Reviewing
Rewild Garden Seed Box2 Sept 2026
Quick delivery
thanks guys
Tom Waites
Chilli 'Chocolate Habanero' Seeds
Capsicum chinense 'Chocolate Habanero'
Also sold as Black Habanero, Habanero Negro and Congo Black
A seriously hot chilli with a flavour worth the heat — smoky and faintly fruity, ripening from green to a deep chocolate brown. It needs an early start and a warm spot under glass, and rewards both with one of the most striking chillies you can grow at home.
Approx 5 seeds
- Compact for Pots
- Grows Inside
- Grow Your Own
- Greenhouse
- Hot Spice
- Needs Extra Care
Chilli 'Chocolate Habanero' Seeds – Quick Growing Guide
Chocolate Habanero seeds need the longest season of any chilli — sow indoors January to March at 21–25°C, allowing 10–21 days for germination. Pot on to 25 cm containers and grow under glass or on a warm, bright windowsill. Fruits ripen green to chocolate brown from August to October, around 22 weeks from sowing, at 425,000–577,000 SHU.
How to Sow, Grow and Harvest Chilli 'Chocolate Habanero' Seeds
- Sow:Jan–Mar
- Germination:10–21 days at 21–25°C — slow and uneven
- Grow:Greenhouse, conservatory or warm windowsill; full sun
- Water:Keep compost moist, never waterlogged; high-potash feed once flowering
- Harvest:From August; pick when fully chocolate brown, not green
- Heat:425,000–577,000 SHU — around twice a standard habanero
We grow these for the colour as much as the kick. Chocolate Habaneros ripen to a rich, matte brown that looks nothing like a supermarket chilli, and the flavour underneath the heat is smoky and almost apricot-sweet. Start them in January, keep them under glass, and you'll be picking through to October.
Delivered within 2–3 working days. On its own, this packet ships letterbox delivery at £2.95. Fits through a standard letterbox, so no one needs to be home.
Delivery is priced on the size of your whole order, so adding more may move it into the next band:
- Letterbox delivery — small orders
- £2.95
- Standard delivery — most orders
- £4.50
- Large delivery — large orders
- £9.50
- Free delivery (orders £30 and over)
- Free
Gifting. We can include a handwritten note — add your message in your bag.
More info in our FAQs, or get in touch if something hasn’t arrived.
Grow in Your Garden
Grow Your Own Chocolate Habanero – Smoky, Fruity & Seriously Hot
Calendar
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
SowFlowers / Harvest
How to Grow
Start Chocolate Habanero seeds indoors from January to March — this variety needs the longest season of any chilli we sell, and a late sowing will not ripen in a British summer. Give it steady warmth, bright light and patience.
Sowing
Sow 6mm deep in moist seed compost in a heated propagator at 21–25°C. Germination is slow and uneven, typically 10–21 days, so do not give up on a tray that looks empty after a fortnight.
Growing
Pot on into 25 cm containers once seedlings reach 15 cm. Keep them under glass or on a warm, bright windowsill — Chocolate Habaneros ripen reliably in a greenhouse or conservatory but rarely do so outdoors in the UK.
Plant care
Water regularly to keep the compost moist but never waterlogged, and feed with a high-potash tomato feed once the first flowers set. Pinch out the growing tip at around 20 cm for a bushier plant. Wear gloves when picking, and wash your hands before touching your face.
About Chilli 'Chocolate Habanero'
One of the hottest chillies you can realistically ripen in the UK, with a smoky, apricot-like flavour behind the heat.
- Compact for Pots
- Grows Inside
- Grow Your Own
- Greenhouse
Eventual height & spread
0.5m
0.9m
History of Chilli 'Chocolate Habanero'
Chocolate Habaneros are a dark-fruited selection of Capsicum chinense, the species behind the scotch bonnet and the habanero. They ripen from green through to a deep chocolate brown and measure 425,000–577,000 on the Scoville scale — roughly double a standard orange habanero. The colour is the giveaway: leave them green and you lose both the smoky flavour and most of the point.
| Other Names | Black habanero, habanero negro, chocolate scotch bonnet |
|---|---|
| Pet/Baby Safe | Non-toxic plant, but the fruit is extremely hot — keep well away from children and pets |
FAQs
Yes, but they need to be under glass. Sow in January or February and grow them on in a greenhouse, conservatory or warm windowsill — outdoors in a British summer they rarely get enough heat to ripen.
Habanero seed is slow. At 21–25°C it usually takes 10–21 days, and germination is uneven, so a tray can look empty for a fortnight and still come good. Below about 20°C it may not germinate at all. Seedlings usually appear in 10–21 days at 21–25°C — slow and uneven.
Watering: keep compost moist, never waterlogged; high-potash feed once flowering. Sow from January to March.
Wait until the fruits turn a full chocolate brown, check the planting calendar for our guide. Picked green they are still hot but lose the smoky, fruity flavour the variety is grown for. Harvest: From August; pick when fully chocolate brown, not green. The harvest window runs August to October.
Yes — this is a straightforward packet to give, and what makes it work as a gift is mostly timing. Sowing runs January to March, so a packet given inside that window can go straight in, and one given outside it keeps perfectly well until the season comes round.
There are approximately 5 seeds in the packet. On effort it needs some love, which matters if you are giving it to someone new to growing. Being a perennial, it carries on year after year rather than finishing in one season — the gift lasts longer than the summer.
Yes. Chilli 'Chocolate Habanero' is also sold as Black Habanero, Habanero Negro and Congo Black — the same variety under a different name.
Reviews
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