Australia plant library · vegetable

Chilli

Capsicum annuum (and C. chinense, C. frutescens) · Solanaceae

Productive in pots, with a huge variety of heat levels.

Photo: PierreSelim, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sun: Full sun.
Soil: Well-drained and compost-rich.
Soil pH: About 6.0-7.0.
Water: Water regularly and keep soil evenly moist; avoid waterlogging.
Hardiness: Frost-tender. Grown in all Australian zones as a warm-season crop; can persist as a short-lived perennial in warm, frost-free areas.
Height and spread: About 30 cm-1 m, depending on variety.

Guv's tipIn frost-free or mild areas, cut chillies back before winter, leaving some leaves, to carry the plants over. Saves you starting again.

Through the year

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Sow or plant

Timings are for temperate Australia. Tropical and arid gardens follow different seasons.

When to plant

Temperate and cool areas: spring after frost (Oct-Nov). Warm climates: most of the year; check a local guide.

Harvest or flowering

10-12 weeks after planting; pick green or fully ripe.

Pruning

Little needed. In frost-free or mild areas, cut back before winter, leaving some leaves, to carry plants over.

Making more plants

Seed.

Watch out for

Pest

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.

Pest

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.

Disease

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. Hot chillies (capsaicin) irritate the mouth, throat and stomach of dogs - do not feed them to dogs.

Weed risk: Not listed as a weed on Weeds Australia or the Queensland restricted invasive plant list.

Checked against two or more reputable gardening sources. How we check our facts

Growing somewhere else? See this plant for the UK and the USA.

Keep it by the back door

The Plant Doctor and the Guv's book

Printable pest and disease charts with real photographs, and all 50 Australia plants in one book.

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