Calabrian Pepper Ristra Italian Piccante Calabrese Spicy Pepper of Calabria Premium Seeds for Planting Packet

I was going to return these, because I saw they took 70 days to germinate & by then, if they were duds, it would be past the time. They are not duds and germinated in a few weeks. I have them in a little pot in my south facing kitchen window and am looking forward to transplanting them in my garden bed. I am very happy with my little sprouts.

These seeds never came up and seller won't acknowledge this fact and replace them

I purchased and grew these seeds out in 2024. The packet said 10+ seeds, it contained 11 seeds. The seeds were packaged in a small blue ziplock bag inside of the larger paper seed packet. The airtight plastic baggie should protect them from getting wet during shipping and after. The packet said they tested the seeds and had 92% germination rate. I sowed 4 and all 4 germinated and grew into healthy productive plants. All 4 produced fruit true to type, small skinny red pods as in the picture from Sherwoods Seeds. As fresh chilies these all had that distinctive Calabrian chili flavor. Fruity, citrusy, a bit smokey, and something distinctive that is hard to describe but you know it if you are familiar with them. They are moderately hot, probably around 20,000 to 30,000 scoville. The pods were also quick and easy to dry for making chili flakes/powder. These are the real deal, as advertised. I was initially reluctant to purchase these seeds because some reviews said none of their seeds germinated. I haven't had that problem at all. While it's possible some people got bad packs of seeds, I think it's also possible some people did a poor job starting the seeds. If you've been growing chili peppers for a while and are familiar with the tricks to get good germination from chili seeds (scarification, sowing at the correct depth, keeping the soil properly damp, maintaining soil temperature around 82 F, etc), you shouldn't have any problem getting these seeds to sprout.

Wow, these are really expensive. I missed the fine print where it said that there are 10+ seeds, I received 11 seeds and one was discolored. These are the famous very spicy red peppers from the Calabrese region of Italy. I have started my seeds and I’m looking forward to productive plants. We are growing these for cooking because we want the spicy taste and flavor of these peppers in our Italian cooking at home. I researched how to grow peppers online for directions because the seed packet provides no information or tips about how to grow these peppers.

Update 3/14/26: the harvest last fall was amazing. I am updating this review as I’m starting seeds again. I’ve added photos. I’m in central Illinois zone 5b. Because I planted later than I should, I didn’t get ripe peppers until mid to late September but they kept ripening until November and I think I got close to a hundred peppers from each plant. Before the frost in early November I gathered all the green peppers and they ended up ripening inside over the next few weeks. Original Review: I’ve ordered these seeds on March 30th, received them April 1st and was able to plant the same day. I put them in seedling pods, covered and put on top of heat pad for germination that kept the pods at about 79-82 degrees (measured dirt with food thermometer). And within 5-6 days I saw 2 out of the 3 I planted poking through. The two are now under a light lamp, away from heating pad now that they’ve germinated. So far they are doing well. The third pod has not had anything come up yet but it’s only April 9 so there is still time. I will try to remember to update review after harvest

Great flavour! Not too hot, just right.

I bought these for my professional gardening friend and none of the seeds sprouted. Very disappointed to give a gift and for them not to get even one sprout.

Pretty sure it's in the listing but when they say there is X number of seeds, that's all you get. Germination rate was high and they grew well in Ohio but they were a little late to get fruit on them. (Could have easily been my fault). They seem hotter than the packages calabrian chilles I buy but it could be that I haven't used them in a cooked dish yet. The fruits look exactly as they should.