Matchbox Pepper lives up to its fiery name, delivering intense heat in a compact, ornamental package. This Capsicum annuum cultivar reaches just 30 inches tall but produces an abundance of small fruits that progress from dark green through yellow-green to brilliant red as they mature. Thriving in zones 9-11 and reaching harvest in just 75 days, it's a plant that rewards gardeners with prolific color and flavor from a surprisingly small footprint. The heat builds with each pepper you add to a dish, making it as much fun to grow as it is to eat.
Full Sun
Moderate
9-11
30in H x ?in W
—
Moderate
Hover over chart points for details
Small fruits in shifting shades of dark green, light green, yellow-green, and red completely blanket the low, sprawling, bushy plants, whose attractive deep green semi-glossy foliage makes this as ornamental as it is productive. The real draw is the playful intensity: one pepper brings fruity, flavorful heat to a dish; two crackle; three smoke; four blaze. Its compact growth habit and abundance of fruit make it equally at home in a garden bed or container.
These small peppers are built for heat and flavor, not bulk. Each one brings a fruity warmth and spicy punch to dishes, making them ideal for adding gradated heat to salsas, stir-fries, hot sauces, and any preparation where you want control over the fire level. Their small size and prolific production also make them attractive for ornamental kitchen gardens where form and function merge.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before your last frost date, maintaining soil temperatures of 70-85°F for reliable germination. Transplant seedlings into individual pots once they develop their first true leaves.
Harden off seedlings over 7-10 days by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions. Transplant outdoors after the last frost date when soil has warmed. Space plants 18 inches apart in rows 36 inches apart, in full sun.
Peppers reach harvest maturity in 75 days from transplanting. Pick fruits at any stage: dark green, light green, yellow-green, or fully red. Mature red fruits offer the fullest flavor and heat. Harvest regularly to encourage continued production throughout the season.
Enter your ZIP code to see a personalized growing calendar for this plant.