![]() Days to maturityĬarolina Reapers can take between 100-150+ days from seed to mature fruit, depending on environmental and cultural factors. To control pests, use Insecticidal soap or horticultural oils such as neem oil. They don’t seem to be bothered by the pepper’s spice. Watch out for insects such as white flies, aphids, cutworms, pepper maggots, flea beetles, mites, leafminers, pepper weevils, thrips, tomato fruit worms, and spider mites, among other pepper pests. Diseases & PestsĬarolinas are prone to several diseases which commonly affect nightshade plants such as mosaic virus, verticillium wilt, anthracnose, phytophthora blight, Cercospora leaf spot, wet rot, southern blight, blossom-end rot, and tomato spotted wilt virus.īacterial leaf spot is very common and may potentially be deadly, so avoid this common pepper disease by keeping leaves dry and treating them with a copper-based spray.Īvoid planting Reapers and other peppers after planting crops such as beets, tomatoes, beans, or spinach to avoid diseases and nutrient depletion. ![]() When fruits begin to set, switch to a potassium 9-15-30 fertilizer to reduce foliage growth and encourage crop development.įor a more organic approach, use green sand, kelp meal, fish emulsion, or bone meal. Fertilizing (NPK)Ĭarolina Reapers produce better yields and fruiter spicier fruit with regular fertilization.įertilize with NPK 5-10-10 (half as much nitrogen as other nutrients) fertilizer during transplanting and again every 2 to 4 weeks after. Temperatures below 55☏ (13☌) may stunt or kill plants, and temperatures above 95☏ (35☌) may prevent germination and cause blossom drop or heat stress.Ĭarolina Reapers thrive in relative humidity between 50-70%. Ideal daytime temperatures for Carolinas and other peppers are between 70-85☏ (21-29☌) and 50-60☏ (10-15☌) at night. Some shading may be necessary if temperatures exceed 95☏ (35☌) regularly. Like other peppers, Carolina Reapers do best in full sun (about 6-8 hours of direct sunlight).Ī south-, west-, or east-facing window or slope ensures maximum light exposure. To make your peppers even spicier, decrease the amount of watering when there is fruit on the plant. ![]() Like most peppers, Carolina Reapers require about 1-2 inches of water weekly.ĭeep and infrequent watering with drip irrigation or a soaker hose should help avoid wet leaves, which invite disease and pests.Īccording to several studies, water-stressed peppers produce higher concentrations of capsaicin, which increases the pepper’s overall pungency and spiciness. If there are drainage issues in your garden, consider growing in a raised garden bed. SoilĬarolina Reapers thrive in moist, rich, well-draining, slightly acidic pH 6.0-6.5, and loam soil. If planting in rows, space them 3-4 feet (0.9-1.2 m) between other plants to ensure plenty of room for plants to grow and that you don’t accidentally graze against the hot oils when harvesting.īelow, we’ll go over everything else you need to know about cultivating this extreme heat variety. ![]() The Carolina Reapers are warm-season, frost-tender perennial plants that thrive in full sun and organic-rich soils.Ĭarolina Reapers can be planted directly into the ground or in a fairly large container, where they will grow up to five feet (1.5 m) tall and four feet (1.2 m) wide. However, pepper spiciness can range depending on the fruit and growing conditions, so the Carolina Reaper’s spiciness ranges between 1,400,000 – 2,200,000 SHU, averaging about 1.56 million SHU.įor comparison, ghost chilis have a SHU value of 850,000-1,000,000, habaneros 150,000-350,000 SHU, Thai chilies 50,000-100,000 SHU, cayenne peppers 30,000 SHU, serranos 10,000-25,000 SHU, jalapeños 3,000-8,000 SHU, and bell peppers 0 SHU. How hot is a Carolina Reaper Pepper?Ĭonsidered the spiciest pepper in the world, the Carolina Reaper clocks up to 2.2 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU), making it up to 22x hotter than your already spicy habanero. Vincent’s “La Soufriere” pepper and the Pakistani Naga pepper, the Carolina Reaper took over twelve years to develop and stabilize. It overtook the “Trinidad Scorpion Butch T” pepper from Australia, the previous record holder, to claim the title of the “world’s hottest chili pepper” by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2013.Ī hybrid between St. The Carolina Reaper pepper was bred by American chili pepper breeder Ed Currie from South Carolina. How to Grow Carolina Reaper Peppers from Seed.
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