Habanero Pepper 'Caribbean Red'

I grew this pepper from seed last summer, and transplanted it to a container. I never got any fruit from it though. I think I transplan...Read Moreted too late, and the container I used was too small. I fertilized and watered like you should a pepper, but still nothing. I think I'll try again this summer, even though I'm a little behind on starting seed. I should still be able to get a decent sized plant by the end of summer, and maybe this time I'll be home to over-winter it properly so it will live to produce the following summer.

I bought a Caribbean Red in a pot from Home Depot 3 or 4 years ago just to see if it would survive in Phoenix. It is a great pepper to g...Read Morerow! I put it on my front porch under the eave and hose it down once a day. (South facing exposure.) Other than the watering, it is almost totally neglected. Perfect for the lazy gardener or someone who travels.

The first year I didn't get much fruit and thought it was a big waste of time. I like to see plants, but I would much rather eat them. Every year since then, though, I've gotten quite a bit of fruit. It's more like a fruit tree than a pepper, since it gives more and more fruit every year.

Last summer, it lost most of it's leaves due to a very long heat spell (many days over 110 °F) and I thought it was a gonner. But now, almost Christmas-time, it has 40-60 peppers on it. And it's only 2 feet tall. I did move it from the original pot to a large keg bucket last summer, though. I think giving it a little more root space has improved it's yield.

I like very spicy food, but these peppers are difficult to eat just straight from the bush. I found two ways to eat the peppers without draining my sinuses.

One way is to dry it and grind it into a powder. I just string it with a needle and thread and hang it outside until it is crispy (a few weeks or less depending on the time of year). Throw it into a COVERED blender for a few seconds and, presto, instant super pepper powder. This is great to add to spaghetti sauce, chili or, my preference, sprinkled on popcorn. And since it has been dried, there is less of a lingering burn, and more of the flavor is noticed.

Another way is to mix the fresh peppers in a blender with grapefruit juice and a little bit of salt. The sweetness of the pepper works well with the acidic bitterness of the grapefruit juice to make a tasty hot sauce. It sounds weird, but it tastes really good.

These plants are great, they grow like a bush, about 4-5 feet high and can get loaded with 100s of "Strawberry sized" pods per plant.
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The Caribbean Red has a very unique flavor, much more potent than a typical Orange Habanero with a very pungent fruity aroma that, in my opinion is "Strawberry like".

Pods turn from light green, to light orange to light red then to dark red. Pods may also be in many of these stages at the same time (sometimes with patches of chocolate brown color) or skip right to light red. All on the same plant.

Pods may be smooth or wrinkled "pumpkin like" in appearence, roundish at the top and quickly tapering off to a blunt point at the blossom end.

Pods take a very long time to ripen, they will get to full size rather quickly but sit around in the light green stage for anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks.

Very attractive plants, and they absolutly LOVE 1 Tbsp epsom salt + 1 gallon water sprayed on the top and bottom of the leaves every 2 weeks in the morning. Also sprinkle a few grains above the soil when plant is flowering/fruiting.

Great plant and easy to grow in Houston, Texas. But watch out when you eat one. I love hot peppers but these are HOT. WOW! Quite a bi...Read Moret hotter than the typical habanero.

I rate this as a positive experience pretty much due to how well it grew- not for flavor, persay. I have a pretty high tolerance and app...Read Morereciation for hot peppers, but the Caribbean Red Habanero was a bit much for me, and I didn't even try a fully ripe fruit. I grew it on a lark, having gotten over a dozen sickly (aphid-infested) pepper seedlings for free from a local nursery that was going to throw them out. I didn't have room for them in the vegetable garden, especially that late in the season (it was late July), but I potted them up in one-gallon containers and put them on the porch in a spot that only got a few morning and evening hours of direct sun. The aphids didn't last long after a few treatments, and the peppers took off full blast, the Caribbean RH being the most vigorous. They grew extremely well and produced about a dozen peppers per plant before frost-kill in Sept, which was outstanding considering they were only grown in containers, without much direct sun.

The peppers themselves are pretty little things when red and ripe, but they definitely don't have to be ripe to scorch your mouth. I took a tiny nibble of one that was still just a tad green, mostly orange, and it was enough to send me to the herb garden in great haste to munch on succulent Cuban Oregano (I've found that it's a much more efficient salve than water for the purpose of neutralizing the burn). Ow. If, like me, you enjoy hot peppers of the many chile varieties and even as hot as the Thai, and common Habanero, you should still approach the Caribbean RH with caution.

Grew very well in full sun, yes VERY HOT!!

RECIEVED SEEDS FROM GURNEY'S AND NO PROBLEMS WITH GERMINATION OR GROWTH. USED MIRACLE GROW POTTING SOIL AND LARGE POTS TO GROW IN MY APT....Read More THESE PEPPERS BLEW MY HEAD OFF, I LOVE HABANERO'S (DID I SPELL THAT RIGHT?) AND THESE MADE THEM LOOK MILD. A VERY GOOD PEPPER. REMINDS YOU THAT YOU ARE ALIVE

The Caribbean Red is rated at 350,000 Scoville Heat Units and the Habanero at 300,000 SHU. I have grown both along with many other hot ...Read Morepeppers here in the hot Sacramento Valley for many years.I also grow the Red Savina, not to be confused with the Carribbean Red.The Red Savina is recognized in the Guiness Book of Records as the world's hottest pepper at 577,000 Scoville Heat Units.It was developed in the Los Angles area. Only the Naga Jolokia from the Tezpur area of India may be hotter at 850,00 SHU but this is subject to much discussion. Naga Jolokia in the Assam language is "Chili from Nagaland."

Billed as hotter than a hab, I can't wait to try this one in salsa next summer!