Peppers

'Lilo' Purple Bell Pepper Variety From Johnny's

This is 'Lilo', which is our blocky purple bell that works well both for tunnel and field production.

It's important to note that this dark purple coloration is actually the immature color. The fruits start purple and will eventually ripen through to red.

An important factor to consider when growing this variety is your nighttime temperatures. Generally speaking, there needs to be a wide enough gap between daytime and nighttime temperatures in order for that attractive purple coloration to develop properly. Specifically, nighttime temperatures need to be 64ºF (17.8ºC) or lower for the fruit to maintain that dark purple color. If the temperatures are higher or if there is too narrow a gap between the daytime and nighttime temperatures, the fruit will develop a sort of brownish purple coloration which doesn't affect their eating quality or how much fruit the plants produce. But it does affect the appearance and therefore the potential marketability of them. A nice thing about 'Lilo' is that because the fruit develop this color while they're still immature, you're able to get a splash of color much earlier in the season compared to varieties like Sprinter, Milena, or Brocanto, who develop their full coloration only once the fruit are mature.

'Lilo' grows on a more compact plant and tends to be a little bit more generative, meaning that growers should make sure that they have enough fertility early on in the season to provide for healthy plants that can support a heavy fruit load.