Rio Grande Hot Pepper
Capsicum annuum 'Rio Grande'
Height: 24 inches
Spacing: 24 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: (annual)
Group/Class: Hot Jalepeno
Description:
A high yielding, mildly hot selection that produces elongated fruit; peppers emerge green, then turn red when mature and ripe; sweet yet mild flavor profile, these peppers are great for hot sauces, drying, pickling and even fresh in salads and salsas
Edible Qualities
Rio Grande Hot Pepper is an annual vegetable plant that is commonly grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces green long peppers (which are technically 'berries') with red flesh which are typically harvested when mature. The fruit will often fade to red over time. The peppers have a hot taste and a crunchy texture.
The peppers are most often used in the following ways:
- Fresh Eating
- Eating When Cooked/Prepared
- Cooking
- Drying
- Pickling
Planting & Growing
Rio Grande Hot Pepper will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 inches apart. This vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.
This plant is quite ornamental as well as edible, and is as much at home in a landscape or flower garden as it is in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
Rio Grande Hot Pepper is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
