Banana Sweet Pepper is a classic heirloom that has graced kitchen gardens for generations, prized for its elegant tapered fruit and impressive versatility in the kitchen. The sleek peppers grow 6 to 7 inches long, starting as a translucent ivory when immature before ripening to a stunning red-orange. Ready to harvest in 60 to 75 days, these frost-tender plants thrive in full sun and warm soil, making them a reliable summer producer in most climates. Generations of gardeners have treasured this variety for pickling, stuffing, and fresh salads.
Full Sun
Moderate
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7in H x ?in W
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Moderate
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The translucent ivory color of immature fruit is genuinely striking and signals the peppers' readiness to shift to that glowing red-orange hue. The 6 to 7-inch tapered shape is elegant and practical, fitting perfectly into whole-pepper dishes or sliced for salads. In frost-free zones, this pepper can be grown as a perennial, rewarding dedicated gardeners with years of harvests from the same plant.
Banana Sweet Peppers excel whole or halved and stuffed, their tapered shape and hollow cavity making them natural vessels for grain, meat, or vegetable fillings. The thin-walled flesh is particularly suited to pickling, absorbing brine and spices beautifully while maintaining a tender bite. Fresh slicing into salads showcases the pepper's sweet flavor and translucent quality when immature, and the mature red-orange fruit offers visual drama on the plate and a deeper sweetness.
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Start seeds indoors 8 to 10 weeks before your last spring frost. Maintain soil temperature between 70 and 85°F for reliable germination, which typically occurs within 7 to 14 days. Use a seed-starting mix kept consistently moist but not waterlogged, and provide bright light once seedlings emerge to prevent leggy growth.
Transplant hardened-off seedlings outdoors after all danger of frost has passed and soil has warmed to at least 70°F. Space plants 18 inches apart in full sun. Handle seedlings carefully, as peppers resent root disturbance; consider using cell packs rather than bare-root seedlings for the smoothest transition.
Peppers can be harvested at the immature translucent ivory stage, which arrives around 60 to 75 days after transplanting, but allowing them to fully ripen to red-orange develops their sweetest flavor and deepest color. Clip fruit from the plant rather than pulling, which risks damaging branches. For a continual harvest, pick peppers regularly, which encourages the plant to produce more fruit throughout the season. In frost-free zones where plants overwinter, harvests will extend well into winter or resume the following spring.
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“Banana Sweet Pepper belongs to that rare category of vegetables that have been stewarded by gardeners across generations, passed along through seed saving and family gardens rather than corporate breeding programs. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, one of North America's most respected stewards of heirloom varieties, describes it as 'a classic sweet wax pepper that has been grown by generations of gardeners.' The variety's longevity and continued cultivation speaks to its reliability and genuine utility in the kitchen, not hype. It thrives equally as a summer annual in cooler climates and as a perennial in frost-free zones, adapting to the gardener's circumstances rather than demanding perfection.”