Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden
Bishops Crown Chilli
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£1.99 - Regular price
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- Sale price
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£1.99
The Bishop's Crown! With a shape that looks like a tiny, three-cornered red hat, it's no wonder it also goes by playful names like Christmas Bell and Joker's Hat. This chilli pepper, a variety of Capsicum baccatum, is a well-travelled heirloom with roots in Barbados and South America. It's believed that Portuguese explorers may have brought this delightful oddity from Brazil to Europe way back in the 18th century, and it has been captivating gardeners and chefs ever since.
The Bishop's Crown plant is as impressive as its fruit, growing into a large, sprawling bush that can easily reach three to four feet in height. It's a generous producer, happily yielding dozens of its uniquely shaped pods that dangle like festive ornaments. The pods themselves are the main event, looking like little red flying saucers or bells, about 1.5 inches wide with three or four distinct, flat "wings". They start a pale green colour and take their time—about 90 to 100 days—to ripen into a beautiful, vibrant red, all while having thin, wonderfully crisp flesh.
The Bishop's Crown: it's a pepper of two personalities. The "wings" of the pepper are delightfully sweet and fruity, with a flavour often compared to apples, while the central core holds a mild to medium heat, typically ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 on the Scoville scale. This makes it incredibly versatile and fun to eat! You can munch on them raw in salads, pickle them for a tangy snack, or turn them into a beautiful, sweet-and-spicy jam. For a truly fantastic treat, try stuffing them with feta cheese, garlic, and fresh basil, then roasting them with a drizzle of olive oil. This simple preparation mellows the heat and brings out their incredible sweetness, making for a perfect appetizer.
| Quantity of Seeds | 10 seeds per packet |
| Origin | South America |
| Genus | Capsicum baccatum |
| Scoville Rating/Heat Level | Mild to medium, around 5,000–30,000 SHU. Heat tends to concentrate in the central portion, with the lobes often very mild. |
| Plant Size | Typically 70–150 cm (28–60 inches). Tall, bushy, and branching with an open structure. Medium-to-large, pale green leaves with a somewhat drooping appearance. White with yellow-green spots — typical of baccatum species. |
| Pod Size |
Unique three-lobed, bell-like shape, like a bishop’s crown or hat; pods are about 3–6 cm (1–2.5 inches) wide. Green → light green → bright red when fully mature. Thick-walled, crunchy, and juicy when fresh. |
| Flavour | Fruity, sweet, slightly tangy, and citrus-like with mild heat — excellent for eating fresh, stuffing, or using in salsas and sauces. Ideal for fresh eating, stuffing, grilling, pickling, or making sweet-spicy sauces. The unique shape also makes it popular as a decorative garnish. |
| Growing Conditions |
Sow seeds ¼ inch (0.5 cm) deep in a fine, moist seed-starting mix. Start seeds indoors 8–12 weeks before the last frost date. Maintain soil temperature at 24–30°C (75–86°F); use a heat mat if needed. Keep humidity high with a plastic dome or bag, venting daily to avoid mold. Baccatum species germinate more slowly — usually 14–28 days, sometimes up to 35 days, so be patient! Transplant when seedlings have 4–6 true leaves and temperatures consistently stay above 15°C (59°F). Harden off gradually before planting outdoors. Space plants 60–90 cm (24–36 inches) apart; Bishop’s Crown can become quite large and bushy. Use a balanced fertilizer (e.g., 10-10-10) during early growth; switch to a bloom booster (higher in potassium and phosphorus) when flowering starts to encourage fruiting. Plants can grow up to 1.5 m (5 ft) tall and become top-heavy when loaded with fruit, so staking or a tomato cage is often helpful. |
All plants are grown on our farm in Norfolk, UK and are grown in an open pollinated area.
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