# Has Black Pepper Ever Been Grown in the Americas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 7, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-black-pepper-ever-been-grown-in-the-americas/730246 "2015-09-07T16:22:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-black-pepper-ever-been-grown-in-the-americas/730246/1 "2015-09-07T16:22:40Z")
As far as i know, black pepper comes from India, Indonesia, SE Asia. I have never heard of it growing here. has anyone done this? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-black-pepper-ever-been-grown-in-the-americas/730246/2 "2015-09-07T16:41:45Z")
Looks like they’re tropical plants and need temperatures above 65 F year-round, so they’d need to be grown in a greenhouse, but you could do it. > **[Peppercorn Plant Info - Can You Grow Black Pepper Plants](https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/peppercorn/how-to-grow-peppercorns.htm)** > > Where does black pepper come from? Can you grow your own black pepper plants? Find out the answer, including other information about peppercorn plants in the following article. This site says it isn’t grown commercially in the US. > **[The Ultimate Guide To Growing Black Pepper](https://www.offthegridnews.com/survival-gardening-2/the-ultimate-guide-to-growing-black-pepper/)** > > Listen To The Article Black pepper is the most commonly used spice in the world and, paired with salt, is found on most tables in the U.S. The plant that it comes from, common pepper (Piper nigrum), has been cultivated in India for more than 2,000... ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-black-pepper-ever-been-grown-in-the-americas/730246/3 "2015-09-07T16:48:02Z")
It’s a tropical plant. 6.2% of the world’s pepper exports are grown in Brazil, which is in the Americas, but I think you’re asking about the US. In which case, no, it’s not commercially grown in the US, as it requires a tropical climate. Even the southern parts of Florida, which have a USDA cultivation zone of 10, are not sufficiently hot and wet for black pepper vines, which require a zone of at least 11b. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-black-pepper-ever-been-grown-in-the-americas/730246/4 "2015-09-07T17:48:21Z")
Apparently even relatively small plants are quite productive, so you could grow them on a sunny windowsill and theoretically harvest a load of peppercorns. [http://www.logees.com/black-pepper-827.html](http://www.logees.com/black-pepper-827.html) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-black-pepper-ever-been-grown-in-the-americas/730246/5 "2015-09-07T20:36:37Z")
According to [this PDF of an article from 1971](https://www.apsnet.org/publications/phytopathology/backissues/Documents/1972Articles/Phyto62n01_144.pdf), _Piper nigrum_ used to be cultivated commercially in Puerto Rico, but no longer is because of a disease called foot rot. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-black-pepper-ever-been-grown-in-the-americas/730246/6 "2015-09-07T21:58:11Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Apparently even relatively small plants are quite productive, so you could grow them on a sunny windowsill and theoretically harvest a load of peppercorns. > > [http://www.logees.com/black-pepper-827.html](http://www.logees.com/black-pepper-827.html) I may have to build a greenhouse so I can grow my own pepper in Northern Colorado.