Quick answer: The majority of pepper plants will reach a height of about 3–4 feet, but they can reach heights of up to 10 feet. The variety you are growing and your plant care techniques have the biggest impact on plant height.
It can take a lot of effort to plan a vegetable garden. While some plants have a very small footprint, others require a lot of space to spread out. Therefore, it’s crucial to choose the ideal location for each plant.
There is a significant range in size when it comes to peppers. Knowing the species and variety of plants you are growing will help you estimate their final size.
In this article, I’ll share the average height and width of various pepper plants in each species. This ought to assist you in maintaining proper plant spacing and preventing the shading of nearby plants. Let’s get started!
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Factors That Can Change Pepper Plant Height
There are several growth factors to take into account, even though each pepper plant will naturally vary in size. Depending on how well you take care of it, your bell pepper plant could thrive and grow to be 5 feet tall, whereas mine might only reach 3 feet.
- Longer growing seasons will result in larger plants. Your plants will have more time to get taller if you reside in a warm area with a mild winter. For your peppers, I’d strongly advise using a tomato cage.
- Pruning techniques can be used to grow peppers tall and skinny rather than bushy. In the commercial bell pepper industry, plants are pruned to 1 or 2 main stems before being trellised up the string, producing very tall but very slender plants.
- More fertile and loose soil will lead to faster growth. A lot of organic matter mixed into a rich, fluffy soil is what peppers prefer. Plants can expand quickly in potting soil, leading to a taller plant.
- Larger containers lead to larger plants. Choosing a pot size that is big enough is important if you are growing in containers. Although most pepper varieties will thrive in a 5 gallon container, some will require even more space. For example, some of the C. chinense varieties, like the dorset naga, can grow to be massive if given 30+ gallons of soil!
- Lighting conditions can impact overall plant growth. Peppers prefer a lot of light, though all plants require it to grow. Avoid shading them with other nearby plants or structures to get the best growth and fruit sets. Plant them in full sun.
So while each pepper plant has a “typical” height range, all of these environmental factors can significantly change the actual outcome.
Depending on the variety, pepper plants can grow to different heights. Some peppers, like C. Praetermissum, naturally grow to be enormous.
Sweet Peppers
Sweet peppers are a kind of pepper with a very mild flavor that is frequently used as ingredient in dishes. Although it can be consumed raw, cooking or roasting it before eating is common.
The sweet pepper plant comes in a wide range of varieties, each of which produces peppers in a range of colors, sizes, shapes, and flavors.
They come in a variety of colors and have a sweet flavor. Green, yellow, orange, red, and even purple sweet peppers are the most popular hues!
Sweet peppers are a great source of vitamin C, as well as potassium and other vitamins like vitamin A.
| Pepper variety | Growing height |
| Bell Pepper | 1-5 feet |
| Gypsy Pepper | 20-36 inches |
| Purple Beauty Pepper | 18-30 inches |
| Melrose Pepper | 3-4 feet |
| Carmen Pepper | 24-32 inches |
| California Wonder Pepper | 18-26 inches |
| Mexibell Pepper | 28-40 inches |
| Cubanelle Pepper | 24-30 inches |
| Piquillo Pepper | 1-2 feet |
| Beaver Dam Pepper | 18-26 inches |
Medium Hot Peppers
Green, red, yellow, and orange are some of the different hues of medium-hot peppers.
Medium-hot peppers are bold, and spicy, and add a different kind of heat to the dish. They have a deep flavor that is rich and flavorful but are not as hot as their fiery cousins.
In other words, if you prefer a little kick to your food without a lot of heat, medium-hot peppers are for you.
They perfectly balance out strong flavors while still bringing some serious spice to the table, making them the ideal accompaniment to Mexican dishes or any dish with strong flavors.
| Pepper variety | Growing height |
| Mulato Pepper | 24-30 inches |
| Jalapeño Pepper | 24-30 inches |
| Fresno Pepper | 20-30 inches |
| Calabrian Pepper | 24-36 inches |
| Aurora Pepper | 12-18 inches |
| Tabasco Pepper | 2-6 feet |
| Cayenne Pepper | 1-4 feet |
| Jwala Pepper | 1-2 feet |
| Bulgarian Carrot Pepper | about 1 foot |
| Serrano Pepper | 1-4 feet |
Hot and Very Hot Peppers
Different pepper varieties come in a range of spiciness. Some individuals enjoy spicy food, so they consume hot peppers to cause pain in their tongues.
Using the Scoville scale, in which hot peppers start at around 50.000 Scoville, one can determine how hot a pepper is.
If you can handle the heat, hot peppers are a great addition to your diet. Capsaicinoids, which are abundant in hot peppers and have been linked to reduced cholesterol and reduced obesity, are known to help fight obesity.
They also assist in supplying your body with more energy by accelerating metabolism. Try experimenting with various hot peppers like the rocoto, habanero, or ghost pepper if you want to up your spice game in the kitchen!
| Pepper variety | Growing height |
| Rocoto Pepper | 1-6 feet |
| Thai Pepper | 1-2 feet |
| Apache Pepper | 18-22 inches |
| Datil Pepper | 1.5-2.5 feet |
| Peri-Peri Pepper | 1.5-4 feet |
| Habanero Pepper | 2-4 feet |
| Goat Pepper | 2-4 feet |
| Ghost Pepper | 2–4 feet |
| Infinity Pepper | 20-40 inches |
| Carolina Reaper | 2-6 feet |
Other C. Annuum Types (2-4+ Feet Tall)
Serrano, banana, and jalapeo peppers are also very common in home gardens. These come from the same species as bell pepper (C. annuum), but have different shapes, flavors, and heat levels.
When it comes to the size of C. annuum varieties, there is a lot of variation. The typical height of Thai peppers, for instance, is between one and two feet. The Carmen pepper, on the other hand, has a season-long growth rate of up to 7 feet tall!
Cayenne peppers, another C. annuum type, can vary widely in size based on the type grown. For example, the “cayennetta” hybrid variety grows to a compact height of just 18″. “Joe’s long” cayenne grows well over 3′.
Jalapeos typically grow into large, bushy plants with abundant fruit production. In ideal conditions, and without pruning, jalapeños are usually between 3-4 feet tall by the end of the season.
Although banana peppers can also vary, these plants tend to be robust and tall in our experience. Banana peppers commonly grow to 3 or 4 feet tall.
While each grower’s result will vary, the overall size across the C. annuum species usually falls between 2-4 feet, and most commonly around 3 feet in height.
C. Chinense Pepper Plant Size (2-6 Feet Tall)
Capsicum chinense is the species home to the world’s hottest peppers. This includes a variety of other superhot peppers like the ghost pepper, scotch bonnet, habanero, and carolina reaper.
It is also home to some of the largest plants. Many of the varieties we have grown from this species seem to grow “endlessly.” In other words, given enough time, they can simply continue to grow larger and larger.
They will eventually reach their maximum height in the real world, though, and more significantly, here in zone 6a. For us, habanero-type peppers grow to an average height of 3-5 feet.
The size of these plants is often not all that tall, but rather wide. One of our potted ghost pepper plants reached a height of about 2.5 feet, but was over 5 feet across!
C. chinense types are also very sensitive to the container size. The larger the pot, the larger the plant. So a plant in a 5 gallon pot could grow to be 2 feet tall, but a monster could grow to be 6 feet tall in a 40 gallon pot!
The Capsicum baccatum species is known for its tall and highly productive pepper plants. There are numerous well-liked varieties, including the aji amarillo, mad hatter, and sugar rush peach varieties.
Again, how you raise these plants will determine how tall they become. However, it is not uncommon to have C. baccatum pepper plants grow to be very tall.
In general, C. baccatum pepper plants will grow anywhere from 3-8+ feet in height. This will differ depending on the length of the growing season and the trellising and pruning techniques used. In any case, this species contains some of the tallest cultivars we’ve ever grown!
The baccatum species is more vine-like than other peppers, and is easy to trellis. I highly recommend staking your baccatum plants with a tall, central stake. To prevent damaging the roots early in the season, drive the stake into the ground as soon as possible. As the plant gets taller, affix it to the stake.
Tips for Growing Bigger Peppers
If you want larger pepper plants, here are some tips to be successful:
- Use plant stakes. Your pepper plants will eventually topple over if you don’t stake them. Place a stake or tomato cage in the growing area where you intend to plant your peppers early in the growing season.
- Loosen soil before planting. Early in the spring, loosen the soil in your garden with a pitchfork. This facilitates the roots’ penetration and deeper encroachment.
- Grow in larger pots. The majority of varieties will benefit from having at least 5 gallons of space, and ideally more.
- Start seeds early. Start your seeds early if your growing season is short to give your plants more time to mature. In the first 6 to 8 weeks of growth, a grow light is crucial!
- Get our eBook. If you want to grow great pepper plants, try reading our eBook Growing Perfect Peppers.
Final Thoughts
So, don’t pay too much attention to the “expected height” on your pepper plant seed packet. Since pepper plants are perennial, given enough time, they can become incredibly large.
Which pepper plant did you grow the tallest? We have aji plants that are taller than we are, so that is sufficient for us.