If you’re seeking a hardy and cheerful bloom to add color and texture to your garden, gomphrena is a top pick. Flower farmer Briana Yablonski shares how to grow and care for this unique annual. One of my favorite aspects of flowers is the wide variety of shapes and colors they come in. Round flowers like daisies and coneflowers have a classic shape, and spikes like snapdragons and delphinium add height to the garden and bouquets. And gomphrena’s spherical blooms add a unique element to gardens and bouquets. Also known as globe amaranth, gomphrena produces many small, round flowers that are beautiful when fresh and dried. They come in a wide range of colors, so you can likely find one you’ll love. These annuals can also tolerate high temperatures, making them great flowers for the summer garden. Whether you’re looking for an easy-to-care-for flower for your garden or a long-lasting bloom for arrangements, gomphrena is a great choice. What is Gomphrena? Gomphrena is a member of the amaranth family that produces spherical flowers. It’s a warm-season annual that thrives from late spring to early fall in most locations. Like many types of amaranth, it can tolerate heat and drought better than many flowers. The plants are often grown for cutting flowers since they hold up well when fresh and dried. Gardeners also plant them for their long bloom time and ability to attract pollinators. Characteristics Gomphrena produces stiff stems that grow in a branching pattern. The stems are covered with oblong leaves covered with short, fuzzy hairs. A small, spherical flower appears at the top of each stem. The round flowers are made up of stiff, papery bracts that retain their shape and texture over time. The blooms come in many colors, including pink, lilac, orange, white, and red. Native Range Gomphrena is native to Central America and northern portions of South America. It grows year-round in warm regions, but you can grow it as an annual in cooler climates. Planting This warm-season annual is an easy-to-grow plant provided that you grow it at the right time of the year. Since it’s sensitive to cold temperatures, you should wait until the last frost has passed before planting it outdoors. You can grow gomphrena by starting seeds indoors and transplanting the seedlings or purchasing seedlings from a nursery.

Are you looking for a bell pepper that isn’t bland? Look no further than the pimiento types. These red peppers have sweet flesh, thick walls, and excellent flavor. Learn to grow and prepare these chiles alongside seasoned vegetable grower Jerad Bryant. Pimientos are not one variety; rather, they’re a collection of many red-colored types with similar flavors, shapes, and textures. These peppers resemble red bell peppers but are sweeter and more flavorful. One plant produces six to twelve peppers, meaning you’ll only need a few for a consistent harvest. I like growing this type instead of bell peppers, as they add a savory sweetness to pasta sauces, stuffed pepper recipes, and salads. Their savory flavor is why they stuff olives and cheese after the pickling process. Find these concoctions in your grocery store, or try growing your pimientos to make them yourself! Pimientos also go by pimentos, so look for either in your search for seeds, plants, or food products. A fun way to test their flavor is by growing a bell pepper plant alongside a pimiento one. Use types like ‘California Wonder,’ then harvest the ripe red peppers. Test each variety, seeing your favorite for flavor, texture, and juiciness. You might like the bell better, but I guarantee you’ll enjoy the pimiento peppers no matter which you prefer. Pimientos grow well during hot seasons worldwide. Give them full sun, regular water, and free-draining soil, and they’ll reward you with bushels of chiles. What Is It? Pimiento is a perennial variety that forms large, heart-shaped fruits. Their substantial size stands out in vegetable and ornamental gardens; you may use this species for decoration or its edible fruits. It goes by Capsicum anuum botanically, as it’s a close relative of bell peppers, jalapeños, and serranos. Many types of pimientos exist. ‘Sheepnose Pimento’ forms ruffled red peppers half the size of other kinds. Their succulent flesh has a similar texture to tomatoes. Some ‘Pimiento’ seeds sprout large, squat fruits, while others grow skinny, short, or round. Read the labels closely to determine their characteristics, and select the one you prefer to eat. Native Area Most pimientos originate from Europe. They’re descendants of South American chiles that traders brought across the ocean to European countries. Plant breeders received them and mixed varieties to form many peppers with new attributes. Nowadays, pimientos grow in the Americas, Eurasia, and Australia. As pickled olives with pimientos are immensely popular, there is a worldwide demand for farmers to select this variety. Grow it yourself to taste its fresh chiles—they’re hard to find in the produce section! Characteristics Annual plants reach two to three feet tall, although perennial ones reach four feet. They’re stocky plants with thick stems; you’ll easily tell them apart from thin-stem kinds like ‘Santaka’ or ‘Shishito.’ White flowers sprout off the thick stems in summer and grow delicious red pimientos after pollination. Some retailers confuse cherry peppers with pimientos. Pimientos are rarely spicy unless they ripen dark red on the vine. Mature fruits range between 0-500 Scoville units. Cherry peppers are often spicy, small, and juicy, with a much higher Scoville rating of 2,500-5,000. They taste good too but offer a much spicier flavoring when you use them in recipes. Planting Peppers appreciate fertile, free-draining soil. They need consistent moisture during the growing season to stay strong and perky. Although they technically are drought tolerant, infrequent watering reduces crop yields. Plan to grow them in full sun with good airflow. This type’s roots grow deeper and wider than most peppers, meaning you’ll want to give new plants an 18-24” distance from others. Give pimientos space, and they’ll fill it with strappy green foliage and bright red chiles. Grow these types from seeds or starts, although they’re difficult to find as potted plants in nurseries. Seeds are readily available online and at local retailers. How to Grow Pimientos love summers, as they bask under direct sunlight to thrive under the sun’s intense heat. They’re taller than most other varieties, so they appreciate some caging or staking for support. Give peppers proper nutrition, good soil, and ample water—they’ll produce fist-sized fruits all summer. Maintenance A little care goes a long way when growing pimientos. They like leaning on a stake or tomato cage because it supports the stems when they sprout large chiles. The fruits may weigh down your plant and break its tender, green stems. A simple bamboo stake does the trick—stick it in the ground and lean your peppers against it. Some garden twine will keep the plant upright. Frost and winter snow threaten ripening peppers. You may harvest them green or red and store them inside. Two other options exist to extend your season: hard pruning and using a row cover. Row covers are like mini-greenhouses; they provide warmth and shelter from extreme elements. Use metal U posts and UV-resistant greenhouse plastic to drape the posts. Situate the cover over your beds, and open the flaps during the daytime to let air pass through. Hard prune peppers at summer’s end, before fall frosts threaten to turn them mushy. Select branches without ripening peppers and prune them off. Remove any flowers and small fruit that may not have a chance to ripen. Leave green chiles on the stems, and they’ll ripen quickly during the last warm days of summer.

It's surprisingly easy to grow poblano peppers, and they're great for cooking! With very few problems and a delicious taste, why not give them a go? Kaleigh Brillon will share this in-depth guide and top growing tips. Learn how to grow poblano peppers, and you can chow down on them all year long! If you’ve ever ordered a chile relleno, you know how delicious poblano peppers are! They’re smoky and mild and can be harvested fresh as poblanos or dried as ancho chiles to use in countless recipes. (But you’ll probably be growing poblano peppers for chiles rellenos, right?) Growing poblano peppers is pretty easy. If you’re familiar with growing chili peppers, bell peppers, jalapeños, banana peppers, or cayenne peppers, you already know the basics of growing poblanos since they’re all variations of the same pepper, the Capsicum annuum. With consistent moisture and plenty of sunlight, you’ll have peppers in no time. Even if you’re not familiar with growing peppers, poblanos are a great choice to try for the first time. A poblano pepper will give you very few problems if you start them off strong. There are quite a few potential pests and diseases they’re susceptible to, but they’re easy to prevent and treat. Let’s get into how to grow them! What is a Poblano Pepper? Capsicum anuum ‘Poblano’ is part of a large group of peppers that are all the same species, but are incredibly different. This species ranges from spicy peppers like cayenne, to sweet peppers like bell peppers that aren’t spicy, and even other peppers like ornamental peppers. Native Area Poblano peppers are popular peppers from Puebla, Mexico. They stand out from others visually due to their heart-shaped fruit, which usually reaches about five inches in length and two to three inches wide. They’re mild on the spicy scale and have a great smoky flavor that tastes even better when smoked. Characteristics You can harvest a poblano pepper green or red, with red being spicier. If you allow them to dry, you’ll suddenly have what are called ancho peppers that are great for turning into sauces. They are great in many dishes outside of sauces as well, especially because they are lower on the Scoville scale. If you don’t want to grow peppers that are high in Scoville heat units, poblanos are a great choice. Snag one from a local nursery and grow them under the cover of foliage next to where you grow tomatoes. Because they are self-pollinating, you won’t need more than one plant. You can have entire garden beds dedicated to Mexican cuisine, cultivating peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, and onions all in the same bed during the spring growing season. Varieties Before you start planting seeds, you should know there are several types of poblano peppers out there that are worth trying. In the ‘Ancho’ range, the ‘Ancho Large Mexican’ peppers are long and wide, making them ideal for stuffed peppers. The ‘Ancho Mulato’ turns brown instead of red and has a more noticeable smoky flavor. The ‘Ancho Sweet Hybrid’ is long and slender, turns a bright red, and is considerably sweeter than other poblano pepper varieties. Planting If you live in USDA zones 9-11, you can start poblano pepper seeds outside in the ground. Peppers usually do better when transplanted, but direct sowing your pepper seeds is convenient. If you live in the ideal climate, you might as well try it out to see if it works for you. To sow pepper seeds directly, wait until after the last frost date and grow in an area with fine soil free of large chunks. Make sure the area drains well so the seeds and seedlings won’t be waterlogged. Set the seeds in early spring in warm soil consistently above 70°F (21°C). Set the poblano pepper seeds no deeper than a quarter inch deep and thin them to two inches apart when seedlings sprout. You’ll eventually need to thin each poblano pepper plant to 12 inches apart as it matures. Planting seeds indoors to move outside follows similar guidelines. Grow your seeds in an area with plenty of light, preferably from a sunny window or grow lights, and use a heat mat if necessary to reach a soil temperature of 70°F (21°C). Provide a humidity dome to give the pepper seeds enough moisture. Start your seeds indoors about eight weeks before the final frost. Plant two to three seeds in each section of a seed tray a quarter of an inch deep, and thin them out to one plant per pot once they sprout. You can wait until the spouts are a few inches tall and choose the strongest seedling for the best results. When it’s time to transplant the seedlings, remove the humidity dome and your seed tray from the heat mat, and space the plants 12 inches apart, so there will be plenty of room for the mature peppers. How to Grow Poblano peppers need plenty of sun and water, but how much is too much? Let’s get into the details so you can prevent accidents and properly care for them as they grow. Maintenance Pepper pruning is pretty subjective among gardeners, and it certainly will depend on your growing conditions. Some insist all peppers must be pruned, while others say it’s unnecessary and negatively impacts the harvest! One form of pruning that you may have heard of is topping off. This is when you cut off the top two or three nodes of your pepper to encourage bushy and compact growth. If your poblano seedlings had a rough start and grew a bit leggy, you may find topping off helpful to get it back to a fuller state. Topping off may not be necessary if they are short with several sturdy stems. If t has too many stems, you can trim those off, but be careful not to remove any flower buds or you’ll affect your harvest. Poblanos can be overwintered, so you can keep them next year. To do this, remove every single leaf and cut it back to just a few nodes. The pepper should have a Y shape with just two little shoots of the main stem. It’ll look sad and hopeless, but those nodes are where the new growth will show up! Gardeners in zones 9 or warmer can keep their peppers in the ground, but everyone else will need to bring their peppers indoors and put them under a grow light. To prevent bringing pests inside, wash all the soil off of the root ball and put them in pots with new soil. Some peppers may need supportive stakes to keep them standing upright, especially if they grow most of their peppers on the top.