Plant Care Library

Group/Class:  Hot Horn

Description:

A lovely high yielding bush variety perfect for sunny patio containers and gardens; produces bright red hot peppers that reach 7" long; delicious when eaten fresh, roasted, added to salsas or dried and made into ristras;

Edible Qualities

Giant Ristra Pepper is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces green long peppers (which are technically 'berries') which are typically harvested when mature. The fruit will often fade to red over time. The peppers have a fiery taste and a crisp texture.

The peppers are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Eating When Cooked/Prepared
• Cooking
• Baking
• Drying

Planting & Growing

Giant Ristra Pepper will grow to be about 26 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 14 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 can be integrated into a landscape or flower garden by creative gardeners, but is usually grown 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 pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Giant Ristra Pepper 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.