Capsicum annuum

Capsicum annuum — the species behind most sweet and chilli peppers, domesticated in the Americas and carried worldwide by the Columbian Exchange. The botanical home of our pepper range.

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  • Ornamental Pepper Dwarf Mixed seeds (Capsicum annuum) – vegetable Ornamental Pepper Dwarf Mixed (Capsicum annuum) – vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    Ornamental Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum Dwarf Mixed Variety
    €4,91

    Ornamental peppers for colorful compact displays ornamental pepper seeds are ideal for anyone looking to grow a compact, decorative pepper pot plant with vivid, changing fruit colors. This dwarf ornamental pepper plant stays neatly sized...
  • Sweet Pepper 5 Color Mixture seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable Sweet Pepper 5 Color Mixture (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    Sweet Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum 5 Color Mixture Annual Vegetable
    €5,90

    Sweet pepper mix with five standout colours sweet pepper seeds in this 5-colour mixture are selected for gardeners who want variety in one sowing. This annual vegetable selection produces blocky, bell-shaped peppers in a lively...
  • Cayenne Pepper Long Slim seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable Cayenne Pepper Long Slim (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    Cayenne Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum Annual Long Slim Variety
    €4,91

    Long slim cayenne pepper for sunny spaces cayenne pepper seeds produce an annual, long slim variety of hot pepper with a notably pungent taste and a classic cayenne-type look. This vegetable seed is suited to...
  • Jalapeño Pepper seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable Jalapeño Pepper (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    Jalapeño Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum Annual Vegetable Variety
    €4,91

    Jalapeño variety for bold kitchen heat jalapeño pepper seeds are a popular choice for gardeners who want a productive annual vegetable variety with a distinctly spicy character. This type of Mexican pepper is widely used...
  • Sweet Pepper 5 Colour Mix seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable Sweet Pepper 5 Colour Mix (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    Sweet Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum 5 Colour Mix Annual
    €5,40

    Sweet pepper mix for colourful annual harvests sweet pepper seeds bring a vibrant, kitchen-ready crop to your vegetable garden, greenhouse, or sunny windowsill. This sweet pepper seeds 5 colour mix is selected for variety and...
  • Jalapeno Pepper seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable Jalapeno Pepper (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    Jalapeno Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum Annual Variety
    €4,91

    Jalapeño variety for kitchen and patio growing jalapeno pepper seeds are a classic choice for gardeners who want an annual vegetable with bold heat and versatile use in the kitchen. This well-known Mexican type produces...
  • Baby Sweet Pepper Tinkerbell Mix seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable Baby Sweet Pepper Tinkerbell Mix (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    Baby Sweet Pepper Seeds Tinkerbell Mix Capsicum Annuum Annual
    €6,89

    Mini peppers with bright red and yellow baby sweet pepper seeds are a compact, productive choice for gardeners who want small, colourful peppers with a sweet flavour. This Tinkerbell mix combines red and yellow types...
  • Sweet Pepper Yolo Wonder seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable Sweet Pepper Yolo Wonder (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    20%
    Sweet Pepper Yolo Wonder Seeds Capsicum Annuum Annual
    €3,92€4,91

    Sweet pepper for greenhouse and outdoor cultivation sweet pepper yolo wonder seeds are a reliable choice for gardeners who want a compact, productive pepper plant suited to both greenhouse pepper growing and outdoor pepper cultivation....
  • Sweet Italian Pepper Early seeds (Capsicum annuum) – vegetable Sweet Italian Pepper Early (Capsicum annuum) – vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    20%
    Sweet Italian Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum Early Variety
    €3,92€4,91

    Sweet Italian Pepper Seeds for Early Harvests sweet italian pepper seeds are a reliable choice for gardeners looking for an early maturing pepper variety with attractive, pointed fruits. This selection develops a vigorous, upright, well-branched...
  • Hot Pepper Calabrese Compact seeds (Capsicum annuum) – vegetable Hot Pepper Calabrese Compact (Capsicum annuum) – vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    Hot Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum Calabrese Compact Variety
    €5,90

    Compact Italian pepper variety with deep red fruits hot pepper seeds for a compact Calabrese-type pepper that produces deep red fruits on a neat, space-saving plant. This variety is valued as an Italian pepper choice...
  • Pepper Mix Three Color seeds (Capsicum annuum) – vegetable Pepper Mix Three Color (Capsicum annuum) – vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    20%
    Pepper Mix Seeds Capsicum Annuum Three Color Mix
    €3,92€4,91

    Three-colour pepper mix for vibrant kitchens pepper mix seeds bring a lively range of fruit colours to your vegetable garden, combining three well-matched sweet pepper types in one selection. This trio is chosen for balanced...
  • Cayenne Pepper Long Slim Red seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable Cayenne Pepper Long Slim Red (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    Cayenne Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum Annual Long Slim Red
    €4,91

    Long slim peppers for sunny growing spaces Cayenne pepper seeds produce an annual vegetable plant valued for its long, slim fruits that mature to a bright red colour. This classic type is known for a...
  • Sweet Snacking Pepper Mix seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable Sweet Snacking Pepper Mix (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    20%
    Sweet Snacking Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum Annual Mix
    €5,52€6,89

    Sweet mini peppers in a colorful annual mix sweet snacking pepper seeds are a great choice for gardeners who want compact, mini peppers with a crisp bite and a mild, sweet flavor. This annual pepper...
  • Padron Pepper Mild seeds (Capsicum annuum) – vegetable Padron Pepper Mild (Capsicum annuum) – vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    Padron Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum Mild Vegetable Variety
    €4,91

    Padron pepper seeds for classic tapas peppers padron pepper seeds are a popular choice for growing the traditional Spanish frying pepper used in tapas cooking. This padrón pepper variety produces small, aromatic peppers that are...
  • Baby Sweet Pepper Tinkerbell F1 Mix seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable Baby Sweet Pepper Tinkerbell F1 Mix (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    20%
    Baby Sweet Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum Annual Tinkerbell F1 Mix
    €5,52€6,89

    Compact peppers with bright red and yellow fruits baby sweet pepper seeds are a great choice for gardeners who want small, colourful peppers with a mild, sweet flavour. This Tinkerbell F1 mix produces compact plants...
  • Pepper Lombardo seeds (Capsicum annuum) – vegetable Pepper Lombardo (Capsicum annuum) – vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    Pepper Lombardo Seeds Capsicum Annuum Vegetable Variety
    €4,91

    Italian Lombardo pepper variety with pointed fruits pepper lombardo seeds produce a classic Italian sweet pepper type valued for its long, slender, pointed fruits and reliable garden performance. This lombardo pepper variety is known for...
  • Sweet Snacking Pepper Flynn seeds (Capsicum annuum) – organic annual vegetable
    Sweet Snacking Pepper Seeds Organic Capsicum Annuum Annual Flynn Variety
    €6,89

    Organic sweet snack peppers for pots sweet snacking pepper seeds are a great choice for gardeners who want a reliable, compact sweet pepper variety with an attractive orange colour. The Flynn variety was developed for...
  • Papecchia Pepper seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable
    Papecchia Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum Annual
    €4,91

    Traditional Italian pepper with round cherry fruits papecchia pepper seeds produce a distinctive papecchia pepper variety known for firm, rounded fruits that ripen from fresh green to glossy red. This is an annual vegetable pepper...
  • Corno Rosso Pepper seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable Corno Rosso Pepper (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    20%
    Corno Rosso Pepper Seeds Capsicum Annuum Annual Variety
    €3,92€4,91

    Corno Rosso pepper seeds for long red fruits corno rosso pepper seeds produce an Italian-style sweet pepper with a distinctive bullhorn shape. This medium early pepper variety develops long, conical fruits that can reach around...
  • Sweet Pepper Ora Long seeds (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable Sweet Pepper Ora Long (Capsicum annuum) – annual vegetable seeds from SeedsChoice
    20%
    Sweet Pepper Ora Long Seeds Capsicum Annuum Annual
    €3,53€4,42

    Sweet Pepper Ora Long seeds for gardens sweet pepper ora long seeds are an annual vegetable choice for growers looking for a vigorous, pointed pepper type with an attractive look and generous fruit set. This...

Capsicum annuum — sweet and chilli peppers

Capsicum annuum is the species that gives us most of the world's peppers — from mild, juicy bells to fiery chillies — a tender member of the nightshade family (Solanaceae). A single species of astonishing range, it underpins both our sweet pepper and chilli pepper ranges within the wider pepper collection.

History & origin

Peppers were first domesticated in Central and South America thousands of years ago, where chillies were a culinary and cultural staple long before recorded history — archaeologists have traced their use back many millennia. Following Columbus's voyages at the end of the 15th century, Capsicum annuum spread with extraordinary speed along trade routes across Europe, Africa and Asia, a movement known as the Columbian Exchange.

In just a few generations the pepper transformed cuisines that now seem unimaginable without it — Hungarian paprika, Indian and Thai curries, Korean and Sichuan cooking all built around a New World plant. The heat itself comes from capsaicin, a compound the plant evolved to deter mammals while encouraging birds, which are unaffected by it, to spread its seeds far and wide.

Botanical characteristics

Though grown as an annual in cool climates, Capsicum annuum is naturally a tender perennial, forming bushy plants hung with fruit in every imaginable colour and shape. The same species covers a remarkable spread — sweet blocky bells, long pointed ramiro, smoky paprika, and searing cayenne and jalapeño are all Capsicum annuum, differing mainly in size, sweetness and capsaicin. Fruit ripens through green to red, yellow, orange, purple or chocolate, growing sweeter and hotter as it colours. Compact and ornamental types do especially well in our container range and shine among our fruiting vegetables.

Growing Capsicum annuum from seed

Peppers reward an early start and steady warmth. Sow indoors in late winter or early spring, keep the compost warm (around 20–25°C) for reliable germination, and grow the young plants on in good light. Pot them on as they fill their containers, and move them to a greenhouse, polytunnel or the sunniest, most sheltered spot outdoors once the nights warm up. Feed with a high-potash fertiliser once the first fruit sets to fuel a long, heavy crop. The germination guide and vegetable sowing calendar help you time it right.

Ready to grow peppers? Browse sweet or hot varieties, or learn the basics first.

Related categories: Sweet Peppers · Chilli Peppers · All Peppers · Fruiting Veg · All Vegetables

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Capsicum annuum?
It is the species that covers most sweet peppers and chillies, a tender plant in the nightshade family.

Where do peppers originate?
From Central and South America; they spread worldwide after Columbus, in what is known as the Columbian Exchange.

Are sweet peppers and chillies the same species?
Largely yes — most sweet peppers and chillies are both Capsicum annuum, differing mainly in heat.

What makes chillies hot?
A compound called capsaicin, which the plant evolved to deter mammals while letting birds spread its seeds.

How do I grow peppers from seed?
Sow early indoors in warmth, then grow on under cover or in the sunniest, warmest spot you have.