Plant Care Library

Group/Class:  Hot Drying

Description:

A great selection for visual appeal and edible attributes; produces dark red hot peppers with woody stems; great for containers and gardens; hot, smoky flavor profile, these peppers are great for adding a kick to salsa, sauces and perfect for drying

Edible Qualities

Chile de Arbol is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces small dark red narrow peppers (which are technically 'berries') with red flesh which are typically harvested when mature. The peppers have a hot taste and a crunchy texture.

The peppers are most often used in the following ways:

• Eating When Cooked/Prepared
• Cooking
• Drying
• Pickling

Planting & Growing

Chile de Arbol will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 18 inches apart. This vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.

This plant is quite ornamental as well as edible, and is as much at home in a landscape or flower garden as it is in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Chile de Arbol is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.