Plant Database / Vegetables / Serrano Pepper
Vegetables

Serrano Pepper

Capsicum annuum
Solanaceae (Nightshade)

Hotter and brighter than a jalapeño, and it shrugs off the worst of a Gulf Coast summer.

EdibleAnnualFull sunHeat-lover
Serrano 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
24–36 in
Spacing
18 in
Days to harvest
75–90

What it is

Serrano Pepper (Capsicum annuum) is in the Solanaceae (Nightshade) family. Hotter and brighter than a jalapeño, and it shrugs off the worst of a Gulf Coast summer.

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 75–90. Warm-season annual.

How it's used

Serrano Pepper is used: fresh salsa, pico, hot sauce.

🔎 How to identify it

  • Slim upright pods
  • White flowers
  • Many small fruits per plant

Edibility

PartsRipe fruit
UsesFresh salsa, pico, hot sauce
CautionHot — handle with care, wash hands.
🌤 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.