Choosing the ideal pepper plant for your garden: our comprehensive buying guide

For the flavour of its berries

Logically, the first reason for buying and planting a Sichuan pepper plant (Zanthoxylum) is the harvest of the berries, whose pericarp or aromatic envelope, at bronze-pink to pink-red ripeness, is dried to be consumed. As for the seeds, black, hard and glossy, they have a very bitter flavour. This outer envelope conceals a citrus flavour, more or less pronounced, ranging from mandarin to lemon, via grapefruit and orange depending on species and variety. On the tongue, these berries often leave a numb, tingling sensation.

If you really want to grow a pepper plant for the flavour of the berries, Zanthoxylum piperitum is certainly the best suited. This Chinese pepper plant yields red berries with a flavour that is sharp, aniseed-like and lemony. Harvesting occurs when the red outer husk splits to release the black seed. After being dried for one night, these husks can be used to season soups or pork-, duck- or chicken-based dishes. The berries of this species are harvested in October. It also grows into a large bush up to about 4 m tall and 3 m wide, with foliage that is also very aromatic.

Le Zanthoxylum piperitum est l’espèce de poivrier du Sichuan aux baies les plus aromatiques

Zanthoxylum schinifolium, also called Japanese pepper or prickly ash with mastic leaves, produces sansho berries. This “mountain pepper”, very fresh on the palate, has a flavour somewhat like lemongrass, enhanced by notes of mint and woodland. In addition to this sharp, peppery and spicy flavour, these berries also have the ability to numb the tongue. They are widely used in Japan, among other things to flavour dishes of fish, raw or cooked, shellfish, or meats. This “pepper” also integrates into a fruit salad or a chocolate dessert thanks to its very delicate citrus aromas.

For these two pepper plant species, you must wait at least 3 to 4 years before bearing fruit.

One final pepper plant species yields exceptional berries. It is Zanthoxylum armatum whose berry integuments are the source of Timut pepper, with very powerful citrus aromas, particularly grapefruit.

For the aesthetic appeal of the bush and the beauty of the foliage.

If the harvest of spicy and aromatic berries is one of the Sichuan pepper’s main attractions, the shrub is also interesting for its aesthetic appeal. Standing 3–6 m high and 2–3 m wide, the Zanthoxylum is a deciduous shrub, easy to grow in our latitudes thanks to its hardiness. It is above all its foliage that gives the pepper its appeal. Alternate, the leaves are divided into many leaflets, rather slender and elongated, with serrated margins. Odd-pinnate, the leaves of Zanthoxylum always bear an odd number of leaflets. They are very aromatic, like the berries.

In terms of aesthetics, some Zanthoxylum species stand out. To begin with the Zanthoxylum piperitum ‘Black Magic’. As its name suggests, this recently developed hybrid is distinguished by its foliage tinted with a purplish-violet almost chocolate-black, very glossy, and particularly aromatic. Very ornamental, this cultivar features new shoots of a deep black, haloed with metallic reflections. Then, in summer, the foliage becomes green, then turns red-orange in autumn. This pepper shrub is also notable for a bushy and spreading habit, rather irregular, and very fine foliage. 3 m tall and 3 m wide, it can be grown in a pot on a large balcony or terrace. Gourmets might regret the absence of berries that this hybrid does not produce, but its leaves and buds are edible, and are used to accompany salads or fish.

The American pepper (Zanthoxylum americanum), native to eastern North America, is a pepper species with deciduous foliage. Its leaves are oval to elliptical, 5 to 11 leaflets, a very dark green on the upper surface, paler underneath. They are also pubescent on the underside, as the young branches. In autumn, these leaves take on a lovely golden-yellow hue. With several stems, very branched, it is recognisable by its broad silhouette.

Zanthoxylum piperitum ‘Black Magic’ et Zanthoxylum americanum sont des espèces très ornementales

The Zanthoxylum simulans is also quite ornamental thanks to its remarkable verrucose bark. Indeed, the fine thorns stud the trunk and branches. Over time they thicken, their tips blunt. These thorns form attractive outgrowths due to their distinctive character.

For its frost resistance

Undoubtedly, it is the American prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum) that shows the greatest hardiness. If most varieties tolerate frost down to -15 to -18 °C, this one stands out for a hardiness down to -25 °C. In short, it can be grown anywhere in France, in well-drained soil, even on rocky and calcareous ground. Indeed, this species, native to the eastern United States and Canada, naturally grows on cliffs or high rocky plateaus. It is also highly resistant to pollution and to poor urban soils. It will only require a few waterings in hot, dry summers.

The Korean prickly ash (Zanthoxylum coreanum) also shows slightly above-average hardiness. Periodically, it can withstand temperatures down to -20 °C, or an altitude between 700 and 1000 m, provided it is planted in well-drained soil. It will also withstand large temperature fluctuations. This species also has the distinctive feature of producing very strong thorns on the trunk and the branches, coloured reddish-orange. For a striking effect, these thorns are particularly decorative, especially in winter when the foliage has fallen.

For its ability to form a defensive hedge.

The Sichuan pepper shrub easily finds a place on a stand-alone lawn. Its elegant silhouette, its fruiting in small red berries, and its autumn foliage in golden yellow look superb there.

<|vq_0|>Mais, en raison de la présence d’épines assez acérées dans ses jeunes années, le Zanthoxylum ne doit pas être planté sur un lieu de passage fréquenté par de jeunes enfants ou des animaux domestiques. C’est pourquoi une plantation en haie libre et défensive est une solution intéressante.

For this use as a defence hedge, the American prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum) seems best suited, as it is strongly thorny.

Thus, this species bears two thorns beneath each bud, the thorns wear down and eventually form a wart-like bump. In other words, these impressive thorns provide a premier line of defence against intruders—wild animals or ill-intentioned people.

The other species well suited to forming a hedge is certainly Zanthoxylum simulans. This pepper shrub is indeed armed with handsome yet formidable thorns. Des puissantes épines qui lui assurent un certain charme en hiver, après la chute des feuilles, mais qui rendent la récolte des baies parfois difficiles !

As for the Korean prickly ash, it is endowed with red thorns.

The presence of thorns that wear down with time makes the Sichuan pepper ideal as a defence hedge

Ces deux poivriers peuvent se planter en compagnie d’autres arbustes épineux comme le berbéris (Berberis), le citronnier épineux (Poncirus trifoliata), le prunellier (Prunus spinosa), le buisson ardent (Pyracantha),  ou encore le cognassier du Japon (Chaenomeles).