Best Peppers to Grow in Containers

Best Peppers to grow in Containers

If you want to grow peppers in containers, here are our favorite varieties that do well in pots – using large 5 gallon or larger containers is best for growing peppers. Make sure to keep them in a sunny location, and be sure not to overwater them – let the soil dry out a bit between watering. Here are lots of the best peppers that grow well in containers :


1. Shishito Pepper Seeds
These delicious Japanese sweet peppers are easy to prepare, just fry them in some oil with salt and you have a delicious appetizer. These are one of the best peppers to grow in containers.

2. Poblano Pepper Seeds
These Poblanos are great for rellenos because of their mild heat and heart-like shape. These will do well in 5 gallon large containers. Mild heat.

3. Bulgarian Carrot Pepper Seeds
This hot pepper from Bulgaria is well adapted to the cool Scandinavian climate. The small 18" plants become completely covered with fruit. Easy to grow, these are great peppers to grow in containers.

4. Fushimi Pepper Seeds
 This one of the best peppers to grow in containers. The Fushimi is a traditional Japanese sweet pepper that is delicious when eaten right off the plant! It has crispier skin and texture than its companion, the Shishito pepper.

5.Fire and Ice Peppers
Great in containers, this ornamental peppe has slender peppers that stand straight up in the air. All three colors of yellow, orange and red are on the plant at the same time resembling flames of a fire. Their cheery colors are wonderful for a patio, landscape, or garden. These are edible and spicy, feel free to dry them and store for year-round use, crush into hot pepper flakes, or use them fresh or dried in salsas or to spice up pickles or vinegars.

6. Jalapeño M Seeds
 These 3.5" Jalapeños are America's most popular pepper! The Jalapeño M variety has larger fruit with more heat than the Early Jalapeño. Grows well in large 5 gallon containers.

7. Early Jalapeño Seeds
 This is one of the best peppers for growing in short seasons and cooler climates! One of the earliest peppers at just 65 days from seed to first harvest, these are one of thebest peppers to grow in containers.

8. Bolivian Rainbow Pepper Seeds
A unique and bright ornamental landscape plant. It bears beautiful colored peppers early and all through the season. This heirloom is from Bolivia and has been grown there for centuries. These are one of our best peppers to grow in containers because they are beautiful in multi-color, they're like having a pot of flowers. :) These peppers are edible, we like to use them to dehydrate and crush to make hot pepper flakes.

9. Goat Horn Pepper Seeds
The beautiful smooth ripe pods have a distinctive sweet taste followed by fast building long-lasting heat. Great for making hot pepper flakes, and these peppers grow great in 5 gallon containers.

Best Peppers for Containers - Grow NuMex Twilight Hot Peppers in pots! They're gorgeous.

10. NuMex Twilight Peppers
 The NuMex Twilight peppers make for beautiful potted pepper plants! These eye-catching pepper plants produce a beautiful array of bright purple fruits that ripen to yellow, orange, then red. Plant these in pots for a colorful display through the summer months! The small 2"-4" upright fruits start off purple, go to yellow, orange, and lastly red. And, even though these are ornamental, they are also edible, they're quite hot (the pungency level of this ornamental has not been evaluated), but they make for great hot sauce, or hot pepper flakes. Love hot sauce? At the end of the season, pick the peppers and make our No-Salt Hot Sauce Recipe , or use a Fermentation Crock to make Fermented Hot Sauce , or try our simple Easy Hot Sauce Recipe .


11. Yellow Jalapeño Seeds
 NuMex Jalapeño Lemon Spice  - This yellow jalapeño is gorgeous to grow in containers. It has thick flesh and spicy flavor like the Early Jalapeño, but a lot more heat. This yellow jalapeño ripens as early as 65 days after germinating, so it's a great one for earlier harvests.

NuMex Easter Pepper Seeds - Great Peppers for Containers!

12. Easter Pepper Seeds
This gorgeous pepper seen above grows into compact 8-12" plants with many small glowing clusters of 4-6 fruits on top of the plant. Colors range from lavender to light yellow and then maturing to orange. THEY PRACTICALLY GLOW AT DUSK! These pretty peppers are spicy and edible and perfect for pots!

Yellow Jalapeno Seeds for Containers

13. Yellow Jalapeños are great for growing in containers and pots, they are nice looking emerald green plants with pretty white flowers, and the jalapeños look like yellow jewels when ripe! Perfect for making poppers, and they're one of the first hot peppers to harvest, ripening around 65 days from starting the seed (depending on the weather and conditions of course).

Habanero Seeds

14. Habanero Peppers grow very well in pots and containers, too! These delicious peppers are packed with fruity flavor and heat, we think Habaneros make some of the best flavored hot sauces and salsas. We have several different types of Habanero seeds to choose from - including orange, red and white! As always, use at least a 5-gallon container for growing Habaneros so that they can grow to their full potential!

A few more Tips for How to Grow the Best Peppers in Containers:
When planting peppers in containers, make sure the pot is at least 12+ inches wide and deep, and has drainage holes. Peppers HATE wet feet, so make sure to use well-draining potting soil as well and don't overwater.

Containers Warm Up Faster & Are Portable:
What's great about containers is the soil in them often warms up faster than the ground, so for shorter growing seasons growing them in containers can help as peppers love to have warm soil. You can also bring them indoors if temperatures dip below 50-60˚ F to keep them happier. Peppers like it hot.

We have a ton more pepper seed growing tips...
Learn more about how to grow peppers »

Best Peppers to Grow in Containers - Peppers are Beautiful potted plants!

Like your peppers spicy?
We also have lots of our top picks & tips on
Growing Hot Peppers in Pots »

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