Guv's Gardens
Photo: Harvey Barrison from Massapequa, NY, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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- Sun
- Full sun.
- Soil
- Well-drained and compost-rich; shelter from strong wind.
- Soil pH
- About 6.0-7.0.
- Water
- Water regularly and keep soil consistently moist.
- Hardiness
- Frost-tender. Grown in all Australian zones as a warm-season crop.
- Height and spread
- About 60 cm high x 30 cm wide (larger in warm climates).
Guv's tipCapsicums are sweetest when coloured, though green fruit is edible too. Shelter them from strong wind and stake heavily laden plants.
Through the year
Timings are for temperate Australia. Tropical and arid gardens follow different seasons.
When to plant
Cool, temperate and subtropical areas: early spring after frost through summer (Tasmania Nov-Jan). Tropics: any time, best in the dry season.
Harvest or flowering
10-12 weeks after planting. Green fruit is edible; sweetest when coloured.
Pruning
None needed; stake or tie heavily laden plants.
Making more plants
Seed.
Watch out for
Queensland fruit fly
Look for: Tiny sting or puncture marks on fruit; maggots inside ripening fruit.
What to do: Use exclusion netting or fruit bags, traps, and bait sprays or gels. Destroy infested fruit: bag and freeze for about 2 days, solarise in sealed bags for 14+ days, or boil or microwave.
Aphids
Look for: Clusters of small sap-suckers on new growth; curled leaves; sticky honeydew.
What to do: Hose off, encourage natural predators, or use insecticidal soap or a registered pyrethrum spray.
Blossom end rot
Physiological (calcium uptake and irregular watering).Look for: Sunken dark patch at the fruit tip.
What to do: Water consistently, mulch, and add a calcium-containing soil amendment.
Always read and follow the label on any treatment, and check it is approved for use where you live.
Safety and spread
Pets and people: Not listed by the ASPCA. Capsicum is generally safe for dogs in moderation.
Weed risk: Not listed as a weed on Weeds Australia or the Queensland restricted invasive plant list.
Growing somewhere else? See this plant for the UK and the USA.
The Plant Doctor and the Guv's book
Printable pest and disease charts with real photographs, and all 50 Australia plants in one book.
