Black Pearl
Cultivar · Pearl
Black Pearl is an ornamental chilli with dark foliage and clusters of glossy, rounded fruit. The pods change from black to red as they ripen. Developed by USDA researchers and released in 2005, it won All-America Selections recognition in 2006. It combines a decorative display with pungent, edible fruit.
History & lineage
Black Pearl was bred by USDA Agricultural Research Service geneticists John Stommel and Robert Griesbach in Beltsville, Maryland. It was released in 2005 and became an All-America Selections winner in 2006.
The breeding work selected for dark foliage and clustered, round fruits that change from black to red. PanAmerican Seed helped test the cultivar and entered it into the AAS trials.
Culinary uses
Primarily ornamental - Black Pearl is grown for the dramatic black foliage and glossy black-to-red pod display rather than for cooking. The chillies are genuinely edible, with reasonable medium heat and decent flavour, but the small pod size and the ornamental priority of the variety mean most growers harvest the chillies sparingly rather than using them as a primary cooking ingredient. Excellent for chilli flakes that retain colour, or as a striking visual addition to fresh salsas.
Growing it in the UK
Annuum is the forgiving group, and the right place to start. Seed germinates readily in warmth, the season is short enough to finish outdoors in a good summer, and February to early March is soon enough to sow. Germination is given as 10-21 days. 90 days to maturity is an ordinary season here — sow in February and it will ripen without a fight.
At 30–60 cm it wants a 7- to 10-litre pot and a sheltered spot: a greenhouse, a porch, or the sunniest wall you have. The compact habit makes it a good container plant and an easy one to keep on a windowsill. Yield is moderate, so a single plant is a taste and two or three are a supply.
It is hot enough that gloves are sensible when you are preparing a batch, and that a seeded pod is a very different proposition from a whole one. Thin walls dry quickly, which makes a glut easy to deal with.
Read from this variety's own record — the figures are in the panel opposite.
