The 12 plants of Christmas -- Christmas pepper

How to grow an ornamental pepper as a houseplant.

What's a Christmas pepper? Nothing more than an ordinary ornamental pepper wrapped up for the holidays. That doesn't make it any less attractive as an indoor plant, however -- provided you have plenty of sun.

If you plan ahead, this is also about the cheapest holiday plant because they're simple to grow from seed. Sow the seeds at the end of August, and you should have colorfully dressed plant in time for Christmas.

You can even give the plants as gifts to friends who love hot foods. Beware, though, these little peppers can be deceptively fiery.

To grow indoors in pots, give your ornamental pepper average house temperatures, as much sun as possible,  and an occasional misting. Don't let the plant stand in water, but don't let it dry out either. Translated, that means keep the soil moist but not soaking.

It couldn't be easier.

Because they're annuals, though,you'll need to toss the plans when they decline. No big deal. Just start more from seeds.

NOTE: All gardeners have admired spider webs. On Monday, a scientist in England announced the discovery of the world's oldest spider web. This is fascinating, so you'll want to read about it.