Variety field guide
What to expect from Pimiento de Padrón Pepper Seeds
Pimiento de Padrón pepper seeds produce green hot chile pepper fruit about 1.4-2.2 in long; 0.6-0.8 in wide on bushy plants reaching 19–24 in; maturity is 80-89 Days.
Read the complete product descriptionTraits, flavor, garden use, variety notes, and the full catalog record
Pimiento de Padrón pepper seeds grow into bushy plants reaching 19–24 in, bearing green fruit about 1.4-2.2 in long; 0.6-0.8 in wide. Heat category: Hot. It is especially suited to blistering, quick frying, tapas, grilling, frequent green harvest, containers, and Spanish food gardens. Maturity is 80-89 Days.
About Pimiento de Padrón
Pimiento de Padrón 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 Green, with fruit described as about 1.4-2.2 in long; 0.6-0.8 in wide. Reproductive classification: Open-Pollinated (OP). Maturity: 80-89 Days. Names associated with this variety include Pepper Seeds - Hot - Pimiento De Padrón.
- 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:Green; About 1.4-2.2 in long; 0.6-0.8 in wide
- Heat:Hot; 500-2,500 SHU
History and seedkeeping context
Padrón peppers are associated with Herbón, a parish in the municipality of Padrón in Galicia, northwestern Spain. The official Pemento de Herbón specification connects local cultivation with Franciscan monks who brought pepper seed from the Americas in the seventeenth century. Growers then selected and maintained local ecotypes suited to the area and its culinary market.
The protected name Pemento de Herbón is a geographical designation, not a label that automatically follows seed anywhere in the world. Certified fruit must come from registered local ecotypes, producers, fields, and packing operations within the designated area. Seed grown in North Carolina can produce a Padrón-type pepper, but the harvested fruit is not automatically a DOP Pemento de Herbón product.
The official specification describes outdoor plants about 80 to 100 centimeters tall, or roughly 31 to 39 inches, and highly branched. Market-stage fruit is about 3.5 to 5.5 centimeters long and 1.5 to 2 centimeters wide, with thin walls near 1.5 millimeters and weight around 3.5 to 4.5 grams. Flavor is sweet and aromatic, with some fruit developing light heat.
The available sources do not establish a named person’s tribal identity.
Fruit, flavor, and kitchen use
Pick fruit young, glossy green, and within the characteristic short size before the wall toughens. Fry or blister whole peppers quickly in oil, grill them, or serve them as tapas finished simply with salt. Frequent green harvest keeps the plant producing and preserves the tender texture associated with the crop. Do not promise a fixed percentage of hot fruit. The official specification describes variable light heat and notes that high temperatures combined with dry air and dry soil can increase capsaicin. Pimiento de Padrón is especially useful for blistering, quick frying, tapas, grilling, frequent green harvest, containers, and Spanish food gardens. Flavor and eating quality are described as sweet and aromatic when young, with occasional lightly hot fruit; stress can increase pungency. Heat classification: Hot; listed range: 500-2,500 SHU. Pungency can shift with genetics, weather, water stress, and ripeness.
How to grow Pimiento de Padrón
Start Pimiento de Padrón 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 Pimiento de Padrón 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 80-89 Days as a planning range rather than a guaranteed calendar date; weather and transplant stress can shift first harvest.
Harvest and maturity
80-89 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 Pimiento de Padrón 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 Pimiento de Padrón ready?
Plan around 80-89 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?
Blistering, quick frying, tapas, grilling, frequent green harvest, containers, and Spanish food gardens
Can I save seed?
Peppers are largely self-pollinating but insect movement can produce crosses.






