Gypsy
Sweet, thin-walled — Earliest pepper listed at 65 days - the short-season pick. AAS winner. Thin walls fry and roast fast.
Where to buy ‘Gypsy’
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Bell Boy
Sweet, thick-walled — No heat at all - safe to handle bare-handed, unlike hot types. Picks green at 70 days; leave it to turn red for sweeter flavour at the cost of further fruit set.
Where to buy ‘Bell Boy’
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Lady Bell
Sweet — 72 days to green, then red if left. Peppers drop blossoms in extreme heat - in hot regions expect a midsummer pause and a fall flush.
Where to buy ‘Lady Bell’
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Purple Belle
Sweet — Fruit runs purple, then black, then red - the purple stage is IMMATURE, not ripe, so do not treat colour as a maturity cue here. Go by the 70-day clock and size.
Where to buy ‘Purple Belle’
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Chocolate Bell
Rich when fully brown-ripe — Ripens green to chocolate brown, not red - brown IS ripe here, so do not leave it waiting for red.
Where to buy ‘Chocolate Bell’verified
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Sweet Banana
Also known as Banana pepper
Mild, sweet — Mild - NOT to be confused with the hot banana and Hungarian wax types sold under similar names. Harvest pale yellow for pickling, or let it run to red for sweetness.
Where to buy ‘Sweet Banana’verified
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Poblano
Also known as Ancho (when dried)
Rich, mild, earthy — The mildest of the hot peppers - milder than jalapeno, safe for most palates, and the standard chile relleno pepper. Called ancho once dried.
Where to buy ‘Poblano’verified
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Jalapeño
Also known as Jalapeno
Grassy, moderate heat — Genuinely hot - wear gloves when cutting quantity and keep hands away from eyes. The heat concentrates in the internal ribs, so removing ribs and seeds drops the burn substantially.
Where to buy ‘Jalapeño’verified
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Serrano
Bright, clean, sharp — Distinctly hotter than jalapeno - substitute 1:1 only if you want roughly triple the heat. Gloves advised.
Where to buy ‘Serrano’verified
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Cayenne, long slim
Also known as Long Slim Cayenne
Sharp, clean heat — Roughly 5-10x hotter than a jalapeno - gloves required. Thin walls dry easily on a string without a dehydrator, which is the main reason to grow cayenne over jalapeno.
Where to buy ‘Cayenne, long slim’
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Habanero
Also known as Orange Habanero
Fruity, floral, intense — 10-100x a jalapeno - gloves and eye protection are mandatory, and wash tools and boards immediately. As a C. chinense it germinates slowly and needs a long hot season, so start indoors early.
Where to buy ‘Habanero’verified
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Ghost Pepper
Also known as Bhut Jolokia
Smoky, delayed-onset extreme heat — Superhot: gloves and eye protection are non-negotiable, and ventilate when cooking - airborne capsaicin will irritate lungs. Needs a very long hot season; start indoors months early.
Where to buy ‘Ghost Pepper’verified
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Carolina Reaper
Fruity then brutal, lingering — Among the hottest peppers in the world - handle only with gloves and eye protection, never touch skin or eyes, and treat it as a genuine hazard around children.
Where to buy ‘Carolina Reaper’
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Aristotle
Self-fertile
- Disease
- Bacterial leaf spot races 1-3, Phytophthora root rot, Potato Virus Y race 0, Tobacco Etch Virus, Tobamovirus, Tobacco Mosaic Virus
- Size
- Large, thick-walled blocky fruit
Sweet, no heat — The workhorse disease-resistant green-to-red bell, carrying both bacterial leaf spot and Phytophthora root rot resistance in one plant. Anthocyanin-less fruit with heavy set and thick walls. Pick this over an heirloom bell if bacterial leaf spot has cost you a crop before. Note that Cornell lists 'Aristotle X3R F1' as a separate entry without Phytophthora root rot resistance, so check the exact name on the packet if Phytophthora is your problem.
Where to buy ‘Aristotle’
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Revolution
Self-fertile
- Disease
- Bacterial leaf spot races 1, 2, 3, 5; Cucumber Mosaic Virus; Phytophthora blight
- Size
- Blocky red bell
Sweet, no heat — Early blocky red bell with Phytophthora blight resistance plus bacterial leaf spot races 1, 2, 3 and 5. The earliness matters in short-season gardens where a main-season bell never colours up.
Where to buy ‘Revolution’
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Turnpike
Self-fertile
- Disease
- Bacterial leaf spot races 0-5 and 7-9, tobamoviruses, Phytophthora blight
- Size
- Blocky red bell
Sweet, no heat — Blocky red bell with unusually broad bacterial leaf spot coverage, races 0-5 and 7-9, on top of Phytophthora blight resistance. Broad race coverage is what keeps resistance from collapsing when a new race shows up in your area.
Where to buy ‘Turnpike’
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Nitro S10
Self-fertile
- Disease
- Bacterial leaf spot races 0-10, Phytophthora blight, high resistance to Tobacco Mosaic Virus, intermediate resistance to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus
- Size
- Large blocky red bell, smooth fruit
Sweet, no heat — Large smooth blocky red bell resistant to bacterial leaf spot races 0-10 and to Phytophthora blight, with high TMV resistance. The full 0-10 race coverage is the widest bacterial leaf spot protection currently listed.
Where to buy ‘Nitro S10’
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Tarpon
Self-fertile
- Disease
- Bacterial leaf spot races 0-10, Phytophthora blight, tobamoviruses
- Size
- Compact plant, dark green smooth blocky fruit
Sweet, no heat — Main-season hybrid on a compact plant, resistant to bacterial leaf spot races 0-10 and Phytophthora blight. The compact habit suits tight beds and containers where a full-size bell sprawls.
Where to buy ‘Tarpon’
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Intruder
Self-fertile
- Disease
- Bacterial leaf spot races 1, 2, 3; Phytophthora blight
- Size
- Large, firm, smooth fruit
Sweet, no heat — Large firm smooth bell carrying Phytophthora blight resistance with bacterial leaf spot races 1, 2 and 3. Cornell groups it with the varieties resistant to Phytophthora blight and some bacterial leaf spot races, rather than with the broad 0-10 race types, so choose it where Phytophthora is the main threat and leaf spot pressure is modest.
Where to buy ‘Intruder’
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Red Knight X3R
Also known as Red Knight
Self-fertile
- Disease
- Bacterial leaf spot races 1-3, Potato Virus Y race 0
- Size
- Blocky green-to-red bell
Sweet, no heat — Long-standing X3R bell resisting bacterial leaf spot races 1-3. The X3R label on a seed packet is the shorthand for stacked bacterial leaf spot resistance genes, and it is the single most useful thing to look for on a bell pepper packet in a wet climate.
Where to buy ‘Red Knight X3R’
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Paladin
Self-fertile
- Disease
- Phytophthora root rot and blight, Tobacco Mosaic Virus, Tomato Mosaic Tobamovirus. NO bacterial leaf spot resistance
- Size
- Large blocky bell
Sweet, no heat — The first bell with genuinely good Phytophthora resistance and still a benchmark for it, but it carries no bacterial leaf spot resistance and can show fruit silvering. Choose it for wet, poorly drained ground where Phytophthora is the killer, not where leaf spot is.
Where to buy ‘Paladin’
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El Rey
Self-fertile
- Disease
- Bacterial leaf spot races 0-5 and 7-9, Tobacco Etch Virus, Tobacco Mosaic Virus
- Size
- Jalapeño
Grassy, moderate heat — A jalapeño with broad bacterial leaf spot resistance across races 0-5 and 7-9, which is rare outside the bells. Genuinely hot like any jalapeño, so wear gloves when cutting quantity.
Where to buy ‘El Rey’
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Aruba
Self-fertile
- Size
- Elongated, 3-4 lobed fruit on an erect plant
Mild and sweet, thin-walled — Cubanelle type, early maturing, ripening from pale lime green to bright red. Cubanelles are the thin-walled sweet frying pepper, picked pale green rather than red, and are not a bell substitute for stuffing.
Where to buy ‘Aruba’
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