To evaluate the effects of fertilizer concentration and irrigation method on growth of ornamental pepper (Capsicum annuum L. “Treasures Red”), a water-soluble fertilizer solution containing 0, 100, 200, 300, or 400 mg L^-1 nitrogen (N) was applied, using subirrigation and hand-watering. Fertilizer concentrations of 200-400 mg L^-1 N resulted in an electrical conductivity (EC) gradient from the bottom (lowest EC) to the top (highest EC) of the growing medium in subirrigated, but not in hand-watered pots. The EC in the bottom layer of the medium was affected by irrigation method only at a fertilizer concentration of 400 mg L^-1 N. The pH of the growing medium decreased with increasing fertilizer concentration. Shoot dry mass was highest at 200 mg L^-1 N in both irrigation treatments and was consistently higher with hand-watering than with subirrigation. Leaf area also was highest at 200 mg L^-1 N, but was not affected by irrigation method. In contrast, plant height was greater with subirrigation than with hand-watering, and also peaked at 200 mg L^-1 N. Hand-watering increased stem diameter compared to subirrigation and was maximal with 200-400 mg L^-1 N. Chlorophyll content of the leaves was much lower at 0 than at 100-400 mg L^-1 N, and not affected by irrigation method. Fruit fresh mass was higher with hand-watering than with subirrigation, but shoot dry mass was not affected by irrigation method. Fruiting was poor at 0 mg L^-1 N, but did not vary much among fertilizer concentrations ranging from 100-400 mg L^-1 N. Subirrigation resulted in earlier flowering and fruit ripening than hand-watering, suggesting that the production period may be a few days shorter with subirrigation. Although N, iron (Fe), and molybdenum (Mo) all increased with increasing fertilizer concentrations, N most likely limited growth at low fertilizer concentrations. In contrast to previous research, these results do not indicate that subirrigated plants should be fertilized with lower concentrations than hand-watered plants.