Plant record

Pepper

Capsicum annuum

Peppers remember every cold insult. Keep them warm, then pretend the delay was your plan all along.

Rankspeciesderived
GenusCapsicumSolanaceae
Species anchorCapsicum annuumThis record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.
Library score90/100deep plant record

Garden timing

Start indoors 7 to 10 weeks before last frost.

Transplant after nights are reliably mild.

Space-saving method: grow with stake support.

Plant intelligence

Use one square per plant and watch neighbors as it matures.

foodcontainer

Lifecycle: annual

Habit: compact fruiting crop

Germination: 7-21 days

Sow depth: 0.25 inches

Record score

90/100deep plant record
Taxonomy confidence94Capsicum annuum in Solanaceae; 2 cached source references.
Square-foot usefulness921 per square with stake support.
Timing and care depth922 planting windows, 60F minimum soil, 2 cautions.
Species and variety drill-down1003 variety or cultivar options attached.
Annual flower intelligence70Food crop with companion context.
Source readiness82Ready for 4 external lookup paths.

Species identity

This record is anchored to a stable botanical name, then adjusted for square-foot garden decisions.

ScientificCapsicum annuumFamilySolanaceaeLookup namesPepper, Capsicum annuum, bell pepper, sweet pepper, hot pepper

Garden decision matrix

Square-foot fit1 per square
92Use one square per plant and watch neighbors as it matures. Support: stake.
Season behaviorheat-loving
92Indoor start. Transplant. One main planting.
Care loadmoderate water
74Sulks in cold soil. Do not rush hardening off. Soil minimum 60F.
Bed ecosystem rolefood, container
70Food-first crop with companion context.
Variety depth3 options
100Sweet bells want a longer warm season; smaller frying and hot peppers often finish more reliably.

Species and variety notes

Sweet bells want a longer warm season; smaller frying and hot peppers often finish more reliably.

Acecultivar
94small-bed fit

A sensible bell pepper for shorter northern seasons.

Best use: tight bed or container. Tradeoff: wait for real warmth before judging performance.

sweet bell, early, compact50-70 days
Jalapenogroup
94small-bed fit

Reliable heat without asking for much extra room.

Best use: tight bed or container. Tradeoff: wait for real warmth before judging performance.

hot, productive, container friendly70-80 days
Lunchboxseries
78small-bed fit

Small sweet peppers that make good use of limited bed space.

Best use: general garden use. Tradeoff: wait for real warmth before judging performance.

snacking, small fruit, productive55-75 days

Companions

basil, onion, marigold, parsley

Cautions

Sulks in cold soil.

Do not rush hardening off.

External enrichment

Cached name: Capsicum annuum. Optional lookups can compare GBIF, iNaturalist, Perenual, and Trefle without changing the reviewed garden record.

Open enrichment JSON

Data layers

FVF reviewed cachecachedSpacing, timing, variety, companion, and FVF notes used by the planner.
GBIF and iNaturalistlive no-keyNo-key taxonomy, common-name, and community context checks through the enrichment route.
USDA PLANTS downloadsreferencePeriodic identity, distribution, native status, and conservation reference layer.
Perenual or Trefleoptional keyOptional species images, care data, cultivar/synonym cleanup, then cache only reviewed fields.

API source score

Perenual API88/100optional key: Flower and ornamental drill-down, plant photos, care flags, toxicity, bloom data. Limit: Requires an API key and plan-aware caching, so it should enrich records without blocking the app.
Trefle API84/100optional key: Scientific names, subspecies, varieties, hybrids, synonyms, and broader botanical cleanup. Limit: Requires a token and should be treated as a reviewed import layer, not a live page dependency.
USDA PLANTS downloads82/100download cache: Standard names, plant symbols, distribution, native status, and conservation flags. Limit: Best consumed as periodic downloaded data instead of one-off runtime requests.
GBIF Species API78/100live public: Accepted scientific names, synonyms, family/genus cleanup, and occurrence context. Limit: Not a gardening advice source; pair it with local square-foot growing data.
iNaturalist taxa API72/100live public: Common-name discovery, taxon IDs, and regional biodiversity context. Limit: Observation data is not the same thing as garden suitability or crop timing.

Michigan State University Extension

Michigan vegetable-garden timing, frost awareness, and practical garden planning.

Source reference

Cornell Vegetable Growing Guides

Crop-specific vegetable growing guidance.

Source reference

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