Carolina Cayenne Pepper

These are hotter than a regular cayenne! Prolific, cold hardy, and nematode resistant, producing 5-6" long fruit. Truelove grower Chelsea Askew has made some of the tastiest hot sauces with this pepper in both the green and red stages of maturity. This thin-walled pepper also dries well for later use.

Photo shows Carolina Cayenne Peppers surrounding smaller Chiltepin Peppers on a tray.

Days to maturity: 70

Seeds per pack: 25

Germination rate: 96% on 03/22/2024

Planting / harvesting notes

Start seeds indoors 8-10 weeks before the last frost and transplant into garden well after the danger of frost. Keep seedlings moist but do not overwater. Transplants should be initially watered in well, and plants will be most productive with regular irrigation and full sun. These abundant plants may have to be staked.

Seed keeping notes

Peppers are generally self-pollinating, though we isolate different varieties of the same species by at least 50 feet, in hopes that flying insects will not cross pollinate them unexpectedly. There are several important species of peppers, so check your scientific names! Pepper seeds are ripe when the fruits have turned their final fiery color - in this case, fiery-orange. Cut the fruit, scrape out seeds, and lay them out to dry on a labeled screen or paper product in a ventilated place away from direct sunlight for a week or two. Consider wearing gloves for your protection! Drying the peppers before seed extraction can slightly lower your germination rates, but works fine for home seed saving as long as the peppers do not rot.