Cubanelle
Also known as: Cubanelle Pepper · Sweet Pepper
What's special about Cubanelle
Mild, sweet frying pepper with thin walls. Popular in Caribbean and Italian cooking.
Growing this variety
Cubanelle follows the same growing basics as Pepper. Variety-specific maturity above; everything else below applies to the whole Pepper family.
Germination
Spacing & depth
How to plant
Sow indoors on a heat mat — cold soil = no germination. Do not rush outdoors; peppers sulk under 55°F nights and never recover.
Grower's tip
Pinch first blossoms so the plant builds size before fruiting.
Soil preferences
Deep, rich, well-drained loam.
6.0–6.8
2–3 in of compost worked into the bed each spring; side-dress heavy feeders (tomato, squash, brassica) monthly with balanced organic fertilizer.
Watering
1–2 in per week — steady is more important than heavy.
Drip or soaker at the base. Mulch 2–3 in to hold moisture and suppress weeds.
Overwatered: yellowing lower leaves, cracked fruit, blossom-end rot from calcium disruption. Underwatered: wilting mid-day, bitter or misshapen fruit, blossom drop.
Prefers top-watering — Top-water at the base. Peppers are prone to leaf spot and phytophthora when foliage stays wet.
Temperature tolerance
75–90°F (24–32°C)
65–75°F (18–24°C) — night temperatures over 75°F drop blossoms
Frost-tender. Cold soil below 60°F stunts them permanently.
Container growing
Yes — great in containers
3–5 gal (11–19 L)
One of the best crops for a hot patio — the reflected heat suits them.
Succession planting
Bush beans, salad greens, radishes, carrots: sow every 2–3 weeks. Long-season crops (tomato, pepper): one sowing per season.
Detailed harvesting
Pick fruiting crops young and often — over-mature fruit signals the plant to stop producing. Cut, don't yank, with pruners to protect the stem.
Post-harvest storage & preservation
Cure winter squash and onions in a warm airy spot 2 weeks, then store cool. Freeze most vegetables blanched. Ferment or can surplus.
Culinary, medicinal & other uses
Fresh eating, cooking, preserving. Save the biggest and best specimens as seed stock, not for the table.
Medicinal or traditional uses are shared for interest only — this is not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before using any plant medicinally.
Seed saving
Depends on species — tomato/pepper/bean/pea are self-pollinating; squash/cucumber/melon/brassica cross via insects.
Self-pollinators need little isolation (10 ft). Cross-pollinators need 1/4 mile, hand-pollination, or blossom bags.
Let one healthy plant fully ripen fruit or dry pods; ferment wet-seed fruits (tomato, cucumber, melon) 3 days to strip pulp before drying.
Your zone's planting calendar
Pick your USDA hardiness zone and we'll estimate the key dates for pepper in your area. These are regional averages — always check your own last-frost forecast before sowing.
My Cubanelle Pepper notes
Cubanelle Pepper seeds on hand
Track packets and loose seeds you already have. Private to your account.
Par level — leave at 0 for no alert. Anything below par shows on Seed Starting and your shopping list.
From your kitchen — grow pepper from what you already have
Pepper seed from your own ripe fruit — red, not green — germinates readily. Store peppers are usually hybrids and will vary.
- 1Wait until the pepper is fully colored and slightly wrinkled — under-ripe green fruit gives dud seed.
- 2Cut around the stem, twist the core out, and shake seeds onto a paper plate.
- 3Dry 1–2 weeks at room temp until a seed snaps clean when bent.
- 4Wear gloves for hot peppers — the capsaicin on the seeds will burn your eyes for hours.
- 5Store dry in an envelope. Start indoors 8–10 weeks before your last frost.
Storage: Dried pepper seed stays viable 3–4 years.
Order more seeds
Running low? Reorder from one of these seed stores.
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Other Pepper varieties
Bell (California Wonder, King of the North)
75 daysSweet, thick-walled. Green → red/yellow/orange when fully ripe.
Jalapeño
70 daysMedium heat (2,500–8,000 SHU). Pick green or wait for red.
Habanero
100 daysVery hot (100,000+ SHU) with fruity notes. Wear gloves.
Poblano / Ancho
80 daysMild (1,000–2,000 SHU). Fresh = poblano; dried = ancho.
Serrano
75 daysHotter than jalapeño (10,000–25,000 SHU). Thin walls — great fresh.
Cayenne
75 daysLong thin peppers dried and ground into cayenne powder.
Shishito / Padrón
60 daysMild frying pepper — but 1 in 10 is spicy. Blister in a hot pan.
Ghost / Carolina Reaper
120 daysSuper-hot (800,000–2,200,000 SHU). Long season — start extra early.
Sweet Banana
70 daysLong tapered 6 in yellow sweet pepper — mild, crisp, no heat. Ripens yellow → orange → red. AAS winner.