The hottest pepper we grow! Until recently the South Carolina-grown cultivar named ‘Carolina Reaper’ was the world’s hottest pepper, registering up to 2.2 million Scoville units of heat. Carolina Reaper is a cross between Bhut Jolokia or ‘Ghost Pepper’ and a red habanero.
Each plant will produce an average of 30 fruits, each measuring 2-3”. Mature fruits are deep red and bumpy with a scorpion-looking stinger on the end (appropriately so). The taste is described in the Guinness Book of World Records as: fruity sweet, immediately followed by the bite of ‘molten lava’. Gloves should be worn when handling any part of the fruits when ripe.
Carolina Reaper Peppers
Transplant seedlings into pots and grow until there are 6 true leaves on the plant. Plant them directly into rich soil, 30” apart or into large 5-gallon containers. Only plant peppers outdoors on a cloudy day, just prior to getting rain. Plant when soil is warm, at least 2 weeks after last frost, and when temperatures remain above 70 F.