Fascinating heirloom Fish Pepper plants have variegated foliage and bear lots of delicious hot pods with stripes. The peppers start out green with white stripes and eventually turn to orange with brown stripes and then to red. They are hot and tasty with up to 30,000 Scovilles and are great for salsas, curries, chili and sauces. Easy to grow, great for containers, this is a pepper every chilehead will love to have in their garden!
Fish Pepper plants often start out green – the mottled foliage appears later in the season along with the striped peppers.
What do Fish Peppers taste like?
Fish Peppers are spicy with up to 30,000 Scovilles so they pack a punch. Their have a hint of sweetness, and a tart peppery flavor that is similar to a Jalapeño or Serrano. They start out green with white stripes and develop more flavor and color as they mature to orange-brown to red when fully ripe. They get hotter the longer they ripen on the plant. They were historically enjoyed with seafood dishes and used to make cream sauces. They are also great for pickling or making pepper vinegar! We like to add them to stir fries, curries, stews, sauces or salsas.
How big do Fish Pepper plants grow?
Fish pepper plants grow from 18 to 36 inches high and can spread to a width of about 24 inches. They grow very well in pots, and are great patio conversation pieces with their variegated leaves with tons of striped pendent peppers hanging from the plants. They are very productive so you'll have lots of peppers to use in the kitchen or to share with friends.
This Fish Pepper pod is starting to mature to it's final red color, they turn from orange-brown to red when fully ripe.
Fish Peppers variegated foliage is quite unusual for pepper plants! This Fish Pepper plant above is growing in a pot – they get very bushy so you can't even see the pot it's growing in in this shot!
These seedlings above are starting to show their mottled foliage early on, but sometimes they take some time before the variegation begins on the plants.
We think these peppers are some of the prettiest peppers you can grow!
Grow gorgeous heirloom Fish Peppers in your garden if you like hot peppers and something a little different!
Sandia Seed offers the best Fish Pepper seeds that have great germination rates and grow true. Start your Fish Pepper Seeds indoors 8 weeks before the last frost. Plant in sterile media, keep moist, and provide 85°F bottom heat for optimal germination. Transplant when seedlings have 6 true leaves, spacing them 30" apart in rich soil or large containers. You can harvest when peppers display their vibrant stripes, or leave them to mature to red.
Find more of our Heirloom Pepper seeds and discover the world of peppers!
Happy growing!
