Carolina Reaper Seeds – World's Hottest Red Chilli Pepper Seeds

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🚚 Ships from Melbourne, VIC — domestic & international shipping available.

Backyard Garden Seeds · Record-Holder Collection

Carolina Reaper — World's Hottest Pepper

Bred to break records. Handle accordingly.

10 Seeds · Non-GMO · OZ Grown

SeedRootsSproutLeavesFlowerHarvest

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Ships Australia-wide & internationally

📄 Digital Growing GuideDownload the full PDF ▶ Growing Guide VideoWatch it step by step

Heat check

A Legendary Record-Holder

☢️

Record-Holder ◀ Extreme
Very hot
Hot
Mild

Bred by Ed Currie at PuckerButt Pepper Company by crossing a Pakistani Naga with a Red Habanero, the Carolina Reaper held the official Guinness World Record for the hottest pepper on Earth from 2013 to 2023. Despite the ferocious heat, it's known for a genuinely fruity, sweet flavour up front — before the burn takes over completely.

1.4–2.2 million SHU, averaging around 1.6 million — roughly twice as hot as a ghost pepper

Handle with gloves at all times. Never touch your eyes, face or skin while preparing this chilli, wash hands and utensils thoroughly afterward, ventilate the kitchen when cooking with it, and keep well away from children and pets.

Australia-wide

When to sow, wherever you are

Cool & Mountain

Tasmania · VIC highlands · Canberra

🌱Sow May – Jul indoors, on a heat mat — this variety needs the longest head start

🏪Plant out Nov – Dec, after all frost risk

🍗Harvest Mar – Apr; a greenhouse makes a real difference here

Temperate

Melbourne · Sydney · Adelaide · Perth

🌱Sow May – Jul, indoors on a heat mat

🏪Plant out Oct – Nov

🍗Harvest Feb – May

Subtropical

Brisbane · Northern NSW

🌱Sow Apr – Jun

🏪Plant out Sep – Oct

🍗Harvest Dec – Jun

Tropical

Darwin · Cairns · the Top End

🌱Sow Jan – Apr, through the dry season

🏪This long, hot season suits it extremely well

🍗Harvest Jun – Dec, sometimes longer as a short-lived perennial

Arid & Semi-arid

Alice Springs · inland WA/SA/NSW

🌱Sow May – Jun, indoors

🏪Plant out Sep, with afternoon shade in peak heat

🍗Harvest Jan – Apr

Growing in a pot?

Any zone · any balcony

🏼A large pot, 20L or more — this plant can reach 1.5m tall

☀️The warmest, sunniest, most sheltered spot you have

🏠Move under cover to stretch a short season

A general guide only. Carolina Reaper is the slowest, most demanding pepper in our range — 90–100 days to maturity after transplant, and up to 5–6 months total from seed. In cooler zones, starting indoors early with a heat mat isn't optional, it's essential.

Seed to harvest

What happens next

Before sowing

Soaking seeds 12–24 hours can help, though it isn't essential. Sow 5mm deep in seed-raising mix.

Germination · 7–21 days

Genuinely slow — some seeds take up to 6 weeks. Soil temperature is everything here: aim for 27–32°C using a heat mat. Cold soil is the single biggest reason this variety "fails" to come up.

Growing on indoors

Start at least 8–10 weeks before your last frost date. This is a tall, vigorous plant — it can reach 1–1.5m, so give it room and a sturdy pot as it grows.

Plant out

Only once nights stay reliably above 16°C. Full sun, free-draining soil, 40–45cm spacing.

Flowering & fruit set

Small white flowers give way to bumpy, wrinkled pods with the reaper's signature pointed tail, turning from green to deep red as they ripen.

Harvest · 90–100 days

Pick with gloves once fully red for maximum heat. Reducing water slightly in the final weeks and avoiding high-nitrogen feed both help push capsaicin levels even higher.

The details

What's in the pack

Seeds per pack10

Seed typeNon-GMO

Grown inMelbourne, VIC

Germination rate95%

Days to harvest90–100 days

Heat level1.4–2.2 million SHU

ShippingAU & international

Only for the serious

Limited seed each year — once it's picked, it's picked.

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Enjoy Gardening