- Hybrid F1
- No heat
- 75 days to maturity (from transplant)
- 0 SHU
- Red
Carmen
Carmen F1 · Sweet Carmen
Hybrid F1 no heat pepper from United States. Medium-thick walls that hold up to grilling; True Leaf Market describes the flavor as sweet and fruity. Ready in about 75 days from transplant.
Single source · Updated Sep 27, 2026 · Values marked like this (estimated) are estimates.
At a glance
- Heat
- No heat 0 SHU
- Pod
- Elongated 4–6 oz (100–170 g) (estimated)
Tapering bull's horn pod about 150 mm long and 64 mm wide at the shoulder, medium-thick walls, ripening from green to red.
- Species
- Capsicum annuum
- Days to harvest
- 75 days from transplant · Midseason
- Plant height
- 1½–2 ft (46–61 cm) Compact
- Spacing
- 15 × 30 in (38 × 76 cm)
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Position
- Handles open positions
- Growing sites
- Greenhouse · Open ground · Container
- Container growing
- Balcony friendly min. 5 gal (20 L) pot (estimated)
- Difficulty
- Easy-moderate (estimated) 2/5
- Skin
-
- Red
- Green
Heat
Scoville heat units
No heat
Carmen Scoville heat units: 0 SHU
No heat at all, the band California Wonder and Jimmy Nardello sit in. Sweet enough to eat raw by the handful, and it includes Habanada, a habanero with the heat bred out.
Flavor
“Medium-thick walls that hold up to grilling; True Leaf Market describes the flavor as sweet and fruity.”
Growing calendar
75 days from transplant Midseason
Timing shown for temperate climates; sow indoors 7–9 (estimated) weeks before your last frost date. Look up your last frost date by ZIP code →
Disease resistance
- BLS Bacterial leaf spot
- PVY Potato virus Y
- T Tobacco mosaic virus
Uses & tags
- Roasting
- Fresh & salads
- Slicing
- Award winner
- Short season
Origin
Carmen is a hybrid sweet pepper of the Italian bull's horn type, and an All-America Selections winner in 2006 according to True Leaf Market. The Vegetable Cultivar Descriptions compendium credits the breeding to John Bill at Seminis, formerly Petoseed, and describes a green-to-red pepper with early maturity and resistance to bacterial leaf spot, potato virus Y and tobacco mosaic virus. Tomato Growers Supply gives the pods as up to 6 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide and says they ripen at least a week earlier than comparable horn peppers, which is why it is sold to short-season gardeners. True Leaf Market lists 75 days from transplant and no heat.
Sources
Where to buy seeds
Prices rechecked dailyAll photos
Questions
How do you grow a Carmen plant?
A Carmen plant grows 1½–2 ft (46–61 cm) tall. Space plants 15 in (38 cm) apart in rows 30 in (76 cm) apart. Start seed indoors 7–9 weeks before your last frost (estimated); it germinates in 7–10 days. It needs full sun.
How long does Carmen take to mature?
Carmen is ready in about 75 days from transplant.
How hot is Carmen?
Carmen sits in the no heat range, about 0–0 Scoville heat units. Figures vary between seed sellers, so treat them as a band rather than a measurement.
Can Carmen be grown in a container?
Yes — Carmen grows well in a container of at least 20 L (5 gal).
Is Carmen resistant to disease?
Carmen carries documented resistance to Bacterial leaf spot, Potato virus Y, and Tobacco mosaic virus.
