Cayenne Chilli

Capsicum annuum (nightshade)

Also known as: Cayenne Pepper, Guinea Spice

A long, slender chilli named after the city of Cayenne in French Guiana, and one of the most widely used hot peppers in the world. Thin, tapering pods hang from the bush with a distinctive curved tip and slightly rippled skin, ripening from green through to bright red. The flavour is clean and peppery with just a hint of sweetness, making it as reliable dried and ground as it is fresh. A true kitchen workhorse chilli, equally at home in sauces, rubs, and the classic cayenne pepper shaker. Medium-hot heat of around 30,000–50,000 Scoville Heat Units.

Days to harvest 70-80 days
Fruit size 10–25cm, thin, tapering, curved tip
Sowing depth 5mm
Germination 10–21 days at 24–29°C
Spacing 40–50cm apart
Aspect Full sun, well-drained soil
Frost tolerance Frost sensitive — needs reliably warm nights

Growing notes

Choose a full-sun spot with good airflow and shelter from cold. Cayenne can react poorly to extremes of heat as well as cold, so avoid the harshest exposed positions.

Soil preparation: Fertile, well-drained soil with plenty of compost worked in.

Support: Light staking recommended once the bush is carrying a full load of long pods.

Watering & feeding: Water consistently — avoid letting the plant dry out or sit waterlogged. Feed with a liquid fertiliser high in potassium once flowering begins.

Harvest: Pick once pods reach full length and colour up to encourage continued fruiting. Can be used fresh, or left to fully ripen and dry on or off the plant for grinding into powder. Cut rather than pull to avoid damaging the plant.

Timing: Expect first harvest around 70–80 days after transplanting, with continued cropping through the warm months.

Key features

  • Open-pollinated heirloom, cultivated for thousands of years
  • Medium-hot heat — 30,000–50,000 Scoville Heat Units
  • Long, thin, tapering pods with a curved tip
  • Ripens from green to bright red
  • Clean, peppery flavour with mild sweetness
  • Excellent fresh, dried, or ground into powder

Short season tips

Best started indoors on heat mats — cayenne needs 24–29°C soil to germinate reliably. Sow 8–10 weeks before the last frost or purchase as 6–8-week-old seedlings. Transplant into the garden only once soil temperature has reliably warmed to at least 15–16°C. Avoid disturbing roots when transplanting — chillies resent being moved and stall easily. A longer growing season pays off here, as continued heat and sun through summer and early autumn keeps pods coming.

  • Spring
  • Summer

Tender perennial — most often grown as an annual

  • Basil (particularly good for capsicums and chillies) Marigolds Onion Carrots
  • Other nightshades (tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes) Fennel

Cayenne peppers have been cultivated by indigenous peoples of Central and South America for thousands of years, later spreading around the world following European contact in the late 15th century. Named for the city of Cayenne in French Guiana, the type became one of the most widely grown and traded chillies in history, prized as much for drying and grinding into powder as for fresh use.