Variety field guide
What to expect from Sweet Banana Pepper Pepper Seeds
Sweet Banana Pepper seeds produce yellow sweet pepper fruit about 6-7 in long, tapered fruit on upright, erect plants reaching 19–24 in; maturity is 70-79 Days.
Read the complete product descriptionTraits, flavor, garden use, variety notes, and the full catalog record
Sweet Banana Pepper seeds grow into upright, erect plants reaching 19–24 in, bearing yellow fruit about 6-7 in long, tapered fruit. Heat category: Sweet. It is especially suited to pickling, fresh slicing, frying, stuffing, cooking, and seed saving when reproductive type is documented. Maturity is 70-79 Days.
About Sweet Banana Pepper
Sweet Banana Pepper is a sweet pepper grown as Capsicum annuum L. Plants have an upright, erect habit and reach 19–24 in; support is listed as stake. The principal mature or market color is Yellow, with fruit described as about 6-7 in long, tapered fruit. Reproductive classification: Open-Pollinated (OP). Maturity: 70-79 Days. Names associated with this variety include Sweet Banana pepper, Pepper Seeds - Sweet - Banana Peppers.
- Scientific name:Capsicum annuum L.
- Life cycle:Annual
- Planting season:Spring
- Growth habit:Upright/Erect
- 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:Yellow; About 6-7 in long, tapered fruit
- Heat:Sweet; 0-500 SHU
History and seedkeeping context
The North American cultivar archive records Sweet Banana as a Corneli Seed Company cultivar developed from a mutation selection, emphasizing thick sweet flesh, bright yellow color, useful pickling shape, and wide adaptation. Cornell independently lists the cultivar at 72 days and identifies it as a 1941 All-America Selections winner. The archival record supports a documented selection history and dated recognition, but it does not justify attaching a specific farm, family, or national folk origin beyond what the sources state.
The page keeps the cultivar history precise and avoids turning the generic banana-pepper type into a broader provenance claim. The available sources do not establish a named person’s tribal identity. Cornell lists Sweet Banana at 72 days to maturity.
The Cornell entry does not state the counting point, so the value is placed in the catalog’s 70–89 Days range and described as an institutional benchmark rather than a guarantee.
Fruit, flavor, and kitchen use
Harvest pale yellow fruit for crisp pickling, frying, sandwiches, salads, and fresh snacks, or allow pods to deepen toward orange and crimson for a softer, riper sweet-pepper stage. The tapered shape also works well for stuffing and roasting. Sweet, thick-fleshed wax pepper suited to fresh use, cooking, and pickling. Sweet does not mean every fruit tastes identical; harvest stage and growing conditions still affect texture and sweetness. Sweet Banana Pepper is especially useful for pickling, fresh slicing, frying, stuffing, cooking, and seed saving when reproductive type is documented. Flavor and eating quality are described as sweet, thick-fleshed wax pepper suited to fresh use, cooking, and pickling. Sweet does not mean every fruit tastes identical; harvest stage and growing conditions still affect texture and sweetness. Heat classification: Sweet; listed range: 0-500 SHU. Pungency can shift with genetics, weather, water stress, and ripeness.
How to grow Sweet Banana Pepper
Start Sweet Banana Pepper 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 upright, erect plant or fruit load warrants it. Mature height is 19–24 in.
Season care
• Warmth matters most during germination; keep Sweet Banana Pepper 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 70-79 Days as a planning range rather than a guaranteed calendar date; weather and transplant stress can shift first harvest.
Harvest and maturity
70-79 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 Sweet Banana Pepper 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 Sweet Banana Pepper ready?
Plan around 70-79 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: Upright/Erect. Support: Stake.
How is it used?
Pickling, fresh slicing, frying, stuffing, cooking, and seed saving when reproductive type is documented
Can I save seed?
Peppers are largely self-pollinating but insect movement can produce crosses.






