When to Pick Habanero Peppers – Harvesting Hot Peppers

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Growing habaneros is incredibly rewarding. There is nothing like planting a seed that will soon become dozens (or even hundreds) of ripe, delicious habanero peppers.

For the first few growing seasons, it can be tricky to know when to pick habanero peppers. Thankfully, there are a few easy tell-tale signs that your habaneros are ready for harvest.

Red habanero pepper harvest in hand
Ripe red habanero pepper harvest.

When to Pick Habaneros

Just like any chili pepper variety, habaneros change their color when they are fully ripe. Unripe habaneros are green, while fully mature pods will be orange, red, or another color.

Another easy way to know when to pick habaneros if the age of your plant. Habanero peppers will typically ripen between 90-120 days after transplanting outdoors. However, timing can vary based on pepper plant care and climate.

Signs of ripeness:

  • Habaneros change color when fully ripe
  • Habaneros take 90-120 days to ripen after transplanting
  • Fruits stop growing larger

For habaneros, I always try to wait for the peppers to fully ripen before picking. This doesn’t mean you have to, as green habaneros are edible and will still have plenty of heat.

One common complaint we see from newer growers is that their habaneros are taking forever to change color. The truth is, habaneros can take 3-4+ weeks to change from green to their final color. This can seem like an eternity when you are checking your plants daily, so be patient!


How to Pick Habaneros

When it comes to harvesting method, I like to keep it simple and just use my hands. Habaneros don’t hold on too tightly to the plant which makes for easy picking.

Habanero Mustard pepper
Hand-harvested mustard habanero.

You could also use a pair of clean scissors or pruning shears to snip the stem of each habanero. This will potentially cause less damage to the plant as you harvest.

Make sure you have a harvesting basket or something to carry your harvest, as the fruits quickly pile up. I’ve been caught too many times in the garden trying to hand-carry dozens of ripe peppers.


Will Green Habaneros Ripen Off The Plant?

One common question we get is whether you can pick habaneros when they are still green. Towards the end of the growing season, your plants may still have unripe habaneros leftover.

The short answer is that habaneros can be picked while still green, but they may or may not change color off the plant. Green pods will only ripen to their mature color if the ripening process had already begun before picking.

Red habanero pepper on plant
Green and red habanero peppers on plant.

However, don’t be discouraged! For one, unripe habaneros are still edible and delicious. Also, I have seen fully green peppers turn fully orange off the plant, so be patient.

The most important factor for faster ripening is temperature. Keep your green habaneros warm after picking, between 70-80°F for the quickest ripening.

If your green peppers have not begin to turn color after 3-4 days at room temperature, they will unlikely ripen. Use them up or preserve them for later use.


Will Habanero Plants Keep Producing?

Another question we get about growing habaneros is whether the plants can continue producing peppers after harvesting. Have the plants reached the end of their productive life?

Habanero plants are perennial, meaning they will continue to produce for years if kept in ideal growing conditions. Even in a single season, habanero plants will keep producing new peppers until the temperatures drop below 55°F.

KSLS x CGN 21500 habanero plant with peppers
Pepper plant with ripe and unripe peppers.

In fact, if you live in a tropical climate, you can keep your habanero plants alive and producing for many, many years. Even if you do live in a climate with cold winters, your habaneros can easily be overwintered and kept alive for many years.


What To Do With Habaneros

If you’re anything like us, each season ends with an overwhelming bounty of hot peppers. So what can you do with fresh habaneros?

Habaneros are some of my personal favorite peppers for making hot sauce. The floral, fruity aroma is a perfect base for making a variety of flavorful homemade hot sauces.

Some ideas for using habaneros:

Homemade Habanero Hot Sauce
Habanero hot sauce.

Find more ideas on what to do with your habaneros here.


Saving Seeds From Habaneros

If you want to keep growing your plants each year, it is easy to save the seeds from freshly picked habaneros. It is important to do it quickly once the peppers are harvested.

Seed saving tips:

  • Choose ripe peppers. Only harvest seeds from fully-ripened habanero peppers. This ensures the seeds within are fully developed and will more likely germinate.
  • Harvest seeds promptly. Once picked, harvest the seeds quickly to prevent the seeds from germinating within the peppers. Once a seed begins germinating, it cannot be stored for growing later.
  • Dry seeds thoroughly. Always allow your seeds to dehydrate for at least 5 days at room temperature. If it is humid, it may take longer to reach an adequate dryness.
  • Store with desiccant. Desiccant removes moisture from your seed container – use a food-grade desiccant packet to ensure the seeds stay dry during storage.
Saving seeds from hot peppers
Saving seeds from peppers.

Tip: Always wear nitrile gloves when harvesting seeds from spicy peppers!

For more tips on saving pepper seeds, read our article on it here.

What about cross pollination? Different pepper varieties can easily cross pollinate in your garden. This means that your saved seeds may be a first generation hybrid between two different varieties, leading to a much different pepper plant. There is always some risk of this when growing multiple types of peppers in the same vicinity, but only when saving seeds! Learn more about cross breeding here.


Growing habaneros is a rewarding hobby that can easily become a lifelong passion. Each year, I encourage growers to experiment with their harvests and find what they enjoy most. Keep on growing!

Calvin Thumbnail

Calvin

One of the original Pepper Geeks! When Calvin isn’t gardening or learning more about peppers and botany, he might be traveling new places or playing some music.

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8 Comments

  1. We have a pepper plant that was planted May 18th. I don’t know when it started making peppers, maybe mid July. It’s now 90 days later (easily) and the peppers are green still without signs of turning color. We live in Wyoming and they are in a raised garden bed and watered as appropriate for that plant. No idea what’s going on. Any advice??

  2. I live in S. Florida and have 2 habanero plants. When they flower I get THOUSANDS of blooms. Some fall off but most go to fruit and I end up with plants that resemble Xmas trees with orange and green ornaments. When they’re done producing, all of the leaves fall off and I’m left with a plant that resembles a maple tree in December. Just stems. But after a couple weeks or so it they start budding leafs again and start blooming after a couple more weeks. I thought I had aphids or some other unseen pest after the leafs dropped but I guess this is normal? No pests. I get 3 full harvests every year resulting in thousands of peppers. Every cycle the fruit gets bigger and bigger and am currently harvesting ones as big as plums. And yes. They also get hotter with every new cycle.

  3. Hi Ty. I have been growing Habaneros for 3 years now. By that, I mean my plants are 3 years old. I have grown peppers for years, but moved to Florida a few years ago and now have the space for a garden and the climate to let them stay in the ground year after year. A friend told me that 3 years is the limit of their productive life. Do you have any information on that?

    1. We don’t have any plants older than that, so can’t verify personally. However, I’ve had readers write to use about their much older plants that are still productive. Maybe for an intensive farming operation the plants should be replanted, but again I can’t speak on this from personal experience.

  4. Is it best to harvest once they turn orange or can they hang out for a while? Any benefit to letting them further vine ripen?

    1. Pick them as soon as they ripen for the best flavor and heat. You can let them “cure” for a few days after picking, which will help with flavor if you plan on dehydrating the peppers.

  5. Hi & TY can I dehydrate per machine & you never said the aprx size when ripe so I assume (bad : ))that the rich bright red = ready to pick

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