Plant Database / Vegetables / Cayenne Pepper
Vegetables

Cayenne Pepper

Capsicum annuum
Solanaceae (Nightshade)

Thin, hot red peppers that dry beautifully into flakes and powder. Heavy yielder in Texas heat.

EdibleAnnualFull sunHeat-lover
Cayenne Pepper (Capsicum annuum) illustration — Texas Roots plant database, by Jordan Polasek
Sun
Full sun
Water
Moderate
Soil
Well-drained
pH
6.0-6.8
Hardiness
Warm-season annual
Height
2-3 ft
Spacing
18 in
Days to harvest
70-85

What it is

Cayenne Pepper (Capsicum annuum) is in the Solanaceae (Nightshade) family. Thin, hot red peppers that dry beautifully into flakes and powder. Heavy yielder in Texas heat.

How to grow it

It wants full sun, water it moderate, and give it well-drained soil. Target a soil pH around 6.0-6.8. Space plants about 18 in apart. Expect roughly 70-85. Warm-season annual.

How it's used

Cayenne Pepper is used: dried, powdered, hot sauce.

🔎 How to identify it

  • Slender plant
  • White flowers
  • Long thin curved red pods

Edibility

PartsRipe fruit
UsesDried, powdered, hot sauce
CautionHot - handle with care.
🌤 Before you plant: check the live 7-day garden weather to time it right for frost and heat.

Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.