The Long Island Seed Project

Hot Peppers

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Family: Solanaceae- Peppers (Hot)

September, 2007

Crayola Cayennes

Cayenne Peppers- Red, Yellow and Orange

Like a kid with a new box of crayolas, when I go down to my hot pepper patch to the section where I grow the long cayenne peppers, sometimes I just want to marvel at their colors for a while. The orange variety didn't ripen until later in the season. They do all have "cayenne" in their variety description. Yellow Cayenne, Long Red Cayenne, Long Thin Cayenne, etc. I'm not sure whether I would classify them as variations of the same though. They can be borne on compact or branching plants from 16 inches to over 3 feet in height but the fruit are all about 4-5" in length and narrow. Their flavors and heat also vary. But if your definition for a cayenne is a long, thin, sometimes slightly curving hot pepper, these are cayennes.

I imagine the peppers that the Spanish and Portuguese found growing along the Cayenne River in what is now French Guiana in South America probably do not resemble our modern cayennes in spite of giving them the name we still use.

Lemon Hot

The first year this pepper is is slow to produce and ripen, wintered over indoors it produces waves of new peppers that ripen to bright yellow. They are very hot and fruity; some swear there is a hint of citrus. A nice flavoring pepper and a nice specimen for year round production if you have a sunny, warm place. Perennial.

Early Dwarf Cayenne

This is Long Islands dehybridization of a selection from a mass grow out of hybrid peppers. Responses from all across the country have been enthusiastic. One grower in Oregon marveled at the very early maturity and amazing crop of little 3" cayenne type fruit. Plants grow only 8-12 inches tall and are always the earliest red peppers in the garden. The medium hot pepper has a fine, fruity flavor. There is still some variation here which allows for continued selection in the future.

Purple

We enjoy the beauty of the purple peppers which ripen to red and have quite a few in our collection. Some are upright, some hang downwards; conical fruit, round or elongate and cayenne-like. Plant habit can be compact and dwarf or more sprawling or upright. A few have deep purple foliage as well. While edible, they are probably better in flower boarders or as ornamental potted plants. We encourage crossing to achieve a better diversity to select from.

Last Modified: September, 2007