it really depends on the variety. some peppers like habaneros tend to sprawl outwards more than they grow upwards. and a chocolate hab will be a much larger plant than an orange hab, so it would need more space. peppers also suffer from competitive vigor if packed in too close. the plants race to grow taller instead of producing peppers. i've not grown naga jolokia so i cannot comment on its growth habit. i'd say start with 14" from stem to stem. you didnt mention anything about pruning or training. if you prune to a vee, with two main stems, you can really pack the plants in, but you need vertical support such as hanging string. you also need to be very disciplined about pruning.

My designer mentioned different heights depending on whether or not there was seating. I seem to remember the recommended height for counter seating was 66" from the floor to the bottom of the fixture. And maybe 72" if there was no seating. The old standby of a balloon on a string allowed my husband and I to hold our "fixture" at different heights to see what looked best to us. We went with 66" from the ground for three small pendants. Hopefully it will look good when they're intstalled in a few weeks.

We are removing soffits in our kitchen. The lighting for the counter area is currently in there. Once the soffits come out all we'd have is very high ceilings that are really part of the family room. So, we decided to build out ceiling from the kitchen so it extends to the countertop. We are hanging the pendends from that. May not be an option for you however. I'd like to hear what other have done with high ceilings.

Thank you all for your input! I drew it on paper and the lights look too close together using the 1/3 rule (28" from edge), and they look too far apart centering them on the sides of the sink (13.5" from edge). So, I've decided to split the difference and center them 21" from the ends. This gives 24" between the pendants in the center of the island, and 12" from the edge of the island to the pendant. Even with hubby being 6'5", I don't think he'll hit his head. I drew it out (side view and top view below). Please let me know if there are any fatal flaws in this plan! p.s., our ceilings are 9', so I can easily have the bottom of the pendants 36" from the top of the island - thanks for the tip Jan!