Crop type: Peppers
Capsicum annuum ‘Redskin’
Common name: Sweet pepper ‘Redskin’
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
‘Redskin’ is an AGM compact branching sweet pepper suited to containers. The detailed RHS profile gives a height of about 70cm, while the crop recommendation highlights its compact patio performance. It produces high yields of sweet, blocky fruits about 8cm long. Peppers begin green in late summer and mature to a bright glossy red.
Small white flowers appear from mid-summer against dark-green foliage. With warmth, steady watering and regular picking, the compact plant carries a substantial crop for its size.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.5–1 metre; about 70cm in the detailed profile
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metre
- Time to maturity
- one year
- Fruit size
- blocky fruits about 8cm long
Use one plant per 30cm container or space compact plants about 30cm apart in the ground. Cane branches once fruits gain weight.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Clay, loam or sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well drained, or well drained
- Preferred pH
- Acid or neutral
Grow in fertile moisture-retentive compost or soil. Avoid alternating drought and heavy watering, and feed container plants weekly with high-potassium liquid feed from flowering.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- South- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H1c
The best crop comes from a sunny windowsill, greenhouse or warm patio. Outdoor nights should remain above 12°C, with active growth best above 15°C.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
A compact branching framework carries glossy dark-green ovate leaves and small white flowers. Numerous blocky fruits begin deep green and ripen evenly to bright red, creating a strong two-colour display during late summer.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Bushy and branching
- Name status
- Accepted
Genus
Capsicum includes annual and perennial plants with simple alternate leaves, white flowers and glossy many-seeded edible fruits ranging from sweet bells to hot chillies.
Safety
The fruit is edible. Avoid eating foliage, stems or treated sowing seed.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Sow indoors at 18–21°C from February to early April according to the final location. After two true leaves form, pot individually and keep at 16–18°C in bright light.
Plant into a 30cm container or sheltered bed after hardening off and frost risk. Pinch the tip at about 20cm to encourage branching. Water evenly, feed weekly from fruit set, support heavy branches and harvest peppers green or wait until bright red and sweeter.
Propagation
Propagate by seed sown indoors in warmth.
Suggested locations
- Patio container
- Greenhouse
- Conservatory or sunny windowsill
- Polytunnel
- Warm sheltered bed
Pruning
Pinch out the growing tip at about 20cm to encourage compact branching. Remove only damaged leaves thereafter.
Pests
May be susceptible to glasshouse red spider mite, glasshouse whitefly and aphids. Inspect glossy leaf undersides regularly.
Diseases
The exact profile describes ‘Redskin’ as generally disease-free. Even watering, ventilation and clean culture still help prevent physiological and fungal problems.