Chilli Scotch Bonnet Seeds in Pictorial Packet from a UK Seller Perennial Hot Pepper Variety

Scotch Bonnet Red is one of the best known and popular chillies & our certainly rates as our top seller. It gets its name from the Scottish ‘tam o’ shanter’ hat it resembles. The chillies are very very hot with a strong aroma. They measure 2.5-4cm long by 2.5-3cm wide and mature from a lovely pale green to red. They taste best fresh but this thin-walled variety can also be frozen/pickled or put in olive oil very successfully. It is a short bushy plant that reaches about 50cm tall and looks ‘fab’ in containers but as Scotch Bonnets are late to mature (late Aug/Sept) sow early to ensure it produces good yields. This is not one for the ‘faint hearted’ but great for chilli heads! Sowing; Sow Chilli seeds in a greenhouse from early February to April. They need warmth and a long period of time to fruit. They can be sown outside from early April in warmer southern parts of the country but they will need lots of sustained heat to produce a good crop, so it is better to sow indoors. Chillies originate from South America so they like it hot and their optimum germination temperature is between 27°C-32°C, although some can grow if temperatures are above 21°C but germination is more erratic. Use a loam based seed & potting-on compost as chillies like good drainage. A number of seeds can be sown into a seed tray or pot 5mm deep and then pricked out and potted on when 2 true leaves have grown. (True leaves are the second set of leaves to form). The plant should be carefully lifted by the true leaves and not the stem to prevent damage. I support the root system by holding a plant label underneath whilst holding the true leaves. Best results are achieved by placing the tray/pot into a thermostatically-controlled propagator but they will also germinate with the use of a heated tray/mat. They can then be potted on into a 9cm pot until they reach a height of 8cm-15cm tall and then finally re-potted into a 3L/4L pot or straight in