Mild sweet peppers, spicy chili peppers or hot chili - they all belong to the Capsicum species. We bring you the top 55 peppers from each group to grow in the garden, greenhouse or balcony.
In a nutshell
- Sweet peppers, chillies and hot peppers belong to the pepper plants (Capsicum)
- Sweet peppers have no capsain and therefore no heat
- Measurement of sharpness in Scoville
- hottest chilli variety: 'Carolina Reaper'
- great wealth of colorful paprika varieties
Sweet Pepper Varieties
Pepper varieties are easy to grow from seeds of store-bought peppers. However, not every pepper has germinable seeds and a high germination rate.
block peppers
The aromatic-sweet but mild blocky peppers are characterized by their large fruits, which weigh between 120 and 200 grams, depending on the variety. These peppers have a large cavity divided into three to four chambers and are therefore easy to fill. Proven varieties include these:
- 'Ariane': orange-red, early-ripening fruits with a good aroma, very productive, ideal for growing in tubs
- 'Aurelio': large, red fruits weighing up to 380 grams, robust and hardy, very productive, early harvest from July
- 'Bendigo': red fruits weighing approx. 140 grams, direct sowing from April, harvest time between August and October
- 'Bontempi': red, medium-sized fruits, hardy to wet and cold, resistant to tomato mosaic virus
- 'Brownie': dark brown, sweet and aromatic fruits, thick flesh, harvest time between June and September
- 'California Wonder': red, very aromatic fruits, harvest time between August and November, very good for containers (e.g. on the balcony)
- 'Coletti': yellow fruits weighing between 150 and 180 grams, sweet and aromatic, harvest time between July and September, resistant to tobacco mosaic virus and other viruses
- 'Fiesta': yellow, large fruits, harvest time between July and October
- 'Goldflame': yellow, aromatic fruits, harvest time between August and October
- 'Ice Age': orange-red fruits weighing up to 150 grams, fruity-sweet, high-yielding, early harvest time, well suited for container cultivation
- 'Marta Polka': yellow, thick-fleshed and very productive paprika variety from Poland, well suited for outdoor cultivation
- 'Mavras': deep purple to dark red fruits, harvest time between August and October, suitable for greenhouses and outdoors
- 'Neusiedler Ideal': can be harvested green or red, harvest time between mid-July and October
- 'Sweet Chocolate': thick-fleshed, chocolate-brown fruits, very good outdoor suitability, harvest time between August and October
- 'Yellow California Wonder': yellow, aromatic fruits, high-yield, harvest time between July and August, well suited for greenhouses
- 'Yolo Wonder B': red, fleshy fruits weighing up to 150 grams, harvest time between August and October, for outdoors, greenhouses and containers
cherry peppers
For cherry peppers (Capsicum annuum var. cerasiforme), the small fruits, which are only between two and four centimeters in diameter and weigh around five grams, are typical. The pepper varieties themselves are very productive and resilient, and they can also be cultivated outdoors, in a greenhouse or in a tub. Proven varieties include these:
- 'Cherry Bomb': Hungarian variety with slightly hot, red fruits, high-yield, well suited for greenhouse and container cultivation
- 'Coccinella': medium-hot cherry chili with comparatively large, bright red ripening fruits, robust and resilient
- 'Yellow Cherry': quite a hot variety from Kosovo, for outdoor, greenhouse and container culture, high-yield
- 'Hot Basket': medium-hot, thick-walled fruits that ripen red, harvest time between July and October
- 'Red Cherry': red, sweet and spicy fruits, robust and hardy, high-yielding, harvest time between July and October
- 'Sweet Cherry': Hungarian variety with sweet, mildly spicy fruits, not hot, very warm, therefore ideal for the greenhouse
Notice: Cherry peppers are also often referred to as "cherry chili". Depending on the variety, the small fruits can be mild or spicy and are suitable for pickling or for filling the starter plate (e.g. with cream cheese).
pointed peppers
Pointed peppers are, as the name suggests, pointed at the bottom and significantly smaller and narrower than the large blocky peppers. The different varieties are between eight and 15 centimeters long and therefore weigh between 80 and 120 grams. Popular types of peppers for home cultivation are, for example, these:
- 'Agio': Hungarian variety with a fruity-aromatic aroma, orange-red to red ripe fruits, very well suited for outdoor cultivation, resistant to tobacco and tomato mosaic virus, harvest time between August and September
- 'Atris': so-called "Bullhorn peppers" with red, thick-fleshed fruits up to 20 centimeters long, harvest time between July and September
- 'Coronor': orange-coloured, sweet-aromatic fruits
- 'Daisy': orange-red, very sweet snack peppers with few seeds, high-yield, robust and hardy, harvest time between August and October
- 'Feher': fruits that ripen red, can be harvested when they are already yellow, well suited for early outdoor cultivation, harvest time between July and September
- 'Gypsy': Hungarian variety with spicy, red ripening fruits
- 'Hunor': Hungarian pointed pepper with a mild, sweet taste, harvest from August, very well suited for tub cultivation
- 'Luigi': Italian snack peppers with sweet fruits and few seeds, up to 15 centimeters long, robust and high-yielding
- 'Roter Augsburger': tried and tested, very robust variety with sweet, red fruits, ideal for outdoor cultivation, early harvest from July
- 'Toscana': bright red, sweet and aromatic fruits when ripe, well suited for pot cultivation, harvest time between June and October
- 'Zlata': robust variety, very suitable for outdoor cultivation, fruits ripen from green to red, mildly spicy taste, harvest time between August and October
Notice: Since the varieties are smaller, pointed peppers ripen faster than the rather large-fruited blocky peppers. They also contain fewer seeds.
tomato peppers
Externally, tomato peppers are reminiscent of tomatoes, as the fruits are also flat, round and ribbed. Most varieties taste sweet, aromatic and juicy, as is typical for sweet peppers. There are also some varieties with a mild heat. Well-known and popular types of tomato peppers include:
- 'Pritavit': Hungarian variety with red, thick-walled fruits, mildly fruity and sweet taste, robust and resistant to paprika mosaic virus, well suited for outdoor cultivation, harvest time July to October
- 'Szuszanna': Hungarian variety with red, juicy-sweet fruits, fruit weight approx. 100 grams, robust and high-yielding, harvest time between July and August
- 'Topgirl': red ripening, medium-sized fruits with thick-walled flesh and a slightly spicy, sweet taste, robust and very resistant, harvest time between August and October
- 'Yellow Stuffer': yellow, very large fruits with few seeds, harvest time between July and October
Source: Kobako, Tomato peppers, edited from Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
tip: A rare specialty is the historic variety 'Paradeise', which was bred as early as the 17th century and is therefore characterized by a sweet, apple-like taste.
Hot and hotter: chili and pepperoni varieties
- 'Anaheim': comes from New Mexico, very productive, large, elongated and thick-fleshed pods, red when ripe, mildly aromatic and hot, Scoville value 100 to 500
- 'Elephant trunk': up to eight centimeters long, thin fruits with a bright yellow colour, medium hot, well suited for outdoor cultivation
- 'Yellow Fire Kiss': old variety with yellow ripening fruits, medium hot, good for pot culture or a sheltered outdoor location
- 'Georgia White Pepper': unusual white fruits, ripen very late, first green, then red, high-yield and early, mildly spicy to slightly hot
- 'Hungarian Hot Wax': Hungarian variety, fruits ripen from yellow to red, Scoville value between 5000 and 10,000
- 'Jalapeno': well-known Mexican group of varieties with fleshy, mildly hot red or yellow fruits, tasty even when green, high-yield, Scoville value between 2500 and 5000
- 'Joe's Long': with fruits up to 30 centimeters long, one of the longest pepperoni varieties, red when ripe, spicy and hot in taste
- 'Lemon Drop': fruity-hot chili with Scoville values between 15,000 and 30,000 and a light citrus aroma
- 'Leutschauer Schotenpfeffer': old, very hot paprika variety from Slovakia with red fruits, good for pickling, Scoville value 1000 to 1500
- 'Lombardo': red ripening fruits, up to ten centimeters long, mildly spicy in taste, ideal for growing in containers
- 'Orange Thai': up to six centimeters long, thin pods with an orange colour, aromatic and very hot, very suitable for drying
- 'Poblano': Vegetable chili with a Scoville value between 1000 and 1500, Mexican variety with fruits that ripen from green to red to dark brown, thick flesh and up to 14 centimeters long
- 'Peperoncini': old Italian variety, about three centimeters long, red ripening fruits, good for drying, Scoville value 100 to 500
- 'Sweet Cayenne': approx. 15 g heavy, red ripening fruit with a mildly aromatic taste, well suited for fresh consumption, ideal for growing in buckets
- 'Thai Yellow': yellow fruits up to ten centimeters long with an aromatic pungency, for greenhouse or conservatory, high-yielding
'Hungarian Hot Wax'
frequently asked Questions
What is the difference between chili and hot pepper varieties?Hot peppers and chili both belong to the paprika genus (Capsicum), like the mild sweet pepper, and are closely related. While chillies are mostly very hot fruits with a Scoville value of more than 500, pepperoni are rather light to medium hot. They are therefore milder in taste, and pepperoni pepper varieties often form the larger fruits. However, the two terms are often used synonymously.
Are Pepperoni and Hot Peppers the Same?In fact, there is no difference in meaning between "pepperoni" and "pepperoni" since they are the same plants. Except that "Pfefferoni" is the Germanized term for the Spanish "peperoni" and has the same meaning - namely "pepper pod".
How hot are the hottest chilies?With a Scoville value of well over 1,000,000, the 'Carolina Reaper' variety has been the hottest chili in the world since 2013. She comes from the American breeder Ed Currie. Individual pods even reached values of more than 2.2 million units. This variety can also be grown in Germany, but is not recommended due to its extreme heat. Incidentally, in second place is the variety 'Trinidad Moruga Scorpion', whose fruits are about the size of a golf ball.