How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Cubanelle Peppers

Cubanelle peppers are special additions to vegetable gardens throughout the U.S. They add ornamental charm with white flowers and lush green leaves on three-foot-tall stems. Their slight spiciness is less than a jalapeño; it’s perfect for mild spice lovers. 

The Cubanelle replaces bell peppers in recipes, adding a bit of spiciness to dishes. It’s a unique kind, with sweetness and heat. Roast these peppers in an oven or over a barbeque for a smoky treat—roasting them brings out their honey-like flavor. 

What Is It?

The Cubanelle grows commonly throughout Central and South American gardens. Peppers are perennial in tropical zones 10 and above, and frost tender in zones 9 and below. In grocery stores, this variety is green to yellow, but they turn orange, then red if you leave them on the vine. They look similar to banana peppers with a wrinkly, slightly curved shape. 

Native Area

Cubanelle peppers originate from Central and South America. They’re incredibly popular in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, and for good reason! They add necessary flavor alongside varieties like ‘Ají Dulce’ and ‘Rocotillo.’ 

This type thrives in tropical conditions—plants appreciate consistent water, warm temperatures, and plenty of direct sunlight to match their native range. They are now common vegetables throughout the world. They may be annuals in most parts of North America, but there’s a trick to keeping them alive during the winter!

Characteristics

The Cubanelle plant sprouts white and green flowers like most other varieties. These attract bees, as the blossoms provide valuable nectar and pollen aplenty. If there’s a lack of pollinators, gently shaking your flowering plants helps them pollinate themselves. This trick works for eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, and most crops with bisexual flowers.

After pollination, flowers morph into Cubanelle peppers. Lime green skin complements wrinkly, five-inch-long fruits. They taste freshest when this color. With age, they’ll turn sweeter and spicier. 

Cubanelle plants grow three feet tall, meaning you can easily fit them in amongst your other plants. One plant grows a dozen or more chiles, so plant a few to have enough for canning, sauce making, or cooking. 

Planting

Unless you’re in zone 10 or above, you’ll want to start Cubanelle seeds indoors a few weeks before your last average frost date. This type is hard to find as transplants in nurseries, so seed starting is the best way to get a crop going. 

How early to start seeds depends on your plant’s hardiness zone. They need eight to ten weeks indoors, and another 80 days after transplanting to produce lots of fruits. Keep seedlings safe from frost, then bring them outside when warm temperatures return in spring or summer.

Growing from Seed

Peppers need more than eight hours of light to sprout and mature. Prepare a seed starting station near a window with that much light, or add grow lights to boost seedling growth. You’ll need square pots, potting soil, Cubanelle seeds, and water. You also might want to use a heat mat, as these seeds need warm temperatures to germinate.

First, fill pots with potting soil and water them well. Plant seeds a quarter inch deep in the pots, covering them with a thin layer of soil. In place of heat mats, locate warm areas of your house that maintain soil temperatures between 70-90°F (21-32°C). Seeds struggle to germinate when soils drop below 70°F (21°C).

Your tender seedlings need consistent light and warmth while they mature. It takes about eight to ten weeks until pepper plants are ready to harden off outside. Depending on your conditions it could take longer or less time. Your seedlings are ready when they have more than eight true leaves. 

Transplanting

Night-time temperatures should stay above 55°F (13°C) before you carry your Cubanelle peppers outside. Once days and nights are warm, bring your maturing plants outside to harden off. Hardening off is a process that lets them adapt to outside stressors like wind, sunlight, and temperature swings. Porches, patios, and carports are perfect locations for this process.

Bring plants back inside if you sense low temperatures approaching, and gradually expose them to the outdoors, adding an hour of time each day. Frost halts their growth, and they’ll need more time to start growing normally. After one to two weeks of hardening off, your peppers are ready for transplanting!

Prepare your site with plenty of organic matter like compost or mulch. A few weeks before transplanting your peppers, mix the organic matter with your site’s soil. This boosts microorganisms living in your soil so they prepare a comfy home for your chiles. 

Dig a hole twice as wide and as deep as the Cubanelle’s rootball. Place it in the hole, then backfill it with soil and compost until the hole is level with the surrounding dirt. Water well, keeping the dirt moist but not soggy. New roots will take hold within a week, and your plant will be growing shortly after.

How to Grow

Cubanelles grow similarly to bell peppers; they’re short, stocky plants with peppers throughout their stems. Tuck them in where you would a bell pepper, or arrange them in rows for organized fruit production. They appreciate some care while they grow—give them what they need, and they’ll reward you with dozens of peppers. 

Light

Peppers need direct sunlight indoors and out. While growing outside they’ll need between six to eight hours of direct sunlight. In hotter climates with frequent summer heat waves give your peppers afternoon shade. This protects them from the harshest sun rays, allowing them to recover from the day. 

Partial shade is not conducive for optimal flower and fruit production. Your chiles will survive, but they won’t produce many peppers. If your garden’s shady, try growing this variety in a container! That way you can move the plant from partial shade to full sun as needed.  

Water

The Cubanelle needs regular water, especially during heat waves. Dry soil weakens plants and makes them targets for pests and diseases. Keep plants swollen with hydration, and they’ll resist these threats. 

Too much water can kill peppers, too! You’ll want to water plants once the soil dries after the last watering. A good way to test when it’s time for irrigation is to use the finger test. Stick your finger in the soil, and if the first inch or more of soil downwards is dry, it’s time to water. You can also use a stick if you don’t want to stick your finger in the dirt. 

Container peppers need extra irrigation as they dry out quicker than in-ground ones. On days over 90°F (32°C), they might need water twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Monitor your plants for watering signs like dry soil with droopy leaves and low flower production.

Soil

Cubanelle peppers appreciate humus-rich, well-draining soil. Where soils are full of clay or sand, amend them with compost or organic mulch annually. The more clay or sand your soil has, the more organic matter you’ll want to add. Over time, the nutrients and microorganisms inoculate the soil, helping your plants stay strong amid environmental stressors.

If you’re using containers or raised beds, fill them with potting soil that has compost mixed in. Old potting soil may need nutrients, which you’ll want to add while your peppers are flowering and fruiting. They’re hard at work pulling nitrogen, phosphorous, and calcium from the soil and into their roots. 

Fertilizing

Peppers use up similar nutrients as tomatoes—use an organic tomato fertilizer once or twice on the site before peppers grow flowers or fruit. A dose or two should be enough for your peppers to thrive. If they experience issues like blossom-end rot, they may need nutrients like calcium or magnesium. Look for fertilizer rich in those nutrients if your soil test reveals low levels. 

Where sites are rich with decaying organic matter, fertilizer may not be necessary. Look to your plants as indicators, as they’ll tell you when they’re unhappy. You’ll notice yellow leaves, leaves with green veins and yellow in between, and purple blotches. Low flower and fruit production are common indicators of low phosphorous or potassium. 

If you’re unsure what your plants need, the best way to know is with a soil test. It’ll tell you exactly what your plants need so you can remove the guesswork. This and proper watering also prevents blossom end rot.

Maintenance

Peppers need little maintenance while they grow. If they lean or fall, you can use a stake or trellis to straighten and support them. When they are young, you may choose to top prune them, encouraging bushy growth. Do this only if you have a long growing season of more than 80 days. 

As fall frost approaches, your peppers may stop ripening if cold reaches them. Protect them with row cover on frosty nights, and hard prune them. Hard pruning means cutting stems above ripening fruit and removing flowers along with leafy growth. This encourages the Cubanelle to put energy into ripening their fruits rather than growing bigger. 

Propagation

If you love a certain variety, the first thing you’ll want to do is save it for next year. There are a few ways to do this; some are better depending on your home and garden conditions. Select the best option for your setup, and you’ll enjoy Cubanelle fruits year after year.

Cuttings

One easy way to multiply your pepper supply is with cuttings. Take six-inch or longer stem pieces with two or more leaf junctions. Remove the lower leaves, then place the cuttings in five-inch containers with potting soil. They’ll need dappled shade while they root and protection from heavy winds or disturbance. A humidity dome helps add extra protection and traps moisture.

They should root within two to six weeks, depending on their conditions. Tug on them gently to see if they’ve put down roots. If they give you resistance, they’re growing fresh roots and are ready for transplanting.

Potted Houseplant

I told you there’s a trick to keeping peppers alive during the winter! Instead of hard pruning at the end of the growing season, you may choose to bring your plants inside to be houseplants. They need at least six hours of direct sunlight a day and an indoor site with good airflow.

Seed Saving

Heirloom peppers like the Cubanelle produce seeds that true-to-type. This means they grow plants genetically similar to their parents instead of randomly mutating like hybrid types. Hybrids aren’t genetically stable, so they sprout plants different than their parents. But if you save seeds from heirloom Cubanelle chiles, you’ll be able to grow this type for decades to come.

Save seeds by picking Cubanelle chiles once they’re bright red and fully ripe. Snip them off their bush with pruners. Then, let the pepper dry out. This helps preserve your seeds for next year’s planting. After the peppers are fully dry and wrinkly, open them and take the seeds out. They store well in glass jars or clear containers in a cool, dark place. Use the dried chiles in soups or salsas.

Harvesting and Storage

Harvest continuously, and they’ll keep producing, as long as the climate is warm. Pick them when they’re green, orange, or red. Try them at each stage to determine your favorite ripeness stage! Some recipes benefit from certain ripeness levels than others; experiment a bit to see the best combinations.

Store fresh peppers in your fridge for one to three weeks in the crisper drawer. You may also dry them by arranging them on baking sheets outside under warm, bright sunlight for a week or two. Check on your fruits and turn them often to encourage even drying. Store dried peppers in a sealed glass container in the pantry or spice cabinet.

Common Problems

Cubanelle chiles experience common issues like yellowing leaves, aphid attacks, and pepper weevils. Keep your plants happy by giving them proper cultural conditions, and they’ll likely not experience many issues. If they have problems, a little fixing will get them back on track, producing bountiful harvests.

Yellow Leaves

Yellow leaves often occur normally as plants grow older. A few yellow leaves are normal so long as your plants are sprouting new growth. If a lot of leaves are yellowing, it could be watering inconsistencies or extreme temperatures causing it. Ensure your plants stay moist, but not soggy. Let them dry out between waterings.

Keep aphids off your plants with strong streams of water from a hose or spray bottle. Knock them off a few days in a row, and they’ll stay off your pepper leaves for good. Row cover keeps other pests away from your crop during early spring, although you’ll have to remove it when flowers appear so pollinators can reach them. 

Minimize pepper weevil disturbance by removing chiles before they rot on their stems. Rotting fruits attract this pest—larvae eat their way into them and cause rot and disease. Remove peppers that fall on your soil and compost them away from the garden.

Diseases

Root rot, powdery mildew, and anthracnose often infect peppers in unsuitable conditions. Let the soil dry out a bit between waterings to discourage root diseases. Ward off powdery mildew and other fungal conditions by growing them in full sun. Prune off any infected leaves and watch if diseases spread. If they do, remove and throw away plants.

If certain diseases are troublesome two years in a row, consider crop rotation. This practice uses different plant families to lower rates of infection. Grow this crop somewhere that plants in the Solanaceae family haven’t grown for three to five years.