The Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili, otherwise known as the Capsicum Annuum ‘Chilly Chili’ or Weeping Brown Sedge, Mophead Sedge, Glen Murray Tussock Sedge, Carex Flagellaris ‘Cyperacea’, Orange Hair Sedge, Carex Lucida, is a rather well known ornamental grass plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this ornamental grass will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its dark green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
- Light: Keep your Capsicum Annuum ‘Chilly Chili’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili belongs to the Cyperaceae family, the genus Carex and the species Flagellifera, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Capsicum Annuum ‘Chilly Chili’ (KAP-sih-kum AN-yoo-um).
As with other Carex’s, the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili is a plant native to the New Zealand and Stewart Islands.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Capsicum Annuum ‘Chilly Chili’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 7 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a, 10b, 10a and the ideal climate zone is between 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Capsicum Annuum ‘Chilly Chili’ can grow up to 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) and 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm).
These dimensions make the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili a relatively medium ornamental grass compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful compact shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 18″ – 24″ (45cm – 60cm) free so the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Capsicum Annuum ‘Chilly Chili’ needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and moist properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili prefers to have soil with good drainage, and moist properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this ornamental grass will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Capsicum Annuum ‘Chilly Chili’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
The Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili produces some beautiful white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili have a beautiful dark green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a whorled organization in its leaves.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili is well known for its tolerance to drought and animals like rabbit and deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Capsicum Annuum ‘Chilly Chili’ will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, gravel and rock garden, and in prairie and meadow styles.
In particular, the Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili’s best location within your garden is in edging, beds and borders, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a border, or a container.
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Chilly Chili Ornamental Chili, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
