How often to water chilli plants?
Chilli plants require a low to medium level of watering.
Take care not to overwater.
The best way to know the time to water the chilli plant is when the top section of the soil is dry.
This may mean watering them about 2 to 3 times per week in a hot and dry climate and less often otherwise. Keep in mind the exact frequency will depend on numerous factors as outlined below.
Contents
When to water chilli pepper summary infographic
About chilli plants
Species:
Predominantly known scaled based on their spiciness level, chillies vary in their size, size, sharpness and colour.
Thousands of varieties which can be divided into five main species:
- Capsicum annuum including bell peppers/ capsicum, jalapeños, Thai bird’s eye chilli, banana peppers, cayenne, chiltepins and New Mexico peppers
- Capsicum baccatum including aji peppers
- Capsicum chinense including habanero, naga/ ghost peppers, datil and Scotch bonnet/ bonney/ Caribbean red peppers
- Capsicum frutescens including piri piri/peri peri, tabasco and malagueta
- Capsicum pubescens including rocoto peppers
Why we like it:
Well, we love the burn! A must have fiery plant in any veggie or herb garden.
Height:
Depending on the variety, can range from 25cm to over 2 metres!
Native to:
The Americas/ Mexico
How long can you keep a chilli plant:
If taken care of and in ideal conditions, a chilli plant can survive up to several years
How do you spell Chilli:
Variations including chili, chilli, chile as well as chille and chillie are all used around the world. In some countries, chilli is also called capsicum.
A must have in your garden
Growing chilli plants is a fun and rewarding task!
Used widely used in cuisines all over the world, just a dash of chilli flavour can transform just about any dish. And as they are so flavoursome, you don’t need many chillies for cooking, making them an essential member of any veggie garden especially if space is limited.
Depending on the variety, chilli plants are suitable for pots and gardens as well.
The colour of the fruits can be yellow, red, green or purple depending on the species.
A compact, unique and beautiful addition to most gardens, whether indoor or outdoor, why would you not have these fiery little plants is the question really.
The hottest chilli
According to the Guinness World of Records, the world’s hottest chilli is the Carolina Reaper variety. To put things into perspective, it is considered to be 200 times more spicy than a jalapeño! Not for the faint hearted…
How heavy is a chilli pepper?
The weight of a chilli is important when trying to cook a new dish or checking a recipe.
The weight will vary based on a lot factors including the type and size of chilli (keeping in mind they vary a lot), whether they are dried or powdered (this process will decrease the weight significantly).
The best advice I would give is to use some scales and read the recipe carefully, getting this wrong will affect the taste like nothing else.
As a general rule, the weights of chillies:
- Weight of bell pepper or capsicum is between 50 grams and 200 grams
- Weight of bird’s eye chilli is between 1 gram and 4 grams
- Weight of habanero is between 10 and 30 grams
As you can see, they vary a lot so do check for yourself.
So now that we know a bit more about chillies, how often should you water them?
How often should I water chilli plants?
This is an important question to consider obviously.
Chillies need water just like any other plant but probably less than you think.
They are considered plants with a low to medium water need.
Little and semi- often is the best approach when considering how often to water chilli plants.
But in order to answer this how often to water question accurately, it is important to consider some important factors that will have a tremendous impact on the watering frequency.
Factors to consider when discussing chilli watering frequency
- Origin of the chilli plant
- Environment – season, temperature, access to sunlight (they LOVE the sun!), humidity
- Exact species of chilli plant
- Growing stage
- Indoor vs outdoor location, in a pot or in the ground, exposed to rainwater or not
- Size of the chilli pot or container
So as you can see, the exact answer on how often to water chillies will vary.
Firstly, just like we do with most plants, let’s think about the where chilli plants come from.
Chillies originated in the dry, hot climates of the Americas. Therefore, water and especially rain water has not always been available to chillies.
Through their evolution, they have managed to find ways to survive and even thrive in these more dry conditions.
So, first and foremost, don’t overwater them, you will kill them if you do!
Another big consideration here is that chillies rely on deeper sources of water in the soil than many other plants and have a well developed root network.
So when should I water chilli plants?
Most experts recommend to water chilies frequently enough to keep the soil (we are talking about the deeper layers of the soil here not necessarily the top) moist BUT not to overwater them. So small amounts of water as often as needed.
What does this mean exactly?
The best way to know whether it is time to water the chillies is to check if the top section of the soil is moist.
Top section of the soil is moist -> do not water the chilli
Top section of the soil is dry -> time to water the chilli
Depending on the factors above and your specific chilli variety and stage of growth, this may mean watering them about 2 to 3 times per week in hot, dry climates and less often in other climates. Keep an eye on the factors above.
If you have neglected your chilli plant
If you have not watered your chilli for a period of time and notice the leaves look down, withered and wilting, don’t despair. Even after a single watering, you may find that a few hours later, the plant is recovering as the roots absorb water and take it to the leaves.
Take care with kids
As great a plant they are in a decorative and culinary sense, be careful with chillies if you have young children at home. The little chillies may just be too tempting to take a bite from so consider putting them out of reach of little hands.
Tips for growing chilli plants
These are some tips that I have found useful when growing chilli plants.
The list is by no means complete and feel free to add your own in the comments section below.
Always refer to you local expert or nursery for advice.
Do not overwater chillies
As discussed above, this will easily damage chilli plants. It is the cause of most problems and diseases in chillies.
Leave tap water out prior to watering
Tap water around the world often contains chlorine. This reduces the amount of bacteria which is useful for humans.
On the other hand, plants don’t process the chlorine. This can lead to yellow leaves and affects the quality of growth and harvest.
We recommend leaving tap water out for a while, maybe even overnight, to allow the chlorine to evaporate prior to watering.
Rainwater is obviously a perfect source as well.
Pot size
In comparison to many other plants, chillies rely on deeper sources of water in the soil and so have a well developed root network. So if you will be using pots to grow your chillies, ensure they are of a decent size and depth.
Fertiliser
Use a controlled release fertiliser when it is planting time but take care not to over fertilise.
Prune the chilli plant
In new plants or at the beginning of the growing season, tip/ pinch prune the new growth to stimulate growth and bushiness. Also, remove the chilli plant fruits when they start to ripen, this can encourage further growth.
Did you know?
Interesting fact about chilli
A lot of chilli plant species are quite spicy. The spicy heat sensation on your tongue or skin when it is in contact with a chilli comes from capsaicinoids (mainly capsaicin) that the chilli plant makes.
The reason for this is to protect itself against predators, namely microbes and animals (and so you). Interestingly, there are scientific studies that have been conducted that show that chilli plants make more capsaicin in response to environmental challenges like microbial (fungal) attacks.
Did you enjoy the “How often to water chilli plants” article?
Do you agree with what we wrote above and how often do you water yours? Do you have any tips or suggestions?
Let me know any feedback.
Or send a pic of your plant in the comments below.
Until next article, have a great day and enjoy your gardening.
References
Chilli Pepper, Wikipedia. Accessed March 2021.
Guinness Book of World Records 2021, London, UK. Version – 2021. Link to book here.
Evolutionary ecology of pungency in wild chilies, Joshua J. Tewksbury et al. , Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Aug 19.
Multiple lines of evidence for the origin of domesticated chilli pepper, Capsicum annuum, in Mexico. Kraft et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Apr 29.
This article on how often to water chilli pepper plants is made for general garden and plant lover information only and not as specific advice. We hope you find the chilli plant gardening advice useful but do not accept any responsibility for any mistakes or liability arising from the use of the information, even if deemed inaccurate, as outlined in the terms of use of How Often Should website.
