California Wonder

California Wonder is a classic United States bell pepper that became a long-running standard for home gardens and market growing. Most seed sources state it was introduced by California growers around 1928.

Plants are commonly listed at about 45.5–61 cm tall. Fruit are pendant and blocky, typically 10–12.5 cm long and 7.5–10 cm wide, ripening from green to red.

Disease resistance claims vary by strain. Many seed listings state that “California Wonder” is resistant to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). Other listings distinguish a strain called California Wonder 300 TMR, described as bred for mosaic-virus resistance, often written as Tomato mosaic virus resistance (TMR). However, at least one plant pathology summary reports California Wonder 300 plants showing symptoms under TMV testing, which does not fully align with simple resistance claims. Mosaic-virus resistance claims appear to depend on the specific strain sold under the California Wonder name.

One source claims an introduction date of 1828 by a person named “C. C. Marse”. This conflicts with the widely repeated 1928 introduction date and appears to be a likely error or mix-up in listing history.