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You can grow peppers ranging from sweet bells and mild banana peppers to hot jalapeños, habaneros, and specialty chiles. This list of 27 is an editorial selection—not an official count—and includes broad garden types, culinary groupings, species examples, and named cultivars. What grows well and what you can find locally depend on your climate and seed availability.
When choosing, start with how you want to use the fruit, how much heat you like, and how long your growing season is. Pepper names are not all at the same level: “bell” and “jalapeño” describe familiar types, while ‘Early Jalapeño’ and ‘Giant Marconi’ are named varieties. Utah State University Extension explains that peppers can also be grouped by maturity, fruit form, color, and pungency (USU Extension’s pepper-growing guide).
27 types of peppers to consider for your garden
Heat descriptions below are broad categories, not precise ratings: pungency can vary, and the sources do not establish Scoville Heat Units for these specific entries. The list distinguishes garden types from named cultivars where that distinction matters.
Sweet and mild peppers
- Bell pepper: A sweet, blocky fruit often eaten fresh, cooked, or stuffed. Green bells can be harvested before full color; depending on the variety, ripe fruit may turn red, yellow, orange, or another color. (Illinois Extension)
- Banana pepper: An elongated, sweet-to-mild type. ‘Banana Supreme’ is one sweet example listed by USU Extension. (USU Extension; USU varietal selection)
- Cherry pepper: A small-fruited type; ‘Sweet Red Cherry’ is a sweet example in USU’s recommendations. (USU Extension)
- Pimiento: A sweet pepper type included in Illinois Extension’s home-garden guidance. (Illinois Extension)
- Sweet frying pepper: A non-bell category suited to frying; ‘Giant Marconi’ is a named example in USU’s variety guide. (USU varietal selection)
- Cubanelle: A sweet, non-bell option listed in USU’s variety guide. (USU varietal selection)
- Sweet Hungarian: Another sweet non-bell choice in USU’s selection guide. (USU varietal selection)
- Sweet ornamental pepper: A specialty category that can add colorful fruit to plantings. USU lists ‘Prairie Fire’ and describes ‘Riot’ as an edible ornamental; check the variety label for intended use. (USU Extension)
Hot and chile peppers
- Anaheim: A chile option identified as hot in USU’s recommendations and as a Capsicum annuum example by Illinois Extension. (USU Extension; Illinois Extension)
- Ancho: A hot pepper type listed by USU and Minnesota Extension. “Ancho” is commonly associated with a dried poblano, but the cited recommendations identify it as a garden type. (USU Extension; Minnesota Extension)
- Cayenne: A hot type and fruit-form category in USU’s guide; Illinois Extension also lists cayenne among garden peppers. (USU Extension; Illinois Extension)
- Jalapeño: A familiar hot type. ‘Early Jalapeño’ is a named option in USU’s recommendations. (USU Extension)
- Serrano: A hot chile named in both USU and Minnesota Extension guidance. (USU Extension; Minnesota Extension)
- Habanero: A hot type; Illinois Extension places habanero examples in Capsicum chinense. (USU Extension; Illinois Extension)
- Hungarian wax: A hot type listed by USU and among Illinois Extension’s C. annuum examples. (USU Extension; Illinois Extension)
- Tabasco: A garden pepper type in Illinois Extension’s guidance and an example of Capsicum frutescens in its species discussion. (Illinois Extension; Illinois Extension)
- Chili pepper: A broad culinary grouping rather than one cultivar. Illinois Extension distinguishes chile peppers from sweet peppers in its garden guidance. (Illinois Extension)
- Paprika pepper: A fruit type grown for spice use; USU also lists ‘Paprika Supreme’ as a specialty example. (USU Extension)
- Long thin cayenne: A named form in USU’s hot-pepper variety recommendations. (USU Extension)
- NuMex Big Jim: A named hot-pepper variety in USU’s recommendations. Confirm current local availability before planning around a specific cultivar. (USU Extension)
- Poblano: A chile listed among Illinois Extension’s C. annuum examples. (Illinois Extension)
- Thai pepper: A hot type named in Illinois Extension’s pepper discussion. (Illinois Extension)
Distinctive species examples
- Lemon Drop: A distinctive pepper listed as a Capsicum baccatum example by Illinois Extension. (Illinois Extension)
- Bishop’s Crown: Another C. baccatum example in Illinois Extension’s species table. (Illinois Extension)
- Scotch bonnet: A hot pepper example of Capsicum chinense in Illinois Extension’s species table. (Illinois Extension)
- Ghost pepper: Also listed as a C. chinense example by Illinois Extension. (Illinois Extension)
- Rocoto: An example of Capsicum pubescens in Illinois Extension’s species discussion. (Illinois Extension)
How to choose a pepper for your garden
Match the pepper to your intended use and your local season rather than selecting by name alone. Extension recommendations group peppers by characteristics such as fruit form, maturity, color, and pungency, and named varieties can differ within the same broad type.
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10 Pepper Seed Variety Pack for Planting - Survival Garden Seeds
- 10 HEIRLOOM VARIETIES - A super pack covering sweet bells to spicy chiles with Jalapeño, Serrano, Cayenne, Big Red Pepper, California Wonder Pepper, Cubanelle, Orange Habanero, Marconi Red, Anaheim Pepper, Rainbow Mix Bell Peppers
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- Use: Choose for fresh eating, stuffing, frying, salsa, drying, spice, or ornamental planting. Confirm that an ornamental cultivar is edible if you plan to eat it.
- Heat: Decide whether you want sweet, mild, or hot fruit. Do not assume every pepper with the same broad type name will have identical pungency.
- Fruit form and color: Consider blocky bells, small cherries, elongated banana or wax types, or long chiles. Fruit may be green, red, yellow, orange, purple, or another variety-specific color.
- Season: Look for maturity information on the seed packet or variety listing and compare it with your local frost-free growing season. Regional performance can differ.
- Space: Check plant size and spacing on the variety label and follow local growing guidance; the cited sources do not establish that every type is suitable for containers.
If local garden centers carry only a few options, starting from seed can provide more cultivar choices. USU notes that gardeners seeking a specific variety may need to purchase seed. (USU Extension)
When to plant pepper seedlings outdoors
Peppers are tender warm-season plants. Do not use a calendar date from another region as a universal planting rule: wait until frost danger has passed and use local extension or frost-calendar guidance. Cold nights can slow growth and interfere with flowering.
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- 12 PEPPER SEED VARIETIES – Jalapeño, Serrano, Cayenne, Bell/California Wonder, Anaheim, Cubanelle, Marconi Red, Purple Beauty, Rainbow Bell, Patio Snack (Capsicum annuum) and habanero Orange (Capsicum chinense) seeds for planting
- HOT & SWEET BALANCE – Features both spicy and mild peppers ideal for pickling, stuffing, roasting, sautéing, or fresh eating
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- EASY START, LONG HARVEST – Start indoors 6–8 weeks before last frost; transplant to warmth for summer-long picking, most peppers fruit 70–90 days after transplant
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- Illinois Extension advises waiting until nighttime lows are consistently in the 50s. When nights remain below roughly 50–55°F, growth may be slow, leaves may yellow, and flowers may drop. (Illinois Extension; Illinois Extension, May 12, 2020)
- Minnesota Extension recommends starting seed indoors about eight weeks before outdoor planting and transplanting once nighttime lows are above 50°F. This is regional advice, not a universal schedule. (Minnesota Extension)
Growing conditions that help peppers set fruit
Choose sun and well-drained soil
Give peppers a sunny site with fertile, well-drained soil. USU cautions that peppers do poorly in heavy, wet soil and suggests a raised bed where drainage is poor. Base fertilizer decisions on soil-test results rather than applying a universal recipe. (USU Extension)
Keep moisture steady
Water consistently during dry periods. Illinois Extension notes that dry soil and hot, dry winds can interfere with fruit set. (Illinois Extension)
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- COOL PEPPERS - ICONIC CULINARY MASTERPIECES: Discover magnificent, cult-status pepper varieties packed with numerous exceptional qualities. These are not just ordinary peppers—they are the ones you will want to plant year after year. Ranging from fiery classics of extreme heat to rich, bold authentic flavors, this collection will elevate your culinary creations to a whole new level while offering a rich array of valuable health benefits.
- LIMITLESS CULINARY ADAPTABILITY: Perfectly balanced across all parameters—easy to grow, highly productive, exceptionally hardy, and deeply versatile in cooking. These resilient peppers adapt seamlessly to a wide range of climates and thrive with minimal agricultural effort. Demonstrating high plasticity, they offer unique nutritional value and profound health benefits that extend far beyond traditional kitchen spheres.
- CALIFORNIA WONDER - AMERICA’S FAVORITE SWEET PEPPER: An early, high-yielding giant and the absolute best in its class. Upright, blocky, well-formed, very large, crisp, juicy, and sweet. These thick-walled, glossy bell peppers feature a strong pepper aroma and are ideal for fresh salads, stuffing, slicing, freezing, heat treatment, and canning, boasting rich sources of vitamins A and C.
- CAYENNE - THE SPICY PUNGENT ESSENCE: Firmly established in national cuisines worldwide, Cayenne pods serve as a key ingredient in spice blends, sauces, and marinades. Delivering an intense, moderately hot, and spicy flavor with a pleasant pepper aroma, they can be enjoyed fresh, dried, or ground. A tiny dose enhances any dish, offering rich nutrition and strong antioxidant properties.
- GHOST PEPPER - THE SMOKY EXTREME: Conquering global gastronomy with its fiery and complex flavor profile. It features the signature sweet taste typical of super-hot peppers, complemented by subtle fruity, citrus notes and a delicate smoky undertone. Recognized as one of the most flavorful extreme-heat peppers, it inspires entire restaurant menus and serves as a core base for hot sauces.
Harvest at the stage that suits the variety and use
Harvest stage depends on the type and how you plan to use the fruit. Green peppers are edible before full color; allowing some varieties to ripen can change their flavor. Use the seed packet or local variety guidance to identify the expected mature color. (USU Extension; Illinois Extension)
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
