Plant Care Library

Group/Class:  Hot Poblano

Description:

Heat tolerant and compact plants, perfect for patio containers and sunny gardens; produces large, 7" heart shaped peppers that are dark green and mature to deep red-brown; zesty, spicy flavor can be eaten fresh or dried into ancho peppers

Edible Qualities

Carranza Pepper is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces dark green heart-shaped peppers (which are technically 'berries') with red flesh which can be harvested at any point. The fruit will often fade to crimson over time. The peppers have a zesty taste and a crisp texture.

The peppers are most often used in the following ways:

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

Planting & Growing

Carranza Pepper will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 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 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.

Carranza 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.