Tabasco Pepper is a perennial grown for its fruit. It's hardy across USDA zones 12 through 13 and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. 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.
Tabasco Pepper — the short answer
Tabasco Pepper: grown in zones 12–13, full sun, pH 4.3–8.3.
- USDA zones
- 12–13
- 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
- 4.3–8.3
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- 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 Tabasco Pepper on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether tabasco pepper actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score tabasco pepper against your land's real conditions.
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What Tabasco Pepper is
Tabasco Pepper grows as a perennial. It's also well suited to containers.
How to grow Tabasco Pepper
Tabasco Pepper grows in USDA zones 12 through 13. Tabasco Pepper does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 4.3 to 8.3, on well-drained ground. It needs a growing season of at least 120 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
12-13
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
4.3 - 8.3
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Minimum Growing Temperature
44.6°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
Frost-Free Days
120+
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 tabasco 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
Tabasco Pepper prefers pH 4.3 to 8.3 (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
Pick when the fruit is full-colored and parts easily from the stem. Local Cooperative Extension guides publish timing tables.
Where Tabasco Pepper thrives
Tabasco Pepper is hardy across USDA zones 12 through 13. 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 12–13 spans average winter lows from 50°F to 70°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers none outright but splits 2 down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 12–13·Where Tabasco Pepper growsOpen map →
Continental US shown — Alaska and US Pacific territories sit outside the federal map's polygon dataset.
Where Tabasco Pepper stands, state by state
Tabasco Pepper is rated for zones 12–13 — a cold floor USDA puts at 50 to 60°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 0 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 2 more, and 49 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
The line runs through
2 states
Tabasco Pepper’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
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 Tabasco Pepper
Growing guides for tabasco pepper
In rotation planning, tabasco 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)
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — tabasco pepper isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Tabasco Pepper offers low value to bees and other pollinators.
Before you harvest tabasco 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 tabasco 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 Tabasco 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 Tabasco Pepper will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether tabasco 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 Tabasco 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 Tabasco Pepper in my zone?
Tabasco Pepper grows in USDA hardiness zones 12 through 13 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Tabasco Pepper?
Most growers plant tabasco pepper after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 120-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 Tabasco Pepper need?
Tabasco 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 Tabasco Pepper need?
Tabasco Pepper prefers soil pH 4.3 to 8.3, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Tabasco Pepper attract pollinators?
Yes — tabasco pepper's flowers are a modest nectar source for honeybees and native bees.
Is Tabasco Pepper safe for pets?
Tabasco Pepper is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)