Pepper Seed Germination Time
Most pepper seeds germinate within 7-21 days but it's good to keep them nice and warm at 80-90˚ F to make sure the seeds sprout. Do not keep them in a cold room or a greenhouse that gets cold at night – they need consistent 80-90˚ F temperatures to ensure best germination.
Pepper seed germination time varies greatly for peppers. For example, with super hot peppers like Carolina Reaper and Trinidad Scorpions are often very slow to sprout – make sure to be patient and wait up to 7-21+ days for them to sprout. Don't give up on them! Keeping them warm at 80-90˚F will help you have a lot more success with germination.
For quicker germination,
you can also grow our faster growing peppers:
Many peppers germinate more quickly than the super hots, these include sweet Chimayo Chile seeds, Early Jalapeño seeds, and Yellow Jalapeño seeds, and many more - check out our Fastest Growing Peppers for varieties that sprout and grow quickly – these are great for short growing seasons! These peppers tend to germinate on the lower end of the 7-21 day pepper germination spectrum.
Find more of our top
Tips on How to Grow Peppers »
While pepper seeds can have notoriously long germination times, other seeds like tomato seeds are very quick to sprout, we usually see ours tomato seeds sprout within a week of planting. That is why we plant chile pepper seeds a few weeks before starting other vegetables, since chile peppers take a longer time to sprout, and are slower growing than fast growing vegetables like tomatoes.
Pruning pepper plants is a great way to increase your peppers.
Learn How to Prune Pepper Plants for Maximum Yield »
