Aji Dulce Pepper

Native to the Caribbean, this strain of Aji Dulce packed with rich, tropical sweetness heralds from Puerto Rico. Also known as the “sweet habanero,” Aji Dulce offers the rich, complex flavor of a habanero with hardly any of the heat. It ripens from lime green to red and is an essential ingredient for sofrito and many other Caribbean dishes.

The name of this pepper represents a nod to its fruity and smoky habanero-like flavor; however, this sweet, baccatum, aji type pepper has just a tiny fraction of the heat of a true habanero. The beautiful, tapered 3-inch long peppers are ideal for sautéing, fresh cooking or drying into hot pepper flakes and powders.

Viva Mexico! Immature dark green, thick-walled ‘Poblano’ peppers are a perennial favorite with generally mild fruit and a rich, mellow flavor beloved for stuffing and making chile rellenos. Allowed to fully mature, ripen to red and dried, the ‘Ancho’ peppers have a sweet heat and make a phenomenal smoky, ancho chile powder or the classic ‘mole poblano.’ Well-branched plants stand 2- to 3-feet tall and perform well both in containers and your beds.

A striking edible and ornamental with variegated fruit and foliage! Elongated, 3 ½-inch, bell-shaped fruits ripen from green with bold, creamy white stripes to bright red. This unique sweet variety, with thin walls and a crispy texture, can be enjoyed at any stage of ripeness and will be a standout in your containers or garden. 

A delicious Italian HEIRLOOM whose name translates to “horn of the bull,” a tribute to the peppers’ full, tapered shape. The 8-inch fruits mature from glossy green to dark red, are crisp with a full-bodied flavor, and pack a sweet and spicy tang. A versatile addition to your harvest, these peppers can be enjoyed raw, fried, stuffed or grilled. Excellent yield.

Better adaption to cool conditions makes this pepper successful as an early-yielding Jalapeño variety. Prolific yields of 3- to 4-inch long blunt fruits with the distinctive Jalapeño flavor. The spicy fruits can be harvested dark green or allowed to ripen to red for maximum heat.

This irresistibly snackable sweet pepper offers a bright burst of flavor and exhilarating crunch. Bred by Burpee, plants are prolific, burdened with fruit and, as the name implies, early maturing. If you are a sweet pepper fan, you will want to carve out a spot for this one in your garden. 

A thick-walled, juicy, succulent bell pepper, infused with zesty and refreshing citrusy undertones. The elongated and blocky, thick-walled fruits are 4 inches long, nearly as wide, and ripen from lime green, to yellow then yellowish orange. Uniform and heavy yielding. If you like Bells, Flavorburst will not disappoint!

This hybrid was bred to help you get your salsa game on! Expect an abundance of slender, 8-inch long, thin skinned, 1-inch wide peppers that ripen from green to red. Rated 3,000 Scovilles on the heat index, heat level is akin to a Jalapeño. Because of it’s thin skin, it can also be easily dried and ground into spice. Plant one of these to satisfy and step up your summer salsa production.

Habanada is the heatless habanero with irresistible tropical and floral sweetness. The flavor and sweetness evolves as they ripen from lime green to fluorescent orange. Yields are abundant in average garden soil with minimal fertilization. Habanada is as versatile as it is flavorful. Seared, roasted, braised or raw, it will transform your concept of peppers.

HEIRLOOM immigrant from the Caribbean Islands and a close relative of the Jamaican Scotch Bonnet. To complement its searing heat, Habanero has a delicious, pungent, smoky quality unlike any other pepper. Wrinkled 2-inch by 1 1/4-inch fruits ripen from dark green to salmon orange. If you are after a taste of tropical heat, this pepper’s for you.

An HEIRLOOM from the Basilicata region of southern Italy, this early maturing, prolific, long, thin-skinned pepper has such rich flavor that it has been placed in “The Ark of Taste” by the Slow Food organization. A perfect combination of sweetness and crunch, with smoky, delicate, complex flavors. While traditional Italian cuisine typically uses them for frying, these peppers are delightful to eat right off the plant and lend themselves equally well to drying, freezing, salads, and sauces.

This open-pollinated and early yielder thrives in New England with our cooler temperatures and shorter seasons. Strong plants support heavy yields of blocky, thick-walled and crisp bells that ripen from deep green to bright red. A delicious off the vine crunch, with a size that also lends itself well to stuffing.

If you like citrus and peppery heat, then this HEIRLOOM, hailing from Peru, is one you should get to know. Also known as Aji Limon and Kellu Uchu, these 2-foot plants are covered with thin-walled, conical fruits that reach 2 to 3 inches in length and ripen to golden yellow. They offer a glorious clean, uncomplicated, flavorful bright heat. Although the heat is intense, it does not linger, instead leaving behind a lemony finish.

A staple in specialty markets, where it is considered by many to be the ultimate sweet pepper for gourmet salads, salsa and cooking. These super sweet and attractive, 4-inch long, tapered and blunt-tipped, pimiento type fruits ripen to a thick, red flesh. As reliable as it is pretty, with heavy yields, even where cool summers prevail.

A festive and charming mix of wee little peppers to adorn your garden or patio. While the 15-inch plant is compact, the yields are prolific. Your harvest of sweet, firm, mini Belles will be bountiful. Great fresh in salads and for snacking, yet hold up to stuffing, grilling and cooking.

Struggle with growing sweet peppers or disappointed with your harvest? Mountaineer is a highly productive, regionally adapted variety yielding generous quantities of tasty, tapered sweet bells. Peppers mature to red, but can be harvested green, half and half, or somewhere in between. Perfect for snacking or for supper.

Gourmet gardeners will love this authentic Spanish HEIRLOOM, a prized specialty pepper direct from the Galicia region. A tapas food tradition, the young peppers are picked small and bite-sized, quickly sizzled in a fruity olive oil, sprinkled with a coarse sea salt, and eaten whole, seeds, stems and all. They are mostly mild, but an occasional unpredictable hot one lends an element of “Spanish Roulette” to your dining. Plants are vigorous and may be harvested early, and abundantly, for an extremely long season. Heat increases as they ripen to red. Also savored as a  pickled pepper treat!

A sweet French HEIRLOOM yielding 3- to 4-inch long, blocky, thin-skinned fruits that ripen to a sunset orange-yellow color. These compact 18- to 24-inch tall plants are an all-summer heavy producer, from mid-season until frost. Great for a mild sauce, roasting, salads, stuffing or pickles galore! Performs well in containers.

An extraordinary edible ornamental with Italian roots, boundless visual intrigue, and high intensity flavor. Each pepper is a small work of art, and the plant, flush with fruit, a masterpiece. Fruits are 2 ½-inch long, in moody hues of tangerine and violet set amidst a canopy of green and deep purple foliage.  With habanero-level heat, measuring 300,000 – 400,000 Scoville units, these little beauties will add a kick to your culinary endeavors. Top choice for edible landscaping and hot-sauce making.

Hailing from the foothills of Puebla, Mexico, the Serrano bears abundant candle-flame shaped fruit up to 3 inches long. The flavor is bright and biting, with a delayed fuse. Harvest at any stage, keeping in mind their kick intensifies as they age from green to orange to red.

For all you Shishito fans, here is a hybrid new twist! Similar green, wrinkled, and thin-walled fruits, yet bred for a little bit of spicy, earlier fruit set and crop vigor. For best results, stake the plants for straighter, cleaner fruits, as they are so prolific!

This prolific producer, popular in Japan, is a favorite among chefs worldwide. The 3 and 1/2 inch, thin-walled, heavily wrinkled fruits are mild when green and become slightly sweet when aged to red. The thin walls blister and char easily when pan-fried, roasted, grilled, and take on a smokey-rich flavor. There is an element of surprise when growing Shishitos — every now again one will have a shot of heat!

Bred by hot pepper prodigy Chris Fowler of Wales, these exquisite sweet-hots are a happy accident courtesy of adventurous pollinators buzzing between various varieties of Aji Peppers. The fruits of this sumptuous snackers are packed with super sweet, tropical flavor, and the seeds bring a smokey, complex heat that in combination, creates an unparalleled flavor experience! Expect super early, high yields of these little beauties.

Compact, 1-foot tall pepper, both edible and ornamental, is laden with festive, upturned 1-inch green fruits that mature to blazing red color with heat, zest and flavor to match! Scoville Rating: 50,000 to 100,000

As flavorful as it is prolific! Disguised in appearance as a habanero, this sweet seasoning pepper with a citrus-like taste and smoky undertones is a perfect low-heat option for tropical salsas and sauces.  The 1 and 1/2-inch, lantern-like fruits, ripening from green to golden-orange are very aromatic when cooked and provide the perfect undertone for your island-inspired culinary endeavors.

If you like ‘em sweet, this little gem is for you! Not bell-shaped, but belongs in this sweet category with its crisp, colorful compatriots. Compact plants produce a profusion of early, tapered, 4-inch fruits that begin golden, streak purple, then turn more deeply purple, before turning fully red if left on the plant. Harvest a sparkling assortment of sweet, thick walled fruit to enjoy fresh, roasted, stuffed, pickled or sautéed.