Cherry Pepper Facts – Learn How To Grow Sweet Cherry Peppers

(Image credit: S847)

You’ve heard of cherry tomatoes, but how about cherry peppers? What are sweet cherry peppers? They are lovely red peppers just about cherry size. If you are wondering how to grow sweet cherry peppers, read on. We’ll give you cherry pepper facts plus tips on growing a cherry pepper plant.

What Are Sweet Cherry Peppers?

So exactly what are sweet cherry peppers? If you read up on cherry pepper facts, you’ll discover that they are peppers unlike any you’ve seen before. About the size and shape of cherries, cherry peppers are a visual delight. Sweet cherry pepper plants produce these tiny peppers. 

But tiny refers to the size of the fruit, not the flavor. The small veggies offer rich, sweet flavor. The plants themselves grow to about 36 inches (.91 m.) tall and almost as wide. They don’t just produce a few peppers, they bear profusely. The branches are laden with these small, round fruits. 

The young fruits are uniformly green but they ripen to a bright red as they mature. They are perfect for eating straight from the garden, but also serve well for pickling and preserving.

Growing a Cherry Pepper

If you want to know how to grow sweet cherry peppers, the entire process begins with a few sweet cherry pepper plants. In most climates, it’s better to start pepper seeds indoors a few months before the last expected frost. Transplant the seedlings outside a few weeks after the last frost in an area that gets full sun. Start growing a cherry pepper crop in a bed with rich, moist soil rich in organic matter. 

Don’t plant them in a bed where you have grown tomatoes, peppers or eggplant the year before. Set your sweet cherry pepper plants 18 inches (46 cm.) apart in a row. The rows should be spaced 3 feet (.91 m.) apart. Give then regular irrigation. Fruit begins to ripen 73 days after transplant. The plant spreads out almost as wide as it is tall and produces a generous crop.

Teo Spengler
Writer

Teo Spengler has been gardening for 30 years. She is a docent at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Her passion is trees, 250 of which she has planted on her land in France.