‘Lemon Drop’

This favourite of ours is a very rare pepper: large robust bushes (about 2′ tall) covered in thin green chillies that ripen to bright yellow. 

The fruit are very, very hot, with a strong lemon flavour. When you cut them they really do smell – and taste – strongly of lemons! It makes a fantastic change to your chilli sauce or salsa. 

Its not super early, as the fruits ripen in early autumn – but it is very productive and decorative – and can sometimes do well in a big pot on a sunny patio, or of course it will be very happy in your greenhouse or polytunnel. This is a large bush about two foot square.

Note that this type of pepper – Ají – is only semi-domesticated; some of the seed is always dormant, even with good heat  – but you should get plenty of plants from 16 seed, which is loads as the plants are really quite big and vigorous.

Lemon-flavoured Aji from Peru.