When you purchased those little pepper starts, chances are you didn’t ponder too deeply on what you were getting yourself into, or rather, into your garden bed, or containers on the patio. And then June came around and you realized: Bell plants gets big (as in tall and lanky) with lots of leaves to smother their companions; Thai peppers stayed put where you’d left them.
This is a good lesson in plant architecture, and one you’ll need to know well if you want success in the garden. Knowing roughly how big a pepper plant will get before it flowers is the difference between an unruly tangle of competing plants or well-behaved, happy bed. When you think about designing your space, having some idea of expected heights of various types (see breakdown in the graphic above) eliminates all guesswork.
How to Grow Happy Peppers
For instance: Jalapeños tend to get as tall as the shoulders; so do sweet bells. Compact varieties like Thai Bird Eyes remains small. That means thinking about how much room they’ll require. A short plant such as a shishito doesn’t want to be growing in a spot where a sprawling bell pepper are taking up space.
Peppers don’t merely tolerate light but need it to bear fruit. The graphic makes this order clear. It is easy to see when you might plant things together versus separately, different than an Anaheim towering over a Serrano. You can also see if they would make sense in one raised bed or in their own containers.
Peppers has a range of physical requirements, so it’s tempting to lump them all together and think you’re growing one thing. But some (like taller types) gets bent over under the weight of their fruit, and need something sturdier than stem itself to hold them upright. Pushing a simple stake into the ground early in the year will prevent any breakage later on. A big bell pepper can actualy snap itself off its branch on a breezy night if not supported somehow. This is not a problem most gardeners would of had if they had thought ahead.
The infographic groups the bigger plants together. This indicates they are the ones who will need special attention and care along the way.
This is also a hint at this point. It’s true that heat level is often linked to vigor (though not necessarily in the ways you’d think!). For example, I’ve had some super-hot peppers such as the Ghost Pepper types really get big, but they only produce little fruit. And there are milder ones, like Poblano, that makes huge chilies on a fairly large plant. In short, capsaicin means heat, and Scoville units do not equal biomass.
What this translates into: Don’t assume from a pepper’s eventual spice level what its water or other needs will be. You cannot judge a plant’s nutritional needs or water requirements by how spicy its fruit will be.
All peppers want consistently moist conditions, and warm soil. As well as protection from cold (peppers don’t like their feet being wet or too cold for prolonged periods). Mulching keeps the root zone cool and moderates the temperature, which is important because peppers hates having cold or wet roots for long.
With container gardening, however, it’s a whole different story. Because the root zone is limited, which variety works best in which container size are a settled matter. While a jalapeño would be OK in a five-gallon one, a big bell won’t take that size at all and will just fail. That sounds like good advice: Stick with the compact kinds for small containers. If you are on a balcony and want to grow something longer, just make sure it doesn’t get too tall. It would need a lot of trellis which could topple your deck chairs. In other words, learn how to live within the confines of your space, not against them.
To recap: The key to a happy, and ultimately productive, pepper-growing experience isn’t necessarily chasing the yield; it’s understanding how to match the plant’s nature to your environment. Want something hot? Something sweet? Know what size a variety gets to so you can provide it the support, air and light it requires. Go slow at first if necessary. But go right with the plant for the spot. When harvest comes, you’ll be glad you didn’t overwhelm any of them (and neither will your garden).
All plants productive and no one’s unhappy, that’s what I call a recipe for success! Remember though: Space is your most valuable resource in gardening, so plan ahead before digging that first hole.