Dragon Roll Hot Pepper is a popular pepper that mingles heat and sweet in your mouth. Long, slim, yellow-green fruits form on a small plant—about a foot to 18 inches tall. The pepper produces ripe peppers much earlier than many varieties—just over 2 months after planting. This Shishito pepper is a versatile one in the kitchen, with just enough heat to add flavor to dishes but not too much heat to enjoy. The peppers reach about 3 to 5 inches long at maturity.
Dragon Roll Hot Pepper is at the low end of the heat scale, at 200 Scovilles. It has a smoky but sweet flavor and mild heat. Dragon Roll and other Shishito peppers are favorites at farmers markets and in kitchens around the country. Occasionally, one of the harvested Dragon Roll Peppers is hotter than the others, so this is a fun pepper to grow and try.
Dragon Roll Pepper Plant Care
Dragon Roll and other hot peppers need plenty of outdoor heat to grow and ripen into tasty peppers. Wait to plant until outdoor nighttime temperatures are above 60 degrees and it is past the average last frost date in your area. Warming the ground or container before planting will help Dragon Roll start out healthy. Space the plants 2 to 3 feet apart to give them room to grow and plenty of air circulation. Hot pepper plants need full sun and rich soil full of organic matter.
Growing Dragon Roll Peppers
Assuming good sun exposure, watering and heat, Dragon Roll will produce its mildly hot peppers about 67 days after planting. The plants are small enough to grow in a container, reaching no more than 18 inches high and around, but also grow well in a raised bed or vegetable garden. Hot peppers won’t grow well indoors because they need so much sun and heat.
Dragon Roll Hot Pepper grows well in a container, assuming the container gets at least 6 hours of sun a day and is brought inside if there is any danger of frost. The pot needs to be at least 18 to 24 inches wide and deep. Use a high-quality potting mix and add compost if necessary for fertile soil. Water slowly and consistently, usually more often than needed for hot peppers in a garden bed.
Watering Dragon Roll Pepper Plants
Water thoroughly right after planting Dragon Roll Hot Pepper and make sure the plant gets 1 to 2 inches of rain or irrigation each week. It is best to be consistent about watering and to water slowly and deeply with drip systems or soaker hoses.
Feeding Dragon Roll Pepper Plants
Peppers do not need much fertilizing. Once-a-month application of a balanced fruit and vegetable food will suffice. You also can top-dress soil around the plant or in a container with compost that you work gently into the soil.
