Pretty N Sweet Hybrid Ornamental Pepper Seeds

Days to Maturity: 60 from transplant

All-America Selections (AAS) Winner 2015

At last, an ornamental pepper that tastes as good as it looks. While most ornamentals are edible and some even mildly flavorful, Pretty N Sweet has taken things to a whole new level. The All-America Selection (AAS) judges propose calling this plant an "ornamedible," and we have to agree. The only problem will be deciding whether you want to admire it or eat it.

Pretty N Sweet is, as its name suggests, a sweet pepper, with plump little fruits about an inch to 1½ inches long and very thick-walled. Those walls are the secret to this pepper's great flavor. They stand up to heat and humidity, keeping the juicy-sweet flesh of the pepper crisp and tasty. And of course, you can harvest the fruit when it's green, yellow, orange, red, or purple—the darker it gets, the more nutritious it is, but it's good eating all the time. (And it finishes fast—just 2 months from setting out transplants.)

The shape of this plant adds to its ornamental appeal. Pretty N Sweet is rounded and bushy, with a compact habit no more than 18 inches high and fully 12 to 14 inches wide. This makes it perfect for flowerpots and window boxes, not to mention the annual bed as well as the vegetable patch. Pick up an extra packet or two—this is one plant you're going to want to put with your petunias and calibrachoas, your sweet potato vines and your angelonia's, as well as on its own in pretty little pots.

Pretty N Sweet is easy to grow, with great resistance to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). You can harvest the fruits all summer long; new ones will appear to replace the old as long as the heat and sun persist. Expect a single plant to deliver more than 100 peppers.

Start the seeds indoors about 5 to 7 weeks before the last scheduled spring frost in your area. Peppers like warm soil and frost-free nights, so wait to transplant the seedlings until they have at least 2 sets of true leaves and spring is well underway. Fertilize when the flowers begin to appear, and keep the moisture level even throughout the growing season if possible. You will love watching these peppers change colors all summer long.