How to Grow Naga Black Chillies from Seed

Naga Black chillies ripening to chocolate brown
Naga Black chillies ripening to chocolate brown
Chilli Growing Guides · Capsicum chinense

How to Grow Naga Black Chillies from Seed

A dark-podded naga ripening to deep chocolate brown, with large pods on a bushy, productive plant.

Naga Black is a dark-podded naga that ripens to deep chocolate brown instead of the usual red. The pods are large, reportedly bigger than a Chocolate Bhut Jolokia, and hang on a bushy plant of 80cm to 1.2m that crops well.

Some things about it are not known. Nobody has published a breeder, date or parentage. Sellers put it at 700,000 to 800,000 Scoville units, which is plausible for a naga, though no laboratory has tested it.

Quick Facts at a Glance

Species

Capsicum chinense

Heat

Superhot, est. 700,000 to 800,000 SHU

Sow

January to February

Harvest

September to November

Plant Height

80cm to 1.2m

Difficulty

Full growing method

Naga Black is grown like every other Capsicum chinense. Our species guide covers sowing temperatures, potting on, feeding, pollination, overwintering and problems step by step.

Read the Capsicum chinense guide →
01

About this Variety

The fruit

Large naga pods ripening to deep chocolate brown.

Colour variation

The line is not stable, and some plants will throw red pods instead of brown. If colour matters, grow more than one plant.

The plant

Bushy, 80cm to 1.2m, and a good cropper.

Growing note

Sow at around 25°C in a heated propagator. It will not ripen outdoors in a British summer.

Superhot handling

Wear gloves and eye protection when picking and processing the fruit. Work in a ventilated room, and keep fruit, seed and plants away from children and pets.

02

Sowing & Harvest Calendar

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
🌱 Sow, heated
🪴 Final pots
🌶️ Harvest
Sow in heated propagator
Final pots or greenhouse bed
Harvest
03

Variety Specifications

Latin nameCapsicum chinense 'Naga Black'
HeatEst. 700,000 to 800,000 SHU (not lab tested)
FruitLarge, chocolate brown (some plants red)
Plant height80cm to 1.2m
PollinationOpen pollinated, not fully stable
GrowingUnder glass only in Britain
Grow Your Own

A chocolate naga for the greenhouse

Sow in January, grow it under glass, and pick dark, fiery naga pods from September.

Shop Naga Black Seeds →