Full Sun
Moderate care
Moderate watering
Tender
13b
USDA zone
18°C
Minimum temperature
Expected size
Height | Spread | |
|---|---|---|
3m | Max | 2m |
1m | Min | 1m |
Flowering
spring
summer
autumn
winter
This plant has a mild fragrance
Chili Pepper 'Tepin' Overview
The small, round Chilli pepper 'Tepin' is a delightfully balanced chilli of delicious flavour and manageable ferocity, known for being really hot, but for its heat passing quickly. The tepin chilli is one of the oldest wild chillis, and is so called the "mother of all peppers". Attempts to cultivate have proven to be problematic. Its fruits, hand-picked from wild plants, are well known and used throughout the culinary world.
Common problems with Chili Pepper 'Tepin'
Pests include aphids, beet armyworm, flea beetles, leafminers, leafroller, pepper weevil, spider mites, thrips, and corn earworm. Diseases include bacterial spot, damping-off, fusarium wilt, mosaic, phytophthora blight, powdery mildew, and southern blight.
Chili Pepper 'Tepin' Companion Plants
Tomatoes, basil, beetroot, lettuce, carrots, celery, radish, sweetcorn
How to harvest Chili Pepper 'Tepin'
Harvest 60-70 days after planting. Most tepin chilles are harvested by hand from native plants which can grow 50 years old!
How to propagate Chili Pepper 'Tepin'
Seed
Seeds should be started indoors 8–10 weeks before the last Spring frost. It can be directly seeded in areas with a long, warm growing season.
Special features of Chili Pepper 'Tepin'
Crop rotation
Medium Feeder
Attracts birds
The fruit is a favorite snack of wild birds.
Drought resistant
It’s very drought tough, though in dry hot summers, it welcomes supplemental water.
Pot plant
Plant can be grown in large container with good drainage holes.
Other uses of Chili Pepper 'Tepin'
Culinary
Medicinal
Fruit serves as natural painkiller, antibacterial agent and traditionally used to relieve stomach disorders, liniment for rheumatism, and to cure headaches.
Edible
The fruits are most often sun-dried and added to soft cheeses and cream sauces, or pickled with wild oregano, garlic and salt to be used as a condiment.