepper. It grows up to 8 inches high and 10 inches wide. Fruiting all summer, it works well for containers as well as the garden bed. It’s also an AAS award winner. Peppers appear in clusters of four to six and sit above the dark green foliage. In spring it features small white flowers. As the chiles begin to dry out, they can be snipped off making way for new ones.

Tolerant of heat, humidity, drought, wind and rain, this pepper is about as easy as you can get for garden or container.

Onyx Red

Onyx Red was selected for its compact, well-branched habit and dark black foliage. According to AAS judges, the contrast between the diminutive black foliage and tons of shiny red fruits is striking and makes a bold statement in the garden. Plants are vigorous, continually growing but retain their neat, compact habit, making Onyx Red a solid choice for beds, borders, containers and mass plantings. Naturally compact plants are perfect for a potted plant program as well as for an annual bedding plan where earliness and retail readiness are important factors.

Hot Pops Yellow

Hot Pops Yellow produces colorful, little, round fruits that show multiple colors (red, orange and yellow) simultaneously for a high-impact display. Blooms summer through fall. Plants are compact and heavily branched with determinate growth. Hot Pops Yellow grows up to 5 inches tall and 8 inches wide.

Purple Flash

Purple Flash is most noted for its near black foliage accented with occasional flashes of bright purple or white. It grows vigorously in an upright bushy mound up to 15 inches high and 20 inches wide. According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, leaves retain good color throughout the growing season. Small dark purple flowers appear in clusters in early summer. Flowers are followed by small, round, glossy, jet-black fruit. Fruits are technically edible but extremely hot.

Use this very heat-tolerant plant for mixed containers and in-ground plantings.

Quickfire

This 2022 AAS winner was bred as an edible pepper, but it also offers excellent ornamental qualities. This hot Thai-type pepper produces plenty of fruits on a compact, sturdy plant that is well-suited for container gardening. No staking is required. The conical red fruits are 1.7 inches long and plants grow to 6 inches tall. It offers prolific yield. And peppers are hot at 40,000 Scoville units.

AAS judges commented: “Tremendous yield. Sturdy little plant with good habit which is also quite attractive from an ornamental standpoint.” “Hot little buggers. From a home garden perspective, these little plants are right on the money. They almost look like a large ornamental pepper and could probably be used as such in a mixed patio container. The mature fruit had a good flavor and was darn hot.”