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Chinese Five Color Pepper Seeds

Scientific name Capsicum annuum L.

About this variety

Chinese Five Color pepper seeds grow into bushy plants reaching 19–24 in, bearing mixed fruit about 1.5 in long. Heat category: Hot. It is especially suited to edible ornamental plantings, containers, multi-color fruit displays, hot-pepper use, and seed saving from confirmed open-pollinated stock. Maturity is 90-99 Days.About Chinese Five ColorChinese Five Color is a hot chile pepper grown...

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Alliance of Native Seedkeepers  |  SKU: HPP57
$150 USD $200
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$1.50, regularly $2.00. The sale price is already applied and carries into checkout. No code is needed. Coupon codes do not combine with this offer.

At a glance

The facts most gardeners need first

View the full variety record
25 minimum seeds per packet
Gardener experience

Moderate

Germination difficulty

Moderate

Germination time

7–14 Days at 75–90 °F seed-zone soil temperature

  • Germination
    7–14 Daysa seed-zone soil temperature of 75–90 °F
  • Maturity
    90-99 DaysCounted from transplanting to the principal harvest stage under suitable conditions.
  • Sun
    Full sun
  • Support and spacing
    Stake recommended · space 18 in · rows 24 in
  • Growth habit
    Bush · Annual · 19–24 in tall
  • Best use
    Edible ornamental plantings, containers, multi-color fruit displays, hot-pepper use, and seed saving from confirmed open-pollinated stock
Secure checkout Details
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Triple-tested seed qualityRegular quality and germination checks support every packet.

We regularly test seed quality and germination as lots move through storage and packing. We stand behind the seed we send and want customers to contact us when a packet does not perform as reasonably expected.

1-year seed warrantyCoverage begins on the date of purchase.

When properly stored, planted, and cared for, we guarantee reasonable germination and true-to-type growth for one year from the date of purchase. Conditions outside our control—including extreme weather, pests, unsuitable storage, and gardener error—are excluded. Contact us when something is not right so we can review the situation and work toward a replacement, refund, or another fair resolution.

Non-GMO / BE seed policyWe do not buy or sell genetically engineered or bioengineered seed.

Every seed variety we sell is non-GMO.

USDA’s National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard defines bioengineered foods as containing detectable genetic material modified through in vitro recombinant DNA methods in ways not achievable through conventional breeding or found in nature.

  • Hybrid means parent lines were conventionally crossed; hybrid does not mean GMO.
  • Heirloom and open-pollinated describe how a variety is maintained and reproduced.
  • Organic certification is separate and is shown only when verified for the individual product.

Read how we define heirloom, hybrid, and GMO/BE seed · USDA BE Standard

Packed in Colerain, North CarolinaPrepared in our seed room for gardens across the country.

Seeds are packed and shipped from Colerain, North Carolina. Our packets use forestry-certified paper, and we use recyclable paper mailers where appropriate. AONSK is also a 1% for the Planet partner while continuing to reduce waste in packing and fulfillment.

Garden tools

Need a plan for your space?

Use the garden-fit planner and soil calculator to turn the recorded growing facts into a practical plan.

Open garden tools Uses this product’s recorded growing information. Local weather and garden conditions may vary.

Variety field guide

What to expect from Chinese Five Color Pepper Seeds

Chinese Five Color pepper seeds produce mixed hot chile pepper fruit about 1.5 in long on bushy plants reaching 19–24 in; maturity is 90-99 Days.

Read the complete product descriptionTraits, flavor, garden use, variety notes, and the full catalog record

Chinese Five Color pepper seeds grow into bushy plants reaching 19–24 in, bearing mixed fruit about 1.5 in long. Heat category: Hot. It is especially suited to edible ornamental plantings, containers, multi-color fruit displays, hot-pepper use, and seed saving from confirmed open-pollinated stock. Maturity is 90-99 Days.

About Chinese Five Color

Chinese Five Color is a hot chile pepper grown as Capsicum annuum L. Plants have a bushy habit and reach 19–24 in; support is listed as stake. The principal mature or market color is Mixed, with fruit described as about 1.5 in long. Reproductive classification: Open-Pollinated (OP). Maturity: 90-99 Days. Names associated with this variety include Chinese Five Color Pepper, Pepper Seeds - Hot Pepper - Chinese Five Color.

  • Scientific name:Capsicum annuum L.
  • Life cycle:Annual
  • Planting season:Spring
  • Growth habit:Bush
  • Plant height:19–24 in
  • Sunlight:Full sun
  • Seed depth:1/4 in
  • Germination:7–14 Days at 75–90 °F
  • Spacing:18 in between plants; 24 in between rows
  • Soil:Loamy; pH 6.0–6.5
  • Water:Moderate
  • Support:Stake
  • Reproductive type:Open-Pollinated (OP)
  • Fruit:Mixed; About 1.5 in long
  • Heat:Hot; 5,000-30,000 SHU

History and seedkeeping context

Cornell records Chinese Five Color as a hot pepper whose upright fruit pass from purple to cream, yellow, orange, and finally red. Missouri Botanical Garden independently documents it as a compact ornamental hot Capsicum annuum with cone-shaped fruit about 1.5 inches long. The cultivar name is preserved, but no institutional source used here established a specific Chinese province, breeder, or date of introduction.

The color sequence is a ripening progression, not five fixed fruit colors present in equal numbers. The available sources do not establish a named person’s tribal identity. Cornell lists days to maturity as unavailable for Chinese Five Color.

Missouri Botanical Garden documents plant and fruit traits but does not supply a compatible harvest figure, so the listed value remains blank.

Fruit, flavor, and kitchen use

The small hot pods can be used in sauces, stir-fries, pickles, chile oils, flakes, and powders. The plant is also valuable as an edible ornamental in containers and borders. Heat intensity can vary with growing conditions and individual fruit. Pungency varies with genetics, temperature, water stress, fruit position, and ripeness; any heat figure is a range, not a promise for every pod. Chinese Five Color is especially useful for edible ornamental plantings, containers, multi-color fruit displays, hot-pepper use, and seed saving from confirmed open-pollinated stock. Flavor and eating quality are described as heat intensity can vary with growing conditions and individual fruit. Pungency varies with genetics, temperature, water stress, fruit position, and ripeness; any heat figure is a range, not a promise for every pod. Heat classification: Hot; listed range: 5,000-30,000 SHU. Pungency can shift with genetics, weather, water stress, and ripeness.

How to grow Chinese Five Color

Start Chinese Five Color indoors about 8 to 10 weeks before the last expected frost. Sow 1/4 in deep in a warm, evenly moist seed-starting mix; expect 7–14 Days near 75–90 °F. Provide strong light as soon as seedlings emerge, pot up before roots become crowded, and harden plants gradually before transplanting after nights are reliably warm.

Plant in full sun with loamy soil near pH 6.0–6.5. Space plants 18 in apart and rows 24 in apart. Maintain moderate moisture, mulch after the soil warms, and avoid excessive nitrogen. Install stake early where the bushy plant or fruit load warrants it. Mature height is 19–24 in.

Season care

• Warmth matters most during germination; keep Chinese Five Color seed warm without leaving the medium saturated. • Harden seedlings gradually and wait for warm nights before transplanting, because cold soil and wind can stall peppers for weeks. • Install stake before branches carry a heavy crop, and keep moisture even while fruit is setting. • Harvest at the color stage suited to the recipe, but leave fruit fully mature on selected plants when saving seed. • Use 90-99 Days as a planning range rather than a guaranteed calendar date; weather and transplant stress can shift first harvest.

Harvest and maturity

90-99 Days from transplant to first representative harvest; the same value is used in every description. Peppers can often be used at an immature green or transitional color, but fully ripe color is required for mature seed.

Saving seed

Peppers are largely self-pollinating but insect movement can produce crosses. To save Chinese Five Color true to type, grow several healthy representative plants, isolate them from compatible pepper varieties or use blossom bags or cages, and remove clear off-types before flowering. Allow selected fruit to reach full biological color, handle hot fruit with gloves, remove the seed, dry it in a thin labeled layer until fully hard and dry, then store it cool, dark, and dry. Keep the harvest year, source, isolation method, and selection notes with the lot.

Common questions

When is Chinese Five Color ready?

Plan around 90-99 Days. The listed range is a planning guide, and weather, transplant stress, and harvest stage can shift the actual date.

How long does germination take?

Expect 7–14 Days near 75–90 °F. Cooler media, excess water, old seed, or uneven moisture can delay emergence.

How large does it grow?

Expect about 19–24 in. Growth habit: Bush. Support: Stake.

How is it used?

Edible ornamental plantings, containers, multi-color fruit displays, hot-pepper use, and seed saving from confirmed open-pollinated stock

Can I save seed?

Peppers are largely self-pollinating but insect movement can produce crosses.

Garden toolsOpen the garden-fit planner, planting-window questions, or soil calculator only when useful

Uses this product’s recorded growing information. Local weather, soil, and garden conditions may vary.

Garden-fit planning for this variety

Will Chinese Five Color Pepper Seeds fit your garden?

Check warmth, season length, growing space, harvest stage, and intended kitchen use.

Questions for this pepper seed
Seed-starting fit and patience
Recorded product profileSome experience is helpfulModerate or temperature-sensitiveRead why
Soil test, pH, drainage, and amendment calculator Have a laboratory soil report? Enter pH, nutrients, texture, bed size, and site observations here. Open soil tools
Recorded soil typeLoamy
Recorded pH range6.0–6.5
Water needsModerate
LightFull sun

Soil Readiness

for Pepper Plants (Capsicum spp.)

Where to get a soil test

Best option: your state’s Cooperative Extension soil testing lab.

Tip: Arid/alkaline regions (e.g., AZ, NM, UT, parts of CA) often use Olsen (bicarbonate) for phosphorus.
Adjusts P (ppm) target & interpretation.
Target 6.2–6.8
Ideal 4–8%
Target 40–60 ppm (Mehlich-3)
Target 150–200 ppm
Ok ≥ 1000 ppm
Ok ≥ 120 ppm
For pH adjustment size
For “shopping list” amounts
Interprets P by extractant; assumes ppm. Results are approximate.
Enter at least one value above, then Calculate.

Full growing record

Complete growing and seedkeeping record

Starting and plantingSeed preparation, sowing, germination, transplanting, spacing, and early establishment
Start Chinese Five Color indoors about 8 to 10 weeks before the last expected frost. Sow 1/4 in deep in a warm, evenly moist seed-starting mix; expect 7–14 Days near 75–90 °F. Provide strong light as soon as seedlings emerge, pot up before roots become crowded, and harden plants gradually before transplanting after nights are reliably warm.

Plant in full sun with loamy soil near pH 6.0–6.5. Space plants 18 in apart and rows 24 in apart. Maintain moderate moisture, mulch after the soil warms, and avoid excessive nitrogen. Install stake early where the bushy plant or fruit load warrants it. Mature height is 19–24 in.
Season-long growing guideWater, fertility, support, weather response, pollination, containers, and care through maturity
Start Chinese Five Color indoors about 8 to 10 weeks before the last expected frost. Sow 1/4 in deep in a warm, evenly moist seed-starting mix; expect 7–14 Days near 75–90 °F. Provide strong light as soon as seedlings emerge, pot up before roots become crowded, and harden plants gradually before transplanting after nights are reliably warm.

Plant in full sun with loamy soil near pH 6.0–6.5. Space plants 18 in apart and rows 24 in apart. Maintain moderate moisture, mulch after the soil warms, and avoid excessive nitrogen. Install stake early where the bushy plant or fruit load warrants it. Mature height is 19–24 in.
Harvest, storage, and usesRecognizing maturity, harvesting cleanly, handling and storage, kitchen uses, and garden roles

Harvest and storage

Chinese Five Color is listed at 90-99 Days from transplanting to the principal harvest stage under suitable conditions. The small hot pods can be used in sauces, stir-fries, pickles, chile oils, flakes, and powders. The plant is also valuable as an edible ornamental in containers and borders. Heat intensity can vary with growing conditions and individual fruit. Pungency varies with genetics, temperature, water stress, fruit position, and ripeness; any heat figure is a range, not a promise for every pod. Chinese Five Color is especially useful for edible ornamental plantings, containers, multi-color fruit displays, hot-pepper use, and seed saving from confirmed open-pollinated stock. Flavor and eating quality are described as heat intensity can vary with growing conditions and individual fruit. Pungency varies with genetics, temperature, water stress, fruit position, and ripeness; any heat figure is a range, not a promise for every pod. Heat classification: Hot; listed range: 5,000-30,000 SHU. Pungency can shift with genetics, weather, water stress, and ripeness. Peppers are largely self-pollinating but insect movement can produce crosses. To save Chinese Five Color true to type, grow several healthy representative plants, isolate them from compatible pepper varieties or use blossom bags or cages, and remove clear off-types before flowering. Allow selected fruit to reach full biological color, handle hot fruit with gloves, remove the seed, dry it in a thin labeled layer until fully hard and dry, then store it cool, dark, and dry. Keep the harvest year, source, isolation method, and selection notes with the lot.

Uses and garden roles

The small hot pods can be used in sauces, stir-fries, pickles, chile oils, flakes, and powders. The plant is also valuable as an edible ornamental in containers and borders. Heat intensity can vary with growing conditions and individual fruit. Pungency varies with genetics, temperature, water stress, fruit position, and ripeness; any heat figure is a range, not a promise for every pod. Chinese Five Color is especially useful for edible ornamental plantings, containers, multi-color fruit displays, hot-pepper use, and seed saving from confirmed open-pollinated stock. Flavor and eating quality are described as heat intensity can vary with growing conditions and individual fruit. Pungency varies with genetics, temperature, water stress, fruit position, and ripeness; any heat figure is a range, not a promise for every pod. Heat classification: Hot; listed range: 5,000-30,000 SHU. Pungency can shift with genetics, weather, water stress, and ripeness.
Seed savingSelection, pollination, isolation, full maturity, cleaning, drying, labeling, and storage
Peppers are largely self-pollinating but insect movement can produce crosses. To save Chinese Five Color true to type, grow several healthy representative plants, isolate them from compatible pepper varieties or use blossom bags or cages, and remove clear off-types before flowering. Allow selected fruit to reach full biological color, handle hot fruit with gloves, remove the seed, dry it in a thin labeled layer until fully hard and dry, then store it cool, dark, and dry. Keep the harvest year, source, isolation method, and selection notes with the lot.
Pests, diseases, and troubleshootingPrevention, diagnosis, environmental disorders, common damage, and first-response checks
Chinese Five Color can be affected by aphids, flea beetles, mites, hornworms, bacterial leaf spot, Phytophthora root and crown rot, sunscald, blossom-end rot, and fruit cracking. Use clean seed-starting supplies, rotate away from solanaceous crops, avoid overhead irrigation late in the day, maintain even soil moisture, and inspect the undersides of leaves. Similar symptoms can have different causes, so compare plants of the same age and use local Cooperative Extension or diagnostic support before applying a treatment.
Frequently asked questionsDecision-focused answers that supplement the detailed guides above
Frequently Asked Questions - Chinese Five Color

When is Chinese Five Color ready?
Plan around 90-99 Days. The listed range is a planning guide, and weather, transplant stress, and harvest stage can shift the actual date.

How long does germination take?
Expect 7–14 Days near 75–90 °F. Cooler media, excess water, old seed, or uneven moisture can delay emergence.

How large does it grow?
Expect about 19–24 in. Growth habit: Bush. Support: Stake.

How is it used?
Edible ornamental plantings, containers, multi-color fruit displays, hot-pepper use, and seed saving from confirmed open-pollinated stock

Can I save seed?
Peppers are largely self-pollinating but insect movement can produce crosses.
History and provenanceBotanical identity, cultivar history, regional or cultural context, uncertainty, and source records

Scientific name: Capsicum annuum L.

Common name: Chinese Five Color Pepper

Cultivar or variety: Chinese Five Color

Cornell records Chinese Five Color as a hot pepper whose upright fruit pass from purple to cream, yellow, orange, and finally red. Missouri Botanical Garden independently documents it as a compact ornamental hot Capsicum annuum with cone-shaped fruit about 1.5 inches long. The cultivar name is preserved, but no institutional source used here established a specific Chinese province, breeder, or date of introduction. The color sequence is a ripening progression, not five fixed fruit colors present in equal numbers. The available sources do not establish a named person’s tribal identity. Cornell lists days to maturity as unavailable for Chinese Five Color. Missouri Botanical Garden documents plant and fruit traits but does not supply a compatible harvest figure, so the listed value remains blank.

References

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Customer experience

Reviews for Chinese Five Color Pepper Seeds

Customer Reviews

Based on 3 reviews
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Marilyn (United States)

I haven't planted these yet due to extreme hot weather but I intend to do so.

Hi Marilyn, thanks for sharing your update! We hope the weather cools down soon so you can enjoy planting your Chinese Five Color peppers. Looking forward to hearing how they grow when you're ready!

k
krystina Hernandez (United States)

I had to wait to see the germination rates of the Chinese five color hot pepper seed to offer an actual review. The shipping speed was phenomenal! The seed packets are beautiful with amazing art depicting the appearance of the respective plant. The detailed information with regard to planting instruction surpassed many a competitor; by including bloom time as well as if the plant is perennial or annual, consistently on every package. These hot peppers had germination rates of aprox 90%, a good solid germination. Topped by decent seed counts and being affordable. Now the wait to see how hot they truly are. I will purchase from Bertie County seeds again in the future.

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