Anaheim Pepper is grown for its fruit, ready to harvest about 80 days after planting. It's hardy across USDA zones 3 through 11 and stands up to deer. Its flowers are a modest draw for honeybees and native bees, even though the fruit is the prize. As a nightshade, give it a fresh bed each year — away from where its relatives just grew — so the soil-borne pests and diseases of the family never get a foothold.
Anaheim Pepper — the short answer
Anaheim Pepper: grown in zones 3–11, full sun, pH 4.5–7, about 80 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 3–11
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 4.5–7
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 80 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Anaheim Pepper on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether anaheim pepper actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score anaheim pepper against your land's real conditions.
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What Anaheim Pepper is
Anaheim Pepper reaches around two feet at maturity. It's also deer-resistant.
How to grow Anaheim Pepper
Anaheim Pepper grows in USDA zones 3 through 11 and is ready to harvest about 80 days after planting. Anaheim Pepper does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 4.5 to 7, on well-drained ground. It needs around 2,000 growing degree days to mature and a growing season of at least 60 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
3-11
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
4.5 - 7
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Minimum Growing Temperature
46.4°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
Growable Ground Plant Database
Days to Maturity
80 days
Growable Ground plant catalog
GDD Required
2000+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
2 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
60+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant anaheim pepper in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Anaheim Pepper prefers pH 4.5 to 7 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at maturity
Anaheim Pepper is ready about 80 days after planting. Pick when the fruit is full-colored and parts easily from the stem.
Where Anaheim Pepper thrives
On hardiness alone, anaheim pepper grows across most of the country — its range (USDA zones 3 through 11) is unusually wide. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 3–11 spans average winter lows from -40°F to 50°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 48 outright and splits 3 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 3–11·Where Anaheim Pepper growsOpen map →
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Anaheim Pepper stands, state by state
Anaheim Pepper is rated for zones 3–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at -40 to -30°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 48 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 3 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 3–11
48 states
3 of 48 shown
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Anaheim Pepper
Growing guides for anaheim pepper
In rotation planning, anaheim pepper counts as a Nightshade — beds recover best when nightshade crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in vegetable
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — anaheim pepper isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Anaheim Pepper offers low value to bees and other pollinators.
Before you harvest anaheim pepper, know your soil
Anything you grow to eat takes up what's in the ground it grows in, so it's worth knowing what's documented near you before you plant anaheim pepper for food. Our free screen reads 9 federal source types across roughly 1.8M indexed sites and shows which sit near your address and which way they drain. It's a screening estimate from public records and proximity — not a soil test — so a nearby record means a soil test is worth it, not that your soil is unsafe.
Your land is one point inside Anaheim Pepper's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Anaheim Pepper will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether anaheim pepper actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Anaheim Pepper
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Anaheim Pepper in my zone?
Anaheim Pepper grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 11 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
How long does Anaheim Pepper take to grow?
Anaheim Pepper is ready to harvest about 80 days after planting. Your local frost dates and soil temperature move that window earlier or later.
When should you plant Anaheim Pepper?
Most growers plant anaheim pepper after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 60-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Anaheim Pepper need?
Anaheim Pepper needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Anaheim Pepper need?
Anaheim Pepper prefers soil pH 4.5 to 7, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Anaheim Pepper attract pollinators?
Yes — anaheim pepper's flowers are a modest nectar source for honeybees and native bees.
Is Anaheim Pepper safe for pets?
Anaheim Pepper is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)
Keep exploring Anaheim Pepper
Anaheim Pepper state by state
Every state anaheim pepper's zone reaches — 26 link straight to that state's anaheim pepper growing page; the rest open the state's full growing guide.