Carolina Reaper vs ghost pepper: two former record holders in the garden
Oct 14, 2026 · 3 min read
The Reaper is roughly twice as hot on published figures, but the two plants ask for almost the same season. Heat, pods and growing compared from seed-seller data.
The ghost pepper and the Carolina Reaper have both held the title of the world’s hottest chile, and neither holds it now. The ghost pepper, Bhut Jolokia, was certified in 2007 as the first chile measured above a million Scoville heat units. The Carolina Reaper took the Guinness title in 2013 and kept it until 2023. For someone choosing seed, the question is narrower: how much hotter is the Reaper, and does it grow any differently?
How hot each one is
| Scoville range | heat class | |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Reaper | 1,500,000–2,200,000 SHU | very hot |
| Bhut Jolokia (ghost pepper) | 855,000–1,040,000 SHU | very hot |
The ranges do not overlap. The bottom of the Reaper’s range is above the top of the ghost pepper’s, so on published figures the Reaper is between about one and a half and two and a half times as hot. The Reaper’s figures vary more between sellers: Pepper Joe’s gives an average of 1,569,300 with individual pods reaching 2,000,000 to 2,200,000, and Tomato Growers Supply says over 1,500,000.
Telling them apart by sight
| Carolina Reaper | Bhut Jolokia | |
|---|---|---|
| pod | bumpy, about 38 to 50 mm, ending in a narrow pointed tail | wrinkled and tapering, about 60 to 85 mm, rough dimpled skin |
| colour | red | red, with yellow, chocolate and white forms sold |
| origin | United States (sold under the breeding code HP22B) | Assam and the surrounding north-eastern Indian states |
A Reaper is short and lumpy with a pointed tail. A ghost pepper is longer and slimmer.
Growing either one
Both are Capsicum chinense and both are long-season plants. True Leaf Market gives the ghost pepper 120 to 129 days from transplant, and the Reaper record uses 120.
| Carolina Reaper | Bhut Jolokia | |
|---|---|---|
| days to maturity | 120 (from transplant) | 120–129 (from transplant) |
| sow indoors | 10–12 weeks before last frost | 6–8 weeks before last frost |
| germination | 14–30 days | 7–35 days |
| plant height | 61–91 cm | 46–61 cm |
Sellers’ figures for the Reaper season spread widely. Eden Brothers gives 90 to 150 days. Either way, both need starting early, and in a cool climate they often finish under cover. Seed of both germinates slowly, so weeks without a seedling are not yet a failure. The indoor window counts back from your own last frost: look yours up by ZIP code.
The short version
Grow the ghost pepper if you want a superhot that is already brutal. Grow the Reaper if you want the top of this catalog. The plants ask for nearly the same season, so the choice is about heat and pod, not about your garden.