Discover the easiest varieties of peppers that you can grow in Florida. According to UF-IFAS, the best time to plant peppers is in the Spring after the threat of any frost is gone. You can always start your peppers inside early to get a head start and escape any threat of frost.
UF-IFAS recommends the following months are the best time to plant peppers in the three regions of Florida.
- North Florida: March – July
- Central Florida: February – September
- South Florida: February – September
Banana Peppers
Also known as Hungarian, banana chili, and yellow wax, banana peppers are South American natives and come in hot and mild varieties, with hotter cultivars comparable to jalapenos. Gardeningknowhow.com says that banana peppers thrive in Florida’s warm, tropical climate. They can range in color as they ripen, as well as heat level. Depending on the variety, some banana peppers are sweet while others are very spicy.
Florida-friendly varieties include: Sweet Banana, Blazing Banana, Hungarian wax peppers
Bell Peppers
The most grown variety of pepper is the bell pepper. UF-IFAS says that sweet peppers are an excellent source of vitamins and add beautiful colors to your garden and table. Often harvested while green, there are bell pepper varieties that become red, yellow, brown, orange, and purple when ripened. Bell peppers are not ranked on the Scoville scale because they are sweet, not spicy. Wikipedia defines the Scoville scale as a measurement of the pungency (spiciness or "heat") of peppers, as recorded in Scoville Heat Units (SHU), based on the concentration of capsaicin, among which capsaicin is the predominant component.
Florida-friendly varieties include: California Wonder, Red Knight, Big Bertha
Cayenne Peppers
A classic garden vegetable, cayenne peppers are versatile and easy to grow. The cayenne pepper might be the most popular option when it comes to making hot sauces and dried pepper spices. According to the Gardens Harvest, cayenne peppers are moderately spicy, coming in at 30,000-50,000 on the Scoville scale. Like most other peppers they start green and ripen to red.
Florida friendly varieties include: Long Thin Cayenne, Long Purple Cayenne, Ring of Fire, Dragon Cayenne
Chile (Chili) Peppers
The Chile pepper, also known as the “chili pepper”, is really a large family of peppers which includes Jalapeno pepper varieties. According to JalapenoMadness.com, Jalapeno peppers are the most grown of the hot chili peppers in Florida. All Chile peppers start growing green and then turn red as they ripen. They are mildly spicy, and only rank 500-1,000 on the Scoville scale.
Florida-friendly varieties include: Big Chile II, Biggie Chile Hybrid, Anaheim Chile, Early Jalapeno, Jalapeno M, Jalapeno Fooled You* (Jalapeno Fooled You, is a heat-free variety and is more of a sweet pepper than a spicy one.)
Ghost Peppers
Bhut jolokia, also known as ghost peppers, originated from northeast India and at one point was the world’s hottest pepper. GardeningknowHow.com suggests the best way of growing ghost peppers is indoors or in a greenhouse where temperatures can be maintained at the 75 degrees F. (24 C.). Seeds for ghost peppers take a long time to germinate than most pepper varieties. It takes around 35 days for Ghost pepper seeds to germinate in very warm soil between 80- and 90-degrees F. (27-32 C.), and moist soil. Ghost peppers register at little over 1 million on the Scoville scale making it by far the spiciest pepper on this list.
Florida-friendly varieties include: Red Bhut Jolokia, Yellow Bhut Jolokia, Peach Bhut Jolokia , Purple Bhut Jolokia , Chocolate Bhut Jolokia, Orange Bhut Jolokia
Habanero Peppers
One of the spicier peppers that you can grow in Florida is the habanero pepper. GardeningKnowHow.com suggests that habanero plants grow best when started indoors, then transplanted outside after the danger of any frost has passed. They are usually small green, black, or red-colored peppers that measure 100,000 to 445,000 on the Scoville scale. The black habanero is a very unique variety that produces larger, deep maroon/ brown colored fruits. Normally habanero peppers will form green fruits and turn orange or red as they ripen and are ready for harvest.
Florida-friendly varieties include: Habanero, Caribbean Red Habanero, Black Habanero.