Overwintering

Mojo · January 31, 2009

One of the advantages of living around Houston is that winters can be mild enough for peppers to overwinter. Despite several hard frosts and one or two freezes, I've had a Giant Marconi survive and begin to put on new growth as the days lengthen. Chiltecpins, as a native of this area, also hang on for dear life if of a certain size --my brother has a 6' bush that refuses to die back.

My real question is pruning. I always trim off the dead outer branches that get frost-nipped, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't take a more aggressive approach, similar to pruning roses (right down to the Valentine's Day schedule). Thoughts?

kwselke · January 31, 2009

In Houston I've had very good success overwintering various hot peppers. In particular the native wild chilipequin (Bird Pepper), jalapenos, and serranos. Yes I do prune them late each winter, but limit the pruning to 10% to 15% of the plant. My experience has been that dramatic pruning in February killed my plants. Just clean up the plants and they'll keep producing.

fourtgn · April 6, 2009

I never considered overwintering peppers. I have a couple that I think I will try this year. We aren't quite as warm or humid around Austin, but close. Are your plants outside and if so, do you give them any kind of protection when there is a hard freeze/frost?

fourtgn

kwselke · April 6, 2009

Hard freezes and frosts are few and far between on my urban Houston patio. I've had the native Chilepetine (Bird Pepper) and various Jalapeno plants continue producing for years. They were all in protected areas close to the house. The Jalapenos that went more than one year produce smaller peppers in subsequent years, but they kept on going. Ken

garnetmoth · April 6, 2009

Hurrah for overwintering peppers!
As soon as we learned they were perennials, DF has been hard set on keeping a few alive over the winter.....

weve got 2 cascabellas on a windowsill right now, they dont look good, and would probably benefit from some more light in the worst of winter, but some of us crazy Northerners have fun with this too!

**nctomatoman** · April 6, 2009

I left a Scotch Bonnet plant (in a 2 gallon pot) in my garage all winter and kept it just lightly watered. It is now outdoors and resprouting!

velikipop · April 6, 2009

Most of mine died because of the extreme cold snap we had. But two that I stored in the garage have survived. Both have had leaves on them for at least six weeks and the Peruvian Purple is full of flowers.

From experience it seems that leaving the plants outside as long as possible and then bringing them into a sheltered spot works best. I was worried about the garage because of the lack of light but then December and January are low light periods even outside. This year they will overwinter in my new office, which has a huge southern exposed window.

Alex

sirtanon · April 6, 2009

Last time I was in Australia, my wife and I went over to the farm that a friend of hers has and she showed us around. One of the things she showed us which I thought was amazing was a Yellow Mushroom pepper plant which she'd had for 5 years. It was huge - at least 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide.. and covered with little young peppers.

As I understand it, most pepper varieties get quite tough after a couple years and become rather hard to kill without a hard freeze.

jcmorse33 · April 21, 2009

So I am wondering if I could overwinter a potted pepper plant in my basement. There wouldn't be any light to speak of but with the cold (but not freezing) temperatures would the plant go dormant and then put out new leaves the next year when it warmed up and I put it outside?

--Justin

RJ_Hythloday · August 20, 2009

I did some searching over at GW. From what I've found I plan on digging up all of my peppers, pruning down quite a bit and root pruning in the spring before planting back out.

Others also had success just pruning a little bit keeping alot of foliage intact.

organichris · August 20, 2009

Yeah, someone started a thread on overwintering tomatoes the other day, and I immediately though it would be cool if I could dig up a Serrano plant and overwinter it indoors. My wife will probably have a fit, though. But that never stopped me before.

Anyway, I think I may give it a try. Natural light is scarce at my place and I don't have a garage. I think I may just treat it like a houseplant and supplement the natural light with fluorescents.

ddsack · August 21, 2009

I've potted up a Bulgarian carrot hot pepper and some kind of bell from the garden a couple of times. I wintered them in the living room in a south window, and an east facing patio door. They did fine, bloomed and set fruit, but the leaves and fruit were much smaller than when outside, and the big old leaves all eventually dropped off.

The main problem I ran into was that no matter how carefully I soaped them down before bringing in the house, aphids would mysteriously appear after a few weeks and it just wasn't worth it to me to keep fighting them all winter. I have a nice yellow jalapeno now that has been in a pot all summer that would be perfect in the house. I am thinking of starting the soap regimen early, a couple of weeks before I plan to bring it in, and then every three or four days. I have a bougainvillea that also is an aphid magnet. I've been fooled several times in to thinking I have finally licked them only to find four weeks later they are back! When these plants are outdoors they do not have an aphid problem, but bring them in and the little creeps multiply like crazy.

organichris · August 21, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddsack

The main problem I ran into was that no matter how carefully I soaped them down before bringing in the house, aphids would mysteriously appear after a few weeks and it just wasn't worth it to me to keep fighting them all winter. I have a nice yellow jalapeno now that has been in a pot all summer that would be perfect in the house. I am thinking of starting the soap regimen early, a couple of weeks before I plan to bring it in, and then every three or four days. I have a bougainvillea that also is an aphid magnet. I've been fooled several times in to thinking I have finally licked them only to find four weeks later they are back! When these plants are outdoors they do not have an aphid problem, but bring them in and the little creeps multiply like crazy.

Yeah, I was sort of afraid of that. Bugs suck.

Blueaussi · August 21, 2009

Aphids are the bane of overwintering plants. I put up a hoop house over the pepper garden a couple of years ago, and they were even a problem in there.

RJ_Hythloday · August 21, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by organichris

Yeah, someone started a thread on overwintering tomatoes the other day, and I immediately though it would be cool if I could dig up a Serrano plant and overwinter it indoors. My wife will probably have a fit, though. But that never stopped me before.

Anyway, I think I may give it a try. Natural light is scarce at my place and I don't have a garage. I think I may just treat it like a houseplant and supplement the natural light with fluorescents.

I questioned about the lights and didn't get an answer, The aphids are the reason I plan on pruning down to a cane.

My thread over at GW isn't turning up w/ a search... But since I'll be pruning down to a cane I imagine light isn't going to be an issue. If aphids appear they'll be in the garage 'cept for nights under 40.

January 31, 2009	#1
Mojo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 317	Overwintering One of the advantages of living around Houston is that winters can be mild enough for peppers to overwinter. Despite several hard frosts and one or two freezes, I've had a Giant Marconi survive and begin to put on new growth as the days lengthen. Chiltecpins, as a native of this area, also hang on for dear life if of a certain size --my brother has a 6' bush that refuses to die back. My real question is pruning. I always trim off the dead outer branches that get frost-nipped, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't take a more aggressive approach, similar to pruning roses (right down to the Valentine's Day schedule). Thoughts? __________________ There is no logical response to the question, "Why won't you let me plant more tomatoes?"

April 6, 2009	#6
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	I left a Scotch Bonnet plant (in a 2 gallon pot) in my garage all winter and kept it just lightly watered. It is now outdoors and resprouting! __________________ Craig

April 6, 2009	#7
velikipop Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Langley, BC Posts: 768	Most of mine died because of the extreme cold snap we had. But two that I stored in the garage have survived. Both have had leaves on them for at least six weeks and the Peruvian Purple is full of flowers. From experience it seems that leaving the plants outside as long as possible and then bringing them into a sheltered spot works best. I was worried about the garage because of the lack of light but then December and January are low light periods even outside. This year they will overwinter in my new office, which has a huge southern exposed window. Alex __________________ I'll plant and I'll harvest what the earth brings forth The hammer's on the table, the pitchfork's on the shelf Bob Dylan

April 6, 2009	#8
sirtanon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Phoenix, AZ (zone 9b) Posts: 796	Last time I was in Australia, my wife and I went over to the farm that a friend of hers has and she showed us around. One of the things she showed us which I thought was amazing was a Yellow Mushroom pepper plant which she'd had for 5 years. It was huge - at least 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide.. and covered with little young peppers. As I understand it, most pepper varieties get quite tough after a couple years and become rather hard to kill without a hard freeze. __________________ I could sail by on the winds of silence, and maybe they won't notice... but this time I think it would be better if I swim..

August 21, 2009	#12
ddsack Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3 Posts: 3,231	I've potted up a Bulgarian carrot hot pepper and some kind of bell from the garden a couple of times. I wintered them in the living room in a south window, and an east facing patio door. They did fine, bloomed and set fruit, but the leaves and fruit were much smaller than when outside, and the big old leaves all eventually dropped off. The main problem I ran into was that no matter how carefully I soaped them down before bringing in the house, aphids would mysteriously appear after a few weeks and it just wasn't worth it to me to keep fighting them all winter. I have a nice yellow jalapeno now that has been in a pot all summer that would be perfect in the house. I am thinking of starting the soap regimen early, a couple of weeks before I plan to bring it in, and then every three or four days. I have a bougainvillea that also is an aphid magnet. I've been fooled several times in to thinking I have finally licked them only to find four weeks later they are back! When these plants are outdoors they do not have an aphid problem, but bring them in and the little creeps multiply like crazy. __________________ Dee **************

January 31, 2009	#2
kwselke Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 172	In Houston I've had very good success overwintering various hot peppers. In particular the native wild chilipequin (Bird Pepper), jalapenos, and serranos. Yes I do prune them late each winter, but limit the pruning to 10% to 15% of the plant. My experience has been that dramatic pruning in February killed my plants. Just clean up the plants and they'll keep producing.

April 6, 2009	#3
fourtgn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Northern Indiana Posts: 75	I never considered overwintering peppers. I have a couple that I think I will try this year. We aren't quite as warm or humid around Austin, but close. Are your plants outside and if so, do you give them any kind of protection when there is a hard freeze/frost? fourtgn

April 6, 2009	#5
garnetmoth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: cincinnati, oh Posts: 492	Hurrah for overwintering peppers! As soon as we learned they were perennials, DF has been hard set on keeping a few alive over the winter..... weve got 2 cascabellas on a windowsill right now, they dont look good, and would probably benefit from some more light in the worst of winter, but some of us crazy Northerners have fun with this too!

April 21, 2009	#9
jcmorse33 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Central Virginia Posts: 242	So I am wondering if I could overwinter a potted pepper plant in my basement. There wouldn't be any light to speak of but with the cold (but not freezing) temperatures would the plant go dormant and then put out new leaves the next year when it warmed up and I put it outside? --Justin

August 20, 2009	#10
RJ_Hythloday Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Logan, UT Posts: 207	I did some searching over at GW. From what I've found I plan on digging up all of my peppers, pruning down quite a bit and root pruning in the spring before planting back out. Others also had success just pruning a little bit keeping alot of foliage intact.

August 20, 2009	#11
organichris Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 630	Yeah, someone started a thread on overwintering tomatoes the other day, and I immediately though it would be cool if I could dig up a Serrano plant and overwinter it indoors. My wife will probably have a fit, though. But that never stopped me before. Anyway, I think I may give it a try. Natural light is scarce at my place and I don't have a garage. I think I may just treat it like a houseplant and supplement the natural light with fluorescents.

August 21, 2009	#14
Blueaussi Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Carolina Zone 8a Posts: 1,205	Aphids are the bane of overwintering plants. I put up a hoop house over the pepper garden a couple of years ago, and they were even a problem in there.