Amateur Gardening – 24 August 2019

TheAwardofGardenMeritisa markofquality

awardedsince 1922 togardenplants(includingtrees,vegetablesand

decorative plants) by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).

‘Fuego’

Atall,early,easy-to-harvestchilliplant

withopen,branchinggrowth,producing

morethantwodozenlongandslender

7in(18cm)chilliesthatmaturefromgreen

tored.Growsbetterthanmostoutside.

Medium. 4,000SHU. H: 39in (1m).

‘HungarianHotWax’

Easyandreliable,thispatiovarietywill

produce5in(13cm)taperingfruitsthat

maturefroma mildgreen– at which

stagetheycanbeeatenraw– through

yellowtoa hotterred.Medium.

6,000SHU. H: 39in (1m).

‘CaribbeanAntillais’

Tall,late-maturingplantsdevelopsmall,

wrinkledandratherblocky2½in(6cm)

limegreenfruitsthatmaturethrough

orangetobrightred.Bestsownearly

andgrownundercover;matureswell

outsidein mostseasons.Veryhot.

300,000SHU. H: 3ft (90cm).

varietywithaninherentlyhighSHU

rating.Ignoringmyadviceonwatering

andfeeding,andgrowingplants

relativelydryandstarvedwillleadtoa

hotter,moreflavoursomecrop– albeit

a smallerone.Plantsgrowwellin patio

pots,butbesuretoteachyour kids not

to pick them – just in case.

Easeof cultivation

Adaptability

Earlymaturity

Good ornamental effect

What makes a good chilli pepper?

T&M T&M

‘BasketofFire’

Well-branchedplantscarryshort,

pointed,upright1½in(4cm)chillies

abovetheirfoliage– upto 200

each.Fruitsmaturefrompurpleto

cream,tolemonandrichyellow,

throughorange,andthentored.

Hot. 80,000SHU. H: 10in (25cm).

‘PrairieFire’

Neatandcompact,multi-branched,rather

spreadingplantsproduce 60 ormore

small(1in/2½cm),upward-pointingfruits

thatripenfromcreamtoyellowthen

orangeand,finally,red.Veryattractiveon

the patio. Hot. 75,000SHU. H: 8in (20cm).

‘DemonRed’

Compact,verywell-branched,attractive

andimpressivelyproductive.White

flowersarefollowedbynarrow,upward-

pointing1½in(4cm)fruits,maturingfrom

brightgreentoorangethenred.One

plantcanproduce 400 chillies! Hot.

40,000SHU. H: 14in (35cm).

Southdevonchillifarm.co.uk

Culinaryusefulness

Appropriateheat

Prolificcrop

Well-branched growth

24 AUGUST 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 23