Bright, vibrant, and beautifully intense, the Yellow Carolina Reaper is a striking color variation of the world-famous Carolina Reaper line. This rare phenotype produces vivid golden-yellow pods with the signature bumpy, contorted Reaper structure. The glowing lemon-gold coloration stands out beautifully against lush green foliage, making it one of the most ornamental superhot chinense varieties you can grow.
 
These seeds are authentic Yellow Carolina Reaper, harvested from verified stock and grown naturally without pesticides. All mother plants are raised outdoors with no sprays or synthetic treatments, preserving purity, strong genetics, and excellent seed quality. Each seed is cleaned and dried carefully in small batches for great viability.
 
Scoville Units: 800,000 to 1,000,000
 
Flavor Profile
Yellow chinense peppers are known for their fruity, bright, citrus-forward flavor, and the Yellow Carolina Reaper delivers exactly that. The pods have a sweet lemony top note, followed by the classic deep richness of chinense peppers. The result is a surprisingly vibrant flavor beneath the intense heat, making it a favorite among growers who appreciate superhots with complexity, not just heat.
 
How This Variety Was Developed
The Yellow Carolina Reaper was created by stabilizing a naturally occurring yellow color mutation within the original red Reaper line. Through multiple generations of selection, growers isolated the bold yellow pigment while retaining the wrinkled pod shape, high oil content, productivity and strong chinense aroma that define the Reaper family.
 
A Note About Seed Count
Yellow Reaper pods produce a small number of mature, viable seeds, especially when selecting for true color expression. For this reason, packets contain five premium seeds, the perfect amount for collectors who want to explore this rare phenotype without managing too many plants, because if you are like us, you want to grow them all!
 
Growing Notes
Start seeds indoors 8 to 12 weeks before the last frost and keep soil warm for consistent germination. Transplant after nighttime temperatures remain above 55°F. Plants thrive in full sun and rich, well-drained soil. As the season progresses, pods ripen from green to bright yellow, showing their strongest color under warm, sunny conditions.
 
A vivid and beautifully flavored color variant of the iconic Reaper line, perfect for collectors who enjoy rare superhots with bright citrus character and dramatic visual appeal.
 
Height: 3–5 feet (depending on container vs in-ground)
Spread: 2–3 feet
Light: Full sun 
Germination Temp: 80–85°F
Germination Time: 10–30 days (can be slow—consistent warmth helps)
Sowing Depth: ¼ inch or surface-sown and lightly covered
Spacing: 18–24 inches
Days to Maturity: 100–130 days from transplant
Type: Perennial in zones 9–13; grown as an annual elsewhere
Soil: Rich, well-drained soil; peppers love warmth and steady feeding
Container Growing: Thrives in 3–7 gallon pots (bigger = bigger plant + more pods)
 
Most people don’t know that the trick to big healthy peppers that you see in the store is calcium! Peppers require calcium to reach their maximum potential and to help them combat pests naturally. 
Use your spent eggshells or garden gypsum to add calcium to the soil in addition to vegetable fertilizer. I use organic chicken manure based fertilizer. 
 
Do not plant peppers where you just previously planted tomatoes, eggplant or potatoes as this can make them more susceptible to disease as they are all from
the same family. The pests that are attracted to these plants can remain in the soil for a while and build up and cause problems for future crops. They also use the same nutrients and can deplete the soil of what they need in particular if planted in the same spot. It’s always good as a general rule to add fresh soil and rotate all crops. 
 
We combine shipping on all seed orders, you pay one flat fee for as many seeds as you would like for no additional shipping. Orders over $35 for any combination of items ship for free to the US
 
PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS:
Start the seeds in starter pots with a premium potting soil. Plant the seeds ¼ inch deep. Place in full sun. Keep soil moist but not wet. Seeds will sprout in 1-2 weeks. Once the seeds have sprouted, continue to keep soil moist but not wet and plant them where desired. Keep in full sun. 
In colder climates, you can plant them in the ground and grow them as an annual or bring them indoors in winter or greenhouse kept. In warmer climates that do not freeze, you can grow these year round and they will live for several years. If you are right on the cusp and do get freezes of short duration, you can mulch heavily around the plants and cover the plants with fabric specifically designed for plants. 
 
Use premium potting soil when re-potting or garden soil if planting in the ground. Fertilize with a vegetable fertilizer.  One of the most important things you can do to ensure success of any pepper plants is to provide them with a source of calcium. This will not only yield larger healthier plants and peppers but will also provide disease resistance. You can use spent eggshells, but keep in mind that they take a while to break down. You can also use garden gypsum which is what I prefer because it provides calcium without affecting the ph of the soil since peppers prefer slightly acidic soil and other types of calcium will raise the ph.  I use Espoma Organic Garden Gypsum. You can find it on Amazon or other retailers. It’s a little pricey but it will last you forever and you can use it on all peppers, sweet or hot as well as tomatoes.  
 
Never plant peppers where you have had tomatoes, eggplant, or potatoes planted in the last 3 years. All of these plants are in the nightshade family and are susceptible to the same diseases and have similar nutritional requirements. Planting them in the same area can expose them to disease that can slowly build up in the soil as well as leach the area of nutrients that these plants specifically draw from the soil which may leave new plants of the same species lacking what they need. It’s always good to rotate all crops as a general rule.