Ornamental peppers are a unique, specialty type plant for home landscapes. Appealing characteristics include colorful berries and foliage. Ornamental peppers have traditionally been thought of to some degree as a holiday potted plant but are enjoying increased use among home gardeners as an alternative color addition to annual and herbaceous perennial beds.
Ornamental peppers produce colorful fruit (actual peppers) in a wide range of sizes, forms and colors. Purple, orange, yellow, red, brown, blue and white are common. Multiple colors can appear on the same plant. Flowering on ornamental peppers is not obvious – the fruit are the desirable feature. Plants can reach heights of 8 inches to 3 feet depending on the variety. Green foliage is common, but variegated foliage and plants with purplish-black leaves are also available.
You can plant ornamental peppers several times during the year. Many people plant in mid-spring and enjoy the colorful foliage and fruit all the way through the fall until the first killing frost. It is also popular, and widely accepted, to plant ornamental peppers in mid- to late summer (July – September) for a nice color addition to the fall landscape. Soil pH is not critical, but slightly acid conditions (5.5-6.0) are most preferable. Irrigate during dry spells. Space plants according to the mature size for the variety chosen. A full-sun location is needed. When planting in the spring, fertilize at planting and again at a half rate in early to mid-summer. When planting in mid- or late summer, a fertilization at planting will normally last through the fall.
Varieties of ornamental peppers include Chilly Chili (an All-America Selection in 2002), Medusa and Red Missile. The Explosive series is very popular and includes Ember, Ignite and Blast. Ember has dark-purple foliage on a 12- to 14-inch-tall plant with purplish-red fruit. Ignite is best suited for containers and baskets and only reaches 6-8 inches with fruit that changes from ivory white to greenish-yellow to orangish-red. Blast reaches 8-10 inches tall and has yellow-green fruit that changes to scarlet red. Fruit of these three are edible and medium hot in flavor. Chilly Chili has non-pungent fruit and reaches about a foot tall with a spread of 8-10 inches. Fruit color of Chilly Chili ornamental peppers changes from yellow to orange and matures at red.
All ornamental peppers are very heat-tolerant and will make a great additional to the late-summer and fall landscape in Louisiana.