Crop type: Peppers
Capsicum annuum ‘Mohawk’
Common name: Sweet pepper ‘Mohawk’
Crop slug: peppers
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile and its linked crop guidance. Check the sources and adjust cultivation decisions for local conditions.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Mohawk’ is an AGM dwarf sweet pepper reaching about 50cm, ideally suited to patio containers. Its spreading branched plant gives high yields of bell-shaped fruits up to 9–10cm long. The peppers start dark green and ripen during summer to bright yellow.
The combination of low growth, abundant fruit and yellow maturity makes it distinctive among compact peppers. Warmth is still essential despite its patio suitability.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.1–0.5 metre; about 50cm typical
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metre
- Time to maturity
- one year
- Fruit size
- bell-shaped fruits about 9–10cm long
Plant singly in a container at least 30cm wide. The compact branching crown may still need a cane when heavily laden.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Chalk, loam or sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well drained
- Preferred pH
- Acid, neutral or alkaline
Use fertile moisture-retentive compost that drains freely and warms quickly. Maintain even water and apply weekly high-potassium liquid feed after flowering.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- East-, south- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H1c
Grow in a conservatory, greenhouse or warm patio position, moving outside only after frost and once nights remain above 12°C.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
Low spreading branches carry green ovate foliage and small white flowers through summer and autumn. High numbers of classic bell fruits change conspicuously from dark green to clear bright yellow as they sweeten.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Spreading and branched
- Name status
- Accepted
Genus
Capsicum plants have simple alternate leaves, white tubular or bell-shaped flowers and glossy many-seeded fruits. Cultivars include both sweet peppers and pungent chillies.
Safety
The fruit is edible. Do not eat foliage, stems or chemically treated sowing seed.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Sow indoors at 18–21°C from mid-February to early April. Pot seedlings separately at two true leaves and keep warm in bright light.
Move into the final 30cm patio container after frost risk, or grow under cover. Water regularly without saturation, feed weekly once flowering begins and support heavily laden branches if necessary. Pick dark-green fruit for maximum continued production or allow it to turn bright yellow and sweeter.
Propagation
Propagate by seed sown indoors with heat.
Suggested locations
- Patio container
- City or courtyard garden
- Conservatory or greenhouse
- Cottage garden
- Sunny sheltered balcony
Pruning
Routine pruning is unnecessary. Staking may be needed when the dwarf plant carries a heavy crop of large peppers.
Pests
May be susceptible to aphids, glasshouse red spider mite and glasshouse whitefly. Monitor leaf undersides and shoot tips.
Diseases
May be susceptible to blossom end rot, grey mould and Verticillium wilt. Maintain even water, airflow and clean rotated compost or soil.