Ornamental Edible
Black Pearl combines dark foliage with small round peppers that ripen from black to red. Grow it for the container display, then use small amounts of the pungent fruit to season sauces, soups and cooked dishes.
CASA VERDE · HEAT PROFILE
Medium
- Sweet
- Mild
- Medium — this variety
- Hot
- Super hot
Scoville range awaiting confirmation.
Understanding the heat
A diamond marks the midpoint of a listed range, or the listed value when only one number is given. An arrow marks a stated limit. These are variety guides, not measurements of our seed lot. This guide uses unequal numerical bands: sweet 0; mild up to 10,000; medium 10,000–50,000; hot 50,000–800,000; super hot from 800,000 SHU (display capped at 3 million). Heat varies between fruits and with growing conditions.
No numeric marker is shown without a sufficiently clear range. For bundles, the highlighted categories refer to the different varieties.
A Scoville range has not been listed for this variety.
Shop all pepper seeds in Canada
- Packet
- 10+ seeds per packet
- Season
- 2026
FROM GARDEN TO KITCHEN
Black Pearl, from seed to supper.
Tiny peppers with a pungent bite: use a little in sauces, soups and dried seasoning.
01 / SEASON A TOMATO SAUCE
A little pepper goes a long way.
Finely chop a small amount of ripe Black Pearl pepper and simmer it into a tomato sauce. Start sparingly and adjust the finished sauce to your preferred heat.
02 / WARM UP A LENTIL SOUP
Gentle cooking, carefully measured heat.
Add a little finely chopped pepper while lentils, carrots and tomatoes simmer. Stir well before tasting the cooked soup, then adjust the seasoning gradually.
03 / MAKE A DRIED SEASONING
Small flakes for careful seasoning.
Dry ripe peppers thoroughly, then crush them into flakes. Add a small pinch to cooked dishes and adjust gradually; let any dust settle before opening a grinder.
AI-generated culinary illustrations. Serving inspiration, not photographs of our harvest. Select a photo to enlarge.
CASA VERDE · GROWER’S NOTES
Get to know your pepper.
Ornamental edible pepper · 10+ seeds per packet
Black Pearl pepper seeds
Black Pearl combines dark foliage with small round peppers that ripen from black to red. Grow it for the container display, then use small amounts of the pungent fruit to season sauces, soups and cooked dishes.
At a glance
Crop
Capsicum annuum
Fruit
Small, round; black to red
Purpose
Ornamental and edible
Packet
10+ seeds
Why grow it?
The cultivar was developed by USDA breeders and received a 2006 All-America Selections award. Its upright, branching habit gives interest to a sunny pot or border while producing peppers for seasoning.
In the kitchen
- Cooked sauce: Finely chop a small amount into a sauce and adjust to taste.
- Soup or stir-fry: Add gradually during cooking; treat the fruit as a seasoning rather than a sweet snack.
- Dried seasoning: Use a suitable controlled drying method before crushing ripe peppers. Avoid breathing chilli dust.
Growing and harvesting
- Start indoors: Provide warm seed-starting conditions and bright light after emergence.
- Transplant: Harden plants off and wait until frost risk has passed and the soil and nights are warm.
- Site: Choose full sun, well-drained soil and steady moisture.
- Harvest: Allow fruit to turn red for the ripe stage. Start indoors and provide a long enough warm growing period; the ornamental award does not establish an early edible harvest date.
Explore the catalogue
Pepper seeds CanadaPepper germination guideCommon questions
Can you eat Black Pearl peppers?
Yes. All-America Selections identifies the fruit as edible and very pungent. Use sparingly; it is not a heatless ornamental pepper.
Why does the shop call it Medium?
Medium is Casa Verde’s catalogue band. A precise Scoville result for this seed lot is not available, and the fruit can still taste very hot.
Will the leaves always be black?
Young foliage can be greener. Breeder references describe darker foliage with strong light and warmth; the display depends on growing conditions.
Seed note: the award and breeding history describe the cultivar, not an independent certification of this seed lot. Wear gloves when preparing pungent peppers.
Cook your harvest
Use your harvest in these recipes. Check the variety notes and substitutions in each recipe.
Start indoors 8–10 weeks before last frost. Germinate at 26–30 °C on a heat mat; peppers stall below 22 °C. Pot up to 10–15 cm before hardening off outside after nights stay above 12 °C.
Feed balanced through bloom, then bump potassium for fruiting. Stake taller varieties. More detail in our full Canadian growing guide.
Match the pepper to the technique: thin-walled varieties blister fast in a hot pan; thick-walled ones roast or stuff beautifully; fruit-forward ones make balanced sauces and pickles. The variety's flavour profile is your shortcut — see Choosing the right pepper for a use-case guide.
