How long does it take a bell pepper to turn red?

In keeping with my theme this summer of, "things I don't know about gardening," I had to look into this question recently.

I really wanted a lot of bell peppers this year, since they are kind of expensive and I tend to use them a lot. Unfortunately, only two of our plants survived this year.  And only prospered once the corn stalks were down.  One grew a single large pepper early in the season.   It was green and Brian promised me that if I waited long enough it would turn red. So I waited… And waited…

In the meantime our second plant actually grew about five or six peppers before it got knocked over in a storm.  They were good, but I never got to get a red one off that plant. So I continued waiting on the loan green pepper.  

It was full grown for at least a month before it finally started turning darker green, and then within a few days changed to a bright red. I let it redden for a few days and finally could not wait any longer and picked it. I think it will be delicious in one of my favorite soups, this bourbon corn chowder.   I was so close to giving up on this pepper, but I'm glad I waited.  A good lesson in patience for me.

And my wait of over a month seemed on par with what I've read, which says anywhere from a couple weeks, to six weeks, to never!