Ornamental Peppers

A HEALTHY OBSESSION
A few years ago we were shopping at a warehouse store and found this pot full of these strange pointy little peppers. We bought it, took it home and that was the start of our obsession with ornamental peppers. Today we grow and sell nearly 50 (or more) varieties of these things and get all sorts of questions about them.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Most garden centers start selling ornamental peppers in the fall, although once in a while (and from us) you can find them in the spring season. Every year we make the rounds to all the garden centers we know of around Chicago to see which ones they are selling and maybe spot some new varieties. Inevitably, we find one we have never seen, or haven't seen in a while and we ask the staff there "what's the name of this ornamental pepper"? 90% of the time we get the response "it's a capsicum annuum". Then we ask "well, which one?" and get the answer "they're all the same".

Now, I understand that training in garden centers can sometimes be a little slack, but that's just flat out wrong information. Yes, they are all in the Genus Capsicum and I believe all are in the species annuum, but that's like saying all Solanum lycopersicum (the tomato) are all the same. Or take it the next step and say all Solanum are all the same. I have said it before, and I will say it again, that's just wrong.

I know for a fact ornamental peppers have named varieties, when I order tags for my plants I order them PER VARIETY with NAMES ON EACH. Yes, the label companies sell "generic" ornamental pepper tags but most growers use those for the Walmart's of the world that want to maintain as few SKU numbers as they can.

ARE THEY EDIBLE?
When someone sees ornamental peppers for the first time, this is almost always their first question. The answer is yes, but having tasted almost every one we sell, some just don't taste all that good. The only time you really need to be concerned is if the grower has used a fertilizer that's rated for ornamental crops and not for edible ones. These fertilizers often contain trace elements that establish themselves in the plants and could cause harm if ingested. Ask the garden center where you're purchasing them what type of fertilizer was used, if they can't answer you order from us, we use Daniel's fertilizer on ours which is safe.

WHAT DO I DO WITH THEM?
Another common problem is that people don't know what to use them for. The most common application is in baskets, planters or urns as "filler". Ornamental peppers bring a ton of color to planters, especially in the fall alongside mums, ornamental cabbage and Swiss chard. During the summer months they can be used in mass for borders, again, they add a ton of color.

HOW DO I CARE FOR THEM?
Care is similar to other ornamental plants, water when they start to dry out and don't over water them. During active growth they require feeding, again similar to other ornamental plants. A weekly dose of MiracleGro will suffice or use a controlled release fertilizer such as Osmocote.

ARE THEY PERENNIAL?
No, they are annuals like other peppers.

DIFFICULT FROM SEED?
No more than other peppers, germination can take anywhere from 3 to 10 days and they're ready for transplant in 4-6 weeks depending on the variety. Medusa is EXTREMELY fast to germinate, 2-3 days, which amazes me every time I grow them. About the only warning I can give is some of the varieties can take up to 24 weeks to mature (like Black Pearl). So, if you're not a patient person, don't grow those varieties or even better, buy them from us!

CAN I SAVE SEED?
You will have better luck saving seed from the varieties that are not F1 hybrids, they tend to "drift" genetically quite quickly back to their parents. We successfully save seed from open pollinated varieties but different types will need separation to prevent cross pollination. Even then they only seem to hold "true to variety" for 2-3 seasons.

SHOULD I TRY THEM?
If you're bored with the same old, same old by all means YES! Ornamental peppers are quite easy to grow, even from seed, and produce long lasting color well into the fall.