Mattapeño x RH Lilac

Mattapeño x RH Lilac is a Matt’s Peppers hobby hybrid recorded in grow logs as an F2 generation cross. Both parents are grown primarily for ornamental traits rather than pure culinary breeding.

RH Lilac, one of the parents, is described in seed listings as a highly ornamental plant featuring variegated foliage, purple flowers, and sometimes lightly variegated pods. The Mattapeño parent contributes the jalapeño-type background and its own variegation traits, making the cross part of the modern ornamental-variegated pepper breeding scene.

Heat reporting for the RH Lilac parent varies depending on the source. Listings place it in either the 10,000–20,000 SHU or 15,000–30,000 SHU bands. Because a single numeric value is required here, 20,000 SHU is used as a midpoint that sits inside both published ranges and reflects how the cross is generally described by growers: mild to moderately hot rather than extreme.

Grower notes mention that this cross can produce plants with very pale foliage due to heavy variegation. Some plants reportedly become extremely white and grow slowly because of reduced chlorophyll, and a few seedlings can fail entirely if the leaves are too pale. This behaviour is typical for strong variegation crosses where phenotype variation can be significant even within the same generation.

For growth context, RH Lilac is commonly listed with a roughly 90-day season and plant heights around 61.0 to 91.5 cm, giving a baseline idea of the plant size and timing traits that can appear in the cross.