I don't grow sweet bells so I don't know.Everything is relative though, such as size of pots,size of plants,fertilization etc etc.My most successful plant last year was a yellow hab that must have produced over a hundred pods.I also believe luck and a good sunny spot in the garden help a lot.As for varieties if you are starting indoors or under lights the sky is the limit with varieties.I tend to go for varieties that are smaller and bushy and so lend themselves to growing in pots.I only use 8 inch matt black pots and have a relatively good success rate.The black pots seem to make the plants grow faster,probably because of the warmer soil. Brian Cox