White Pepper: Description and Tips for Growing Seedlings (Photos)

White pepper is not a separate variety, but a group of hybrids and distinct pepper species. The variety description mentions a white color, unusual for peppers, when ripe. When unripe, it contains a large amount of vitamins and is suitable for consumption. These varieties possess a set of specific beneficial components. Only the Dutch hybrid White Bell can be considered truly white, turning ivory when ripe.

White peppercorns are a particularly sought-after variety of sweet bell peppers. Even when unripe, they are edible and contain a large amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. This characteristic is always mentioned in advice on growing seedlings.

Tips for growing seedlings

Basic information about varieties such as Lumina, White Bell, Century, Star of the East, and others can be found among the yellow and red varieties. This lack of information leads some authors to confuse white bell pepper varieties with white pepper, which is used as a spice and is made from black peppercorns.

White pepper is not a cultivar, but rather different varieties that turn white at a certain stage. Experienced gardeners recommend growing seedlings in individual pots to avoid picking. Fertilize before planting and at the 2-3 leaf stage. Hybrid seeds do not require treatment or soaking, but home-collected seeds are best treated with potassium permanganate to prevent infection.

Advice! A description of each variety can be found in the lists of varieties by color at final maturity, where there are detailed instructions for seedling propagation.

White Pepper: An Overview of Varieties

Calota F1

A favorite variety for those who rotate crops in their gardens and grow abundant and varied vegetable harvests in a small space with proper agricultural practices. Kalota is one of the earliest varieties, ripening in just 60 days from planting. This white pepper variety is often underestimated by those less experienced in gardening due to its insufficiently dominant color. The hybrid seeds from the originator require no additional treatment, as they are treated with a fungicide during packaging to enhance disease resistance.

This variety is suitable for unheated greenhouses and open ground. It produces a very fast and substantial harvest, characterized by white (creamy-greenish) fruits that quickly become small and sparse.

Experienced gardeners use this quality to properly rotate their plots and plant daikon radishes after the removed bushes, which still have time to ripen before fall. After the radishes, peppers can be planted again in the same spot the following year.

Snowwhite

An early-ripening hybrid with whitish-yellowish fruit, developed by Dutch breeders based on the Hungarian Wax variety. According to gardeners, it is highly productive, producing abundant, though not very large, fruits. They weigh 130-160 g, have 4-5 mm thick walls, and are oblong, 12 to 15 cm long. Snowwhite's white color is temporary, at the point of technical maturity, when it contains the greatest amount of nutrients. Therefore, in Europe, it is harvested and sold during this period.

It has excellent long-term preservation and transportability. It has good shelf life when stored under optimal conditions. When fully ripe, the fruits acquire a rich orange color, and in certain regions, they are harvested when they reach this color.

According to consumer reviews, it has excellent flavor for a hybrid and a relatively intense aroma. It ripens early and is suitable for commercial maturity due to its flavor, shelf life, and early ripening.

White Star of the East

Any variety of the Eastern Star, regardless of the shade it received from its breeders (and there are red, yellow, golden, purple, tangerine, giant and chocolate), is distinguished by its excellent taste, juiciness and suitability for any culinary needs.

Please note! All Zvezda Vostoka pepper varieties were developed by breeders at the renowned seed company SeDeK, located in the Moscow region and boasting a proven and highly regarded reputation among its customers. The peppers bred by this agricultural company resemble a star when cut in half due to their unique shape. Currently, there are 12 masterpieces of this breeding tradition, and the white one is one of them.

White Star of the East, like all the others, is a hybrid that was added to the State Register of the Russian Federation in 2007 and is recommended for cultivation in various types of greenhouses and in open ground.

Hybrids have a number of advantages:

resistant to verticillium wilt and tobacco mosaic;
early ripening;
high-yielding and determinate.

The White Star of the East yields 8-10 kg with proper cultivation. However, it only reaches this color when it's technically ripe. Incidentally, the White in Red and White in Yellow varieties are also considered white, as they turn red and yellow when fully ripe.

Interesting! The White in Yellow and White in Red varieties ripen early. They don't have a very high yield compared to some other Star varieties. However, the white and yellow variety has an intense and dominant peppery aroma, while the red and white variety has a subtle and refined flavor.

Belozerka (Lumina)

A standard, medium-sized plant that reaches the desired stage (white or technically ripe) at 110–115 days, and at full ripeness, it turns a deep red. This occurs around 135 days. Fruits at technical ripeness are more valuable. The harvest is almost always harvested at this stage.

Gardeners and professional farmers rate Beloserka as an excellent variety that responds well to weeding, staking, and fertilizing. It is resistant to major diseases. The white peppers are relatively small, thin-walled, and have a distinct aroma and peppery flavor. They produce consistently high yields.

A super-early variety developed by Moldovan breeders, it boasts a distinctive golden-white color. Many don't recognize it by name, but it's one of the first to appear on market shelves. The bush is medium-height, with fruits weighing around 100 grams. It's a stable, reliable, medium-yielding, and very easy-to-handle variety that rarely lets its owner down. The thin-walled fruits aren't the most original, but rather have a standard flavor.

The harvest can be stored for about two months without any special preparation, which is what makes it so appealing to those who grow peppers commercially. The fruits are golden-white when ripe, then they redden and develop a rich burgundy hue with fleshier walls.

Ivanhoe

A relatively young variety, bred in Africa at the end of the 20th century, it is already included in the Russian State Register as recommended for greenhouse cultivation. It can only be grown outdoors in the south. This early variety has fleshy walls and a wonderful aroma, which, with its characteristic creamy hue, is harvested 100 days after planting.

The peppers weigh approximately 100-130 g, are cone-shaped, and turn bright red when fully ripe. This variety is used for commercial cultivation, yielding 80 centners per hectare.

White Bell

A Dutch hybrid, white when ripe, yellowish-cream when fully ripe. Large-fruited, medium-yielding. It requires little care and has a distinct flavor and aroma, unlike most Dutch hybrids. Seeds must be purchased annually; they are already treated for pests.

Important! The hybrid is not susceptible to many of the diseases common to peppers and tomatoes, but it is extremely sensitive to temperature fluctuations and requires watering with settled, warm water.

Century

A hybrid with cone-shaped fruits, averaging 250-170 g in weight, yellowish in color when ripening early and orange-red when fully ripe. This Hungarian variety produces fruit continuously throughout the growing season, delivering a stable yield and high-quality fruit. It can be grown outdoors or under plastic, and is tolerant of both heat and light watering.

Rules for growing white pepper

The rules for growing white pepper are no different from those for other pod-shaped nightshades, collectively known as sweet bell peppers. Considering that some white pepper varieties are traditionally included in plant catalogs based on the color of their fully ripened fruit, it's clear that no special breeding requirements apply.

The only thing required to grow a white variety is to acquire high-quality seed material (most white varieties are hybrids). They can be grown to commercial maturity only if proper pepper cultivation practices are followed. If they are not delivered to the buyer at this stage, they can be sold as regular red-yellow peppers.

All varieties of white pepper have long been known to experienced gardeners and have earned an excellent reputation. Zvezda Vostoka, a wonderful, high-yielding hybrid from domestic breeders, has long been successfully cultivated. In some respects, it rivals or even surpasses well-known varieties from Dutch breeders. White pepper, harvested at technical maturity, possesses many beneficial properties sought by buyers of varieties with unusual coloring.

According to medical experts, white peppercorns collected from pepper bushes have additional medicinal properties:

These are powerful immunostimulants that can boost a person’s natural immunity at a time when it is even simply weakened by a seasonal lack of vitamins;
they optimize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and accelerate natural metabolism at the cellular level;
have the property of purifying and thinning the blood, preventing the formation of clots and thrombi;
perform the work of natural anticoagulants and antioxidants due to the beneficial substances they contain;
They accelerate metabolic processes, help eliminate harmful cholesterol and burn fat naturally, and contribute to the treatment of obesity and other endocrine disorders.

For reference! White fruits are an excellent preventative measure against intestinal infections, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic indigestion. They can even be used simply to quench thirst and freshen breath, while simultaneously providing a new dose of beneficial nutrients.

Reviews

Ivan Danilovich, 52 years old, Rivne:

"I've been growing the Beloserka pepper variety for a long time. It's quite resilient and resistant to viral infections. Following the planting guidelines, I always get a good harvest. I leave 60 cm between rows and 35-40 cm between plants. The whole family is happy, as the peppers have an amazing flavor and are very juicy."

Larisa Sergeevna, 67 years old. Chisinau:

"I grow the early Century variety every year in a greenhouse. I usually plant 3-4 plants per square meter. The variety is very resilient to various stressful situations. It transports well, which is very important to me. My husband and I sell it at the market, where it's in high demand."