How to Grow Hungarian Hot Wax Chillies from Seed
The most reliable chilli for growing outdoors in Britain: compact plants, long tapered pods in three colours, and gentle, fruity heat.
Hungarian Hot Wax is the most reliable chilli for growing outdoors here. Most chillies want greenhouse warmth before they will crop, but this one was bred in continental eastern Europe and will fill a sunny sheltered spot in a British garden without any glass at all.
The pods ripen from pale yellow-green through orange to deep red, with all three stages on the plant at once through August. At 5,000 to 10,000 Scoville units it is warmer than a bell pepper and gentler than a jalapeño, so you can use whole pods and leave the seeds in without thinking about it.
Species
Capsicum annuum
Heat
5,000 to 10,000 SHU
Sow
February to April
Harvest
July to October
Best Grown
Outdoors, sunny sheltered spot
Difficulty
Full growing method
Hungarian Hot Wax is grown like every other Capsicum annuum. Our species guide covers sowing, potting on, feeding, outdoor growing and problems step by step.
Read the Capsicum annuum guide →About this Variety
The fruit
Long tapered points of 12 to 15cm with thick walls and waxy skin, ripening yellow to orange to red.
Choose your heat
Pick pale yellow for mildest, orange for medium, red for the fullest heat and sweetness.
In the kitchen
Walls thick enough to stuff and bake, and the waxy skin holds its shape in a pickling jar.
The plant
Compact and bushy at around 60cm, rarely needs staking, 20 to 30 fruits in a good summer.
Sowing & Harvest Calendar
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🌱 Sow under cover | ||||||||||||
| 🪴 Plant out | ||||||||||||
| 🌶️ Harvest |
Variety Specifications
A chilli that needs no greenhouse
Sow in spring, plant out in a sunny spot, and pick yellow, orange and red wax peppers from July.
Shop Hungarian Hot Wax Seeds →