I actually did this on accident once. I brought a pepper plant inside I didn’t feel was done ripening to avoid an early frost damage in early Fall. After I got the peppers off it started shedding leaves slowly so I cut it back. I didn’t know that it was perennial I just did what I would have done to any other plant that seemed to still be living. It hung on until the next year and I put it outside when the weather broke in the spring. It lived to produce again. I thought it was a fluke thing but I’m glad to know that I can do the same for a much loved plant. I have one now that I will be doing this with this year. ☺️
Amazing! I did the same thing with my bell pepper, jalapeno and swiss chard. They were trying so hard to live that I just brought them in during winter. This spring I got lots of early peppers and the swiss chard got 3 feet tall! This winter I'll have more peppers moving in, lol
Oh my, I’m glad I am reading this because, lol, for quite a bit I thought my plant had dried out stems. It wasn’t until I clipped a piece of and saw that it still had some green in it. 😅 can’t wait for it to start sprouting again 😬
@@dennisehernandez4022 Is it getting enough light and heat? it should be sprouting again, atleast mine have already been sprouting for the past two weeks
I did this as an experiment last year not knowing what was on this video. so i turned our hot pepper into a house plant at the end of the season last year, i only took off a few of the really long stems and left my self with a good two an half feet tall and about two foot wide indoor pepper. as it was in the diner it was very warm in there (the boiler is in there) it only shed a couple of leaves and then continued to grow. It started to grow rather quick at the end of feb, and now i have the start of flowers already at the end of march, amazing for central england ;-) am now slowly working my way through the rest of your videos lol xx
I live in Southern Ontario. I've been doing this for years with my pepper and lime/small citrus plants. I don't prune back as much as in the video, but they grow back nicely. Sometimes, they grow in the winter with leaves and flowers that will fall off again in the spring and restart to produce a crop in summer.
As someone who just recently found interest in sowing and harvesting. I've actually had a cachucha pepper plant for 4-5 years and never did anything to it over winters in FL and thankfully it kept producing. It's a trooper for sure. As additional note, even through multiple nights of 30-40 degrees F.
Hey did you ever do a followup video on this one? What the pepper plant looks like in the spring, when to expect it to come back to “life”, etc? Thanks!
I kept a Jalapeño for 4 years (CT.) It was in my sunroom during winters. Nice production for my family. I rarely trimmed or fertilized it (BEFORE I FOUND EPIC GARDENING! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽) I just new potting soil on top every spring.
Thanks Kevin, you have given me some inspiration for keeping favorite peppers. In the past I have collected the seeds from the favorites and perpetuated the plant that way - and of course with cross pollination they weren't exactly the same; NOW I can keep the favorites forever. You are still teaching this old dog new tricks in the garden.
I have a couple of pepper plants that I have had for 4 years. I bring them indoor in the winter, then back outside in the summer. They also give out peppers during the winter while indoor.
Great video, very simple and informative. I had a delicious cayenne last year from seed that I overwintered, cut it down considerably like you did, brought it inside, and by mid-May I already had a whole bush of green peppers! I live in Baltimore, so no sunny socal, but it's so satisfying when you see that first green leaf poke out in the beginning of Spring!
Zone 7B here and I take mine inside but also put them in a colder, dark room to make sure there is no growth during the winter and hydrate it very very rarely as with the cold and dark they kind of go into hibernation
@@143lavan There is always a chance plants don't make it. Sometimes it seems to be luck but if it isnt too cold or too warm and watering is not too little or too much you should be alright most of the time.
I can confirm it's very much possible. I have tried this with my ghost pepper from last year. Now it's sitting in a pot in my garden full of fruits, full of life. However I've heard from other gardeners like Mark from self sufficient me that after the 3rd year they won't produce anymore. Maybe a few. You might want to compost it, but if you're into bonsai, you can report it in a pot and train it. That's actually what I'll be doing with the ghost pepper next season. Love your vids, btw:)
This works great! I live in PA so I have to bring them inside for the winter. Friendly tip. When cutting branches off leave some green on them. If you cut too far into the brown they have trouble coming back. I cut my oldest pepper down too far last year and it didn't come back 😖
Same here. I over wintered 2 chilli peppers and have ALOT more chillie than comparable years starting from seed. I’m also going to attempt this this year with a bell pepper.
Did that on accident this year... Living in zone 10, grow tomatoes, peppers, basil, strawberries, etc. in a raised bed. In spring, would usually rip them, redo the dirt and replant new plants bought in store. Did not do it this year because of the pandemic, so they remained in the bed and... sprouted again! Getting tomatoes, peppers, basil and strawberries right now. Been since cutting back healthy plants with well established roots every few months after harvest to get new growth.
Here in Portland, OR - I have done this for years with Serranos and others. My oldest plant is a 4 year old Ancho Magnifico pepper and it's going gang busters this season. I plant out in the ground once soil temps are 65+. I make a hill and compost around it thoroughly. In the beginning of October I carefully dig it up and pot it up - in a size appropriate pot. I don't cut it back right away. When night time temps start to go below 45 degrees, I bring them in and put them on the edge of my grow bench in the basement so they get a bit of light. I used to cut them back just slightly, but had major aphid problems (Nothing store bought worked to get rid of them. Then found this online - 1 part dish soap to 40 parts water - spray, let sit 20, rinse with water spray, water thoroughly). Last winter I set them farther away from the lights and cut back as Kevin recommends. The Anchos and Serranos made it, but the Jalapenos, Santa Fe and Sombrero peppers didn't. Don't know why for sure, but I believe I wasn't careful enough digging them out of the garden.
I did almost the same (here in Russia, we have rather harsh winter, a lack of sun). It (pepper) felt not that awsome till march. But now i have the third harvest in a row, that hardy plant is not going to die)
OMGEEEE!! You finally zoomed in! 👏 Now I can see what you’re cutting better. Thank you so much for all the videos in the past that I have watched 😅 I’ve learned an awful lot from your videos 🤓 thank you 🙏
Yes, please give updates! I was able to cover most of my peppers from an early frost. So I am going to try this. I have successfully overwintered peppers prior, but did not know I could help them to go dormant. Thanks for the tips!
I got an Orange Sun from Botanical Interests that I planted this year. It has 4 peppers on it right now, which is dope for a bell pepper but I've spoiled it like a barbie all season. I'm overwintering it this summer and I've never overwintered anything before, so wish me luck! It should be vibrant and lush next season! 😊
I'm in Scotland so we do struggle to grow them outside and I grow my chillies on the windowsill, using the windows as a kinda greenhouse. This tends to keep them well, I use chilli focus ( a seaweed extract feed) and will use one capful as apposed to two during flowering in a 5L watering can. Though the issues I find are mostly keeping the right moisture level in winter this has cost me a plant or two. I also only cut back after winter, this may have cost me a Habanero plant this year though as it unexpectedly died, to encourage the new growth at the start of spring.
Here we have zone 5 winters and the summer doesn't get really warm. So I am growing peppers as house plants. I have started 12 plants now though. To experiment with how well they do in the sunroom over winter and then outside in summer.
When I first started gardening I left a pot of Thai chili pepper outside over winter. No pruning, no care, no nothing. It looked scraggly in the winter/spring, but boy was I surprised when it came back strong in summer! That’s what made me think peppers could be overwintered, and started googling it. What a surprise!
I have been gardening for about 5years now...had no idea sbout overwintering. I am in zone 5, but am going to bring my peppers inside and see what happens! Thanks!
I overwinter my pepper last year. I planted it from seed 3/23. It was a bell pepper I didn’t cut it down. I didn’t nothing. I have it in a 5 gallon bucket I live in North Florida. Another thing you can do is if it’s in a container bring it inside at night and put it back outside during the day
Got my seeds started way too late in the year, but that's OK since I planned to do this anyway. Czech Black & Leutschauer are lovely and mildly hot: 2,000 to 5,000 Scoville. No mature fruits this year - but next! I like your approach & will be tending to them within days in similar fashion. I live in zone 6, expecting killing frost in the next 4-6 weeks, but dropping light levels at almost 49° North are already putting peppers to sleep. Simple & direct video: Nice job!
This is my first year overwintering some of my best pepper plants, and I'm really anxious to see how well they do next spring. I hate how my tomatoes are all ready so much sooner than the peppers, and every year I find myself buying peppers to can my salsas and sauces, and then having peppers later when the tomatoes are slowing down, so I'm hopeful to not have to buy peppers next summer. The one good thing I did this year was freeze tomatoes to can later in the season so I have peppers from my garden to use with some of the tomatoes I froze. Every season I work on several new things to produce more of our own food, so this should be one of our game changers for spring and summer 2022!
Summer of 2020 I got Cayenne plant and I have been growing it inside. It's been blooming all winter! Since it's started warming up it's getting more blooms. But no fruit throughout the winter. So I am hoping it'll get some good yields summer 2021. I don't want to prune it too much because I want it to over grow in order to propagate. Thanks for the video!
I live in a cold zone. I plan to pot my herbs, maybe I will grab some pepper plants too! My basement has a bit of constant light and achieves dormancy temperature but not a hard freeze. I can hardly wait! So many perennials I won't have to start from zero!
My Dalle Kurshani is turning 4 this year. I never cut it back, I just bring it inside. It flowers all year and I get 3 big harvests each year. It is a 6 foot tall beast with a 1 inch trunk.
I'm overwintering 2 of my plants from this last season and cloning them, both accident crosses and really liked them and want to try and stabilize them over the next few years
I've planted peppers that failed to thrive where they were one year, potted them to bring them in over winter, they grew a TON, started acclimating them to outside again and they lost all their leaves in a wind storm and STILL are living to produce peppers. Hardy things they are!
@@smooshiebear80 I did get the propagation to work once the got roots. I grew peppers from seeds around the same time and the ones from seed did perform better.
Question... can you dig up chile or pepper plants from your garden in the fall, prune it back and pot it up to overwinter it? Also, what are the best varieties of peppers/chiles to overwinter?
yeah, you totally can that is what happened with the pepper in this video! As far as best varieties, I've tried it with a few different ones and have had good results so I couldn't say which would be better
munchkin5674 I’m in Massachusetts. I’m on my second year growing a ghost pepper given to me by a friend because they didn’t do to well. This year it’s growing amazing! This plant was basically a stick with roots on it dug out of the garden. I kept it in a grow tent over winter and it suffered many aphid attacks. Once the weather warmed up I planted in compost in a 5 gallon wicking bucket and wow! It’s doing amazing. I made a video on how to make these wicking buckets. I swear by them.
When the Farmers' Market was open, I talked with a couple of the Master Gardeners from the county's extension office. The program is expensive and very labor intensive. But, I did talk with the ladies about plants that I was growing in my container garden. They said that I could overwinter the pepper plant. When I asked how, they both said that I should cut it back and mulch it really well. If I use your demonstration to go by, I think I cut my pepper plant back too much. I did mulch it with what I have to work with--leaves and sunflower stalks. I'm learning as I go. Thanks for posting the video. It would be nice if you lived in a comparable climate. We have already reached today's high of 34 degrees. It will be interesting to see if the pepper plant roots will survive the winter months.
People who say it’s hard to overwinter superhot chillies haven’t tried (not that I tried very hard but), I just overwintered a Carolina reaper, gave it a trim, almost forgot about it, when I remembered I gave it some fertiliser, gave it some water when I remembered, and apart from that left it alone, now it’s growing real nice, it got to -3 c some days -1 for like 3 or more days straight and its perfectly fine, am from Aus so hence why its only just starting to get growth, oh and it was Outside the entire time
I could have done this in my lasagne pepper bed last year for this summer. I just didn’t know it was possible. I am in zone 8a, and I had a Chile hedge lasagne bed last summer. The chiles had 2”-3” diameter trunks. I will be trying this this this fall for next summer.
My second year brazilian starfish have had a great year. I overwintered a few others as well. A couple didn't make it but I'll take whatever I can get. It's nice to have those earlier producers when the new plants are still young.
I am totally going to try this!!! I am in Illinois so my pepper plants die after that first frost. I will dig up a couple and bring them in for the winter. I didn’t realize a pepper plant could produce more than one season since I always lose them when it gets cold.
@@ramz1455 It did not go very well! I just put the pepper plants in the pots outside last week and the chipmunks and squirrels my have possibly killed it already. They tore up the roots pretty good digging in the pot. I should have put the pepper plants back in the ground right away, but I kept them in the pots because I wanted to see how the weather was going to go first.
@@naomimay82 Damn I'm sorry to hear that, squirrels ruined my peanut plants last year so I feel your frustration. I started my peppers about a month ago but damping off ruined about most of them. So I'm starting all over again. ugh.
@@ramz1455 I have new peppers started as well. 😊 I have started them in the house and will put them out in the garden as soon as they are big enough. The tomatoes are going out into the garden this week; as soon as we have a day not rainy and soggy.
Good stuff! Love your video's mate😊 Yes it would be good to see a video explaining what you do to over wintered chilli plants after the winter into spring💯
I was able to overwinter 2 Jalapeno plants without taking off any foliage. I kept one in the sunniest window and the other in one that only gets light the first 1/3rd of the day. Both of them grew around 10 inches taller and wider and they also produced peppers. They were just smaller
I am in san diego too (inland area) and i just kept a pepper in the ground no pruning - I have harvested jalapenos in DEC,JAN,FEB - i think i will just keep it going for next summer too
Great video, great tips! I have to bring my peppers in, the frost and snow kills most plants where I live. Once spring comes around, my ghost pepper plant will start it's second fruiting. I'm excited for those. =)
Hey Kevin! I appreciate the tips in all your videos! I live by you; I’m over in Talmadge and a lot of the issues I was running into have been solved with a lot of these vids being that it’s SD based temps. Appreciate the content ! -Teddy-
This is interesting. I tried/currently trying to overwinter a pepper plant as a test, as I thought it would be interesting to see how it would turn out. I grew my first ones last year, they were together in a bit too small of a pot, I didn't optimally fertilize them, but I got 5 interesting looking sweet peppers (like the bell peppers, but just long and sharp like chili, I think those are called sweet paprika in English?), although a 6th one died/rotted due to insufficient calcium. Once I had taken all the peppers, the plants were clearly pretty much done, dropping leaves pretty rapidly and not growing at all, so around Christmas I just put them outside on my balcony. Didn't prune them or anything, didn't prepare them properly, and even though here in Scandinavia we had a relatively mild winter this time around, the temperatures were still going -15 Celsius below freezing. The only things I did was water the pot with warm (not hot) water only 3 times during the winter to make sure it didn't dry out, and maybe it helped that I did use some sort of moss in the soil mixture when I planted them originally (I think I put a bit more moss on the top layer too). Now some nights already remain above freezing temperatures and currently during the day it's finally above +15 Celsius, which I think I read as being a growing temperature for peppers (although night temperatures are still too low IIRC). Currently waiting to see if they would wake up. Some of the branches definitely don't feel outright dead, since they are fairly limber and not fragile (fragile ones snap easily), and it feels like these plants are still firmly rooted into the soil, so their roots could be alive (I think I can see some root like parts around the biggest one, if I try to wiggle it around and look into the soil around it). All of the 4 sort of "debarked" themselves in the cold when I initially put them outside, the top layer sort of split and sheared off, leaving the white wood like structure up. One of these plants does seem to have also developed vertical splits on the wood like part, but these happened just recently. Currently trying to figure out if I should prune the top parts now and see if they start developing from there. I kinda don't want to water them yet, since the soil is pretty damp, and it's not the cleanest one either (not moldy yet, but I think there's a mold risk). If I see signs of life, I think I would repot them, especially since I don't want to grow them again in too small of a pot. I originally grew these from seeds I personally took from store bought sweet paprikas, and those sweet paprikas were home/locally grown, so I don't know if that changes the situation, but I like to think maybe they are a bit more cold resistant thanks to that and will be able to spring back to life.
Thank you for these tips! You have been an inspiration for me from day one and actually one of the people who motivated me to start my own channel - Growing Roots - pop on over, meet my plants, and leave some feedback if you have a minute!
I wouldn't have thought a plant would live with out any leaves at all. I appreciate you showing closely where you cut. Im in Ontario so it would have to be brought indoors. Do i keep it in dark so it sleeps (others speak about keeping them in dak) Or a window to get some sunlight? How often would you water ? Tks much.
@@manjumehra4292 Good to know. I’m in Minnesota and kept mine under grow lights all winter. But if I don’t have to keep them under lights that would be great.
I had a pepper plant that I overwintered but didn’t prune, it came back but the peppers were half the size of the previous season. I will try pruning them next winter
@epic Is there a follow up video for this method? I tried this last fall with 6 plants. All but one didn't make it. The one that did survive has been hardened off and back outside as of this weekend. I am not sure what I did wrong with the other 5 or even what I did right for the 6th plant.
I planted 5 gypsy peppers 8 years ago in a Veggiegro raised bed. 3 are still going strong with two volunteers to make up for the two lost. My problem is I would like to change the soil but don’t want to kill them. I’m like you where we get only a few nights a year in the 30s . I get peppers all year if I water and give them fertilizer. They are on the back porch south facing. At what time should I stop feeding and repot them. Yours looked pretty droopy before you trimmed them. I also have three Romanos that are in their second year. 🥳
Blessed to live in México, hére we have +40 Celsius in summer and our winters the lowest it gets its like 2-5 Celsius only december or january and not every year, most years are 5-10 Celsius our winters, so... We don't have that "freeze winters" that kills plants ours plants dont die and we can have in our gardens the peppers plants for several years giving fruits twice or 3 times at year. so if you ppls can overwinter the plants correctly theys can live many years...
I am going to try and over winter one pepper plant this year outside and see if i can get it to survive the winter. I have low expectations but worth a try. I am getting to old and tired to keep starting new every year. Just finished getting all my peppers in the garden a couple days ago and my back and knees are still killing me. Luckily though have many months to figure out what exactly I am going to do.
How often should I water? I plan on bringing a dragon cayenne and a few habaneros into the house for winter. Curious if it’s needed daily once they’ve gone dormant.
Depends on size of plant but once a week is probably tops unless growing fruit under lights. If overwater plant can get edema...have a pic of what that looks like in this link instagram.com/p/CFgD6jSAxp7/?igshid=1k6jvass0sn4x
I tried this. Sacramento here and I don’t know if I should just get rid of it. The new leaves are coming out of the trunk only, so I don’t know if the plant grew from a seed or was grafted at the nursery. If it was grafted I don’t know what type of bell pepper it would be. Do they graft bell peppers?
I take back what I said. It actually is worth it. I also kept a Japanese eggplant from last year. They just needs time to wake up, but once they do there’s quicker growth and more flowers. This works
So does this get watered regularly? I live where it gets down to -30 so I can bring some in and try to keep from freezing. Can give them minimal light just not sure if you water them
Thanks for this, I have a hybrid hot / banana pepper plant that is amazing on pizza. I am going to do some cuttings and dig it up / transplant before its frosting (Oct 3). Here's hoping!
At what temperatures should you do the pruning? I know a lot of plants don't like lows below 50 and we are about to have some around 45. What temperature kills bell peppers?
hey, have you ever tried air pots for the peppers? if so, let me know what you think about them? i'm about to repot some birds eye chillies from the seedling tray to a 1L air pot in the coming week. also what soil mixture do you use for chillies grown in container?
You would need to have a ton of light and warmth. You can keep them under lights so they don’t go dormant, they might even flower, but I’m guessing fruitage may not be great.
I heard a chicken grower say once that while she can "force" her hens to lay all winter with light and feed, she sees nature providing for seasons of fruiting and rest so she follows that pattern and lets her girls just rest over winter. Your plant might keep going or it might just get tired and go poopie. You won't know til you try!
Can I overwinter peppers in fabric grow bags if bringing indoors? Also, should I continue a regular watering and fertilizer schedule during overwintering? Thanks for the video!
I brought my scotch bonnet peppers into the basement one winter and the next summer, they fruited 20x more than in the first year. Pepper plants can survive outside as long as it doesn't get below freezing...
I love using reptisoil and likewise products for plants. Would it hold enough nutrients to grow with? I have a poblano pepper and a jalapeño pepper. Pablo is in nature’s miracle soil and is quite small (Walmart bought and smaller pot) and the jalapeño was grown in a larger pot outside at a nursery (doing very well) but what’s the best soil for peppers?! I got what I thought was best and even used pepper fertilizer but it isn’t growing nearly as well (I know I need a bigger pot to start with)
I have a beautiful green habanero which only gave me 5 peppers on the plant I think it was in to small of a pot so I repotted it, I just picked all the peppers I live in NYS Syracuse area so should I leave it out for a while or just cut it back now and bring it in? Thank you for any info you can give me
Live in zone 9 area here in California managed to keep all my pepper plants alive but I never pruned them should I prune or let them continue growing???
Hi there, did you ever make an update on this plant? We've overwintered a jalapeno plant indoors without pruning and has come back great for three years now even though it always sheds all its leaves. We overwintered Jamaican bonnets the same way, and they've also grown back, but they've gotten super unwieldy long offshoots at the top and are not putting energy into the nodes lower down. We live at 60N latitude and Zone 6 so it's normal for plants to be leggy but this is just bonkers! I'm worried about pruning though, in case it won't tolerate it.
I actually did this on accident once. I brought a pepper plant inside I didn’t feel was done ripening to avoid an early frost damage in early Fall. After I got the peppers off it started shedding leaves slowly so I cut it back. I didn’t know that it was perennial I just did what I would have done to any other plant that seemed to still be living. It hung on until the next year and I put it outside when the weather broke in the spring. It lived to produce again. I thought it was a fluke thing but I’m glad to know that I can do the same for a much loved plant. I have one now that I will be doing this with this year. ☺️
Amazing! I did the same thing with my bell pepper, jalapeno and swiss chard. They were trying so hard to live that I just brought them in during winter. This spring I got lots of early peppers and the swiss chard got 3 feet tall! This winter I'll have more peppers moving in, lol
bellatrixfire I will try mine this winter 👍. Hope for the best
I accidentally did the same, but only with one pepper. Now I want to do it with more peppers. I haven't found his follow-up yet. Has anyone?
Oh my, I’m glad I am reading this because, lol, for quite a bit I thought my plant had dried out stems. It wasn’t until I clipped a piece of and saw that it still had some green in it. 😅 can’t wait for it to start sprouting again 😬
@@dennisehernandez4022 Is it getting enough light and heat? it should be sprouting again, atleast mine have already been sprouting for the past two weeks
I did this as an experiment last year not knowing what was on this video. so i turned our hot pepper into a house plant at the end of the season last year, i only took off a few of the really long stems and left my self with a good two an half feet tall and about two foot wide indoor pepper. as it was in the diner it was very warm in there (the boiler is in there) it only shed a couple of leaves and then continued to grow. It started to grow rather quick at the end of feb, and now i have the start of flowers already at the end of march, amazing for central england ;-)
am now slowly working my way through the rest of your videos lol xx
I would love to see an update on how it grew after pruning it back!
Same
With no leaves, interested to see what if it remained alive.
Same
I live in Southern Ontario. I've been doing this for years with my pepper and lime/small citrus plants. I don't prune back as much as in the video, but they grow back nicely. Sometimes, they grow in the winter with leaves and flowers that will fall off again in the spring and restart to produce a crop in summer.
As someone who just recently found interest in sowing and harvesting. I've actually had a cachucha pepper plant for 4-5 years and never did anything to it over winters in FL and thankfully it kept producing. It's a trooper for sure.
As additional note, even through multiple nights of 30-40 degrees F.
Hey did you ever do a followup video on this one? What the pepper plant looks like in the spring, when to expect it to come back to “life”, etc? Thanks!
I kept a Jalapeño for 4 years (CT.) It was in my sunroom during winters. Nice production for my family. I rarely trimmed or fertilized it (BEFORE I FOUND EPIC GARDENING! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽) I just new potting soil on top every spring.
Thanks Kevin, you have given me some inspiration for keeping favorite peppers. In the past I have collected the seeds from the favorites and perpetuated the plant that way - and of course with cross pollination they weren't exactly the same; NOW I can keep the favorites forever. You are still teaching this old dog new tricks in the garden.
Happy to help Steven!
@@epicgardening do you have any tips for starting peppers from seed that will ensure they will come up successfully
I have a couple of pepper plants that I have had for 4 years. I bring them indoor in the winter, then back outside in the summer. They also give out peppers during the winter while indoor.
Great video, very simple and informative. I had a delicious cayenne last year from seed that I overwintered, cut it down considerably like you did, brought it inside, and by mid-May I already had a whole bush of green peppers! I live in Baltimore, so no sunny socal, but it's so satisfying when you see that first green leaf poke out in the beginning of Spring!
Zone 7B here and I take mine inside but also put them in a colder, dark room to make sure there is no growth during the winter and hydrate it very very rarely as with the cold and dark they kind of go into hibernation
Makes complete sense
Are there any chances of dying ?
@Blackened Thoughts Depends how cold your garage is to be honest. too cold and yes they can die.
@@143lavan There is always a chance plants don't make it. Sometimes it seems to be luck but if it isnt too cold or too warm and watering is not too little or too much you should be alright most of the time.
@@143lavan seriously??
I can confirm it's very much possible. I have tried this with my ghost pepper from last year. Now it's sitting in a pot in my garden full of fruits, full of life.
However I've heard from other gardeners like Mark from self sufficient me that after the 3rd year they won't produce anymore. Maybe a few. You might want to compost it, but if you're into bonsai, you can report it in a pot and train it. That's actually what I'll be doing with the ghost pepper next season.
Love your vids, btw:)
This works great! I live in PA so I have to bring them inside for the winter.
Friendly tip. When cutting branches off leave some green on them. If you cut too far into the brown they have trouble coming back. I cut my oldest pepper down too far last year and it didn't come back 😖
Did this last season and the production double this season. Just pruned my back last week again for the overwintering this year. Great video!!
So glad to hear that Damian!
Same here. I over wintered 2 chilli peppers and have ALOT more chillie than comparable years starting from seed. I’m also going to attempt this this year with a bell pepper.
Did that on accident this year... Living in zone 10, grow tomatoes, peppers, basil, strawberries, etc. in a raised bed. In spring, would usually rip them, redo the dirt and replant new plants bought in store. Did not do it this year because of the pandemic, so they remained in the bed and... sprouted again! Getting tomatoes, peppers, basil and strawberries right now. Been since cutting back healthy plants with well established roots every few months after harvest to get new growth.
so the severe prune for peppers is the same way to do for tomatoes?
Love that, thank you! Here's hoping you do a vid on how to take care of the pepper plant during winter, and how to bring it back.
Here in Portland, OR - I have done this for years with Serranos and others. My oldest plant is a 4 year old Ancho Magnifico pepper and it's going gang busters this season. I plant out in the ground once soil temps are 65+. I make a hill and compost around it thoroughly. In the beginning of October I carefully dig it up and pot it up - in a size appropriate pot. I don't cut it back right away. When night time temps start to go below 45 degrees, I bring them in and put them on the edge of my grow bench in the basement so they get a bit of light. I used to cut them back just slightly, but had major aphid problems (Nothing store bought worked to get rid of them. Then found this online - 1 part dish soap to 40 parts water - spray, let sit 20, rinse with water spray, water thoroughly). Last winter I set them farther away from the lights and cut back as Kevin recommends. The Anchos and Serranos made it, but the Jalapenos, Santa Fe and Sombrero peppers didn't. Don't know why for sure, but I believe I wasn't careful enough digging them out of the garden.
Thanks for the info, this is the 1st year I’m gardening and I’ll be doing that to my peppers
Castille soap. For aphid problems
I did almost the same (here in Russia, we have rather harsh winter, a lack of sun). It (pepper) felt not that awsome till march. But now i have the third harvest in a row, that hardy plant is not going to die)
OMGEEEE!! You finally zoomed in! 👏
Now I can see what you’re cutting better.
Thank you so much for all the videos in the past that I have watched 😅
I’ve learned an awful lot from your videos 🤓 thank you 🙏
Yes, please give updates! I was able to cover most of my peppers from an early frost. So I am going to try this. I have successfully overwintered peppers prior, but did not know I could help them to go dormant. Thanks for the tips!
You're welcome, will definitely do updates!
@@epicgardening where is the update video? I'd love to watch it
I got an Orange Sun from Botanical Interests that I planted this year. It has 4 peppers on it right now, which is dope for a bell pepper but I've spoiled it like a barbie all season. I'm overwintering it this summer and I've never overwintered anything before, so wish me luck! It should be vibrant and lush next season! 😊
I'm in Scotland so we do struggle to grow them outside and I grow my chillies on the windowsill, using the windows as a kinda greenhouse. This tends to keep them well, I use chilli focus ( a seaweed extract feed) and will use one capful as apposed to two during flowering in a 5L watering can. Though the issues I find are mostly keeping the right moisture level in winter this has cost me a plant or two. I also only cut back after winter, this may have cost me a Habanero plant this year though as it unexpectedly died, to encourage the new growth at the start of spring.
Most satisfying gardening videos ever 😍
Here we have zone 5 winters and the summer doesn't get really warm. So I am growing peppers as house plants.
I have started 12 plants now though. To experiment with how well they do in the sunroom over winter and then outside in summer.
Yeah, they do well as houseplants too!
When I first started gardening I left a pot of Thai chili pepper outside over winter. No pruning, no care, no nothing. It looked scraggly in the winter/spring, but boy was I surprised when it came back strong in summer! That’s what made me think peppers could be overwintered, and started googling it. What a surprise!
I have been gardening for about 5years now...had no idea sbout overwintering. I am in zone 5, but am going to bring my peppers inside and see what happens! Thanks!
I overwinter my pepper last year. I planted it from seed 3/23. It was a bell pepper I didn’t cut it down. I didn’t nothing. I have it in a 5 gallon bucket I live in North Florida. Another thing you can do is if it’s in a container bring it inside at night and put it back outside during the day
I have a 4 year old cayenne plant and I live in New England. It's in a window box I bring in for winter. I polenate by hand and have fruit in winter.
Got my seeds started way too late in the year, but that's OK since I planned to do this anyway. Czech Black & Leutschauer are lovely and mildly hot: 2,000 to 5,000 Scoville. No mature fruits this year - but next! I like your approach & will be tending to them within days in similar fashion. I live in zone 6, expecting killing frost in the next 4-6 weeks, but dropping light levels at almost 49° North are already putting peppers to sleep. Simple & direct video: Nice job!
This is much easier when you live in San Diego.
What winter in Diego? 18 all year around!
@Precious Metal Head Yup, he said that.
So wait, no need to overwinter if you’re in 10b? I’ve got 4 in a raised bed and a couple in containers. Is there even frost in SoCal!?
Indeed.
Below 50 is cold? Only if you're a pepper. So many of these gardening videos are from people who don't have Winter. What do they know??
This is my first year overwintering some of my best pepper plants, and I'm really anxious to see how well they do next spring. I hate how my tomatoes are all ready so much sooner than the peppers, and every year I find myself buying peppers to can my salsas and sauces, and then having peppers later when the tomatoes are slowing down, so I'm hopeful to not have to buy peppers next summer. The one good thing I did this year was freeze tomatoes to can later in the season so I have peppers from my garden to use with some of the tomatoes I froze. Every season I work on several new things to produce more of our own food, so this should be one of our game changers for spring and summer 2022!
so is this severe pruning method the same for tomatoes as it is for peppers?
Summer of 2020 I got Cayenne plant and I have been growing it inside. It's been blooming all winter! Since it's started warming up it's getting more blooms. But no fruit throughout the winter. So I am hoping it'll get some good yields summer 2021. I don't want to prune it too much because I want it to over grow in order to propagate. Thanks for the video!
I live in a cold zone. I plan to pot my herbs, maybe I will grab some pepper plants too! My basement has a bit of constant light and achieves dormancy temperature but not a hard freeze. I can hardly wait! So many perennials I won't have to start from zero!
My Dalle Kurshani is turning 4 this year. I never cut it back, I just bring it inside. It flowers all year and I get 3 big harvests each year. It is a 6 foot tall beast with a 1 inch trunk.
I'm overwintering 2 of my plants from this last season and cloning them, both accident crosses and really liked them and want to try and stabilize them over the next few years
I've planted peppers that failed to thrive where they were one year, potted them to bring them in over winter, they grew a TON, started acclimating them to outside again and they lost all their leaves in a wind storm and STILL are living to produce peppers. Hardy things they are!
I am going to try to propagate the cuttings this winter to see if I can get some clones next year.
I’ve always wondered if that would work. How did it go?
@@smooshiebear80 I did get the propagation to work once the got roots. I grew peppers from seeds around the same time and the ones from seed did perform better.
Question... can you dig up chile or pepper plants from your garden in the fall, prune it back and pot it up to overwinter it?
Also, what are the best varieties of peppers/chiles to overwinter?
yeah, you totally can that is what happened with the pepper in this video! As far as best varieties, I've tried it with a few different ones and have had good results so I couldn't say which would be better
munchkin5674 I’m in Massachusetts. I’m on my second year growing a ghost pepper given to me by a friend because they didn’t do to well. This year it’s growing amazing! This plant was basically a stick with roots on it dug out of the garden. I kept it in a grow tent over winter and it suffered many aphid attacks. Once the weather warmed up I planted in compost in a 5 gallon wicking bucket and wow! It’s doing amazing. I made a video on how to make these wicking buckets. I swear by them.
When the Farmers' Market was open, I talked with a couple of the Master Gardeners from the county's extension office. The program is expensive and very labor intensive. But, I did talk with the ladies about plants that I was growing in my container garden. They said that I could overwinter the pepper plant. When I asked how, they both said that I should cut it back and mulch it really well. If I use your demonstration to go by, I think I cut my pepper plant back too much. I did mulch it with what I have to work with--leaves and sunflower stalks. I'm learning as I go. Thanks for posting the video. It would be nice if you lived in a comparable climate. We have already reached today's high of 34 degrees. It will be interesting to see if the pepper plant roots will survive the winter months.
Yeah, I try to do as much as I can for colder climates given I'm in 10b. Here's hoping yours comes back!
People who say it’s hard to overwinter superhot chillies haven’t tried (not that I tried very hard but), I just overwintered a Carolina reaper, gave it a trim, almost forgot about it, when I remembered I gave it some fertiliser, gave it some water when I remembered, and apart from that left it alone, now it’s growing real nice, it got to -3 c some days -1 for like 3 or more days straight and its perfectly fine, am from Aus so hence why its only just starting to get growth, oh and it was Outside the entire time
I could have done this in my lasagne pepper bed last year for this summer. I just didn’t know it was possible. I am in zone 8a, and I had a Chile hedge lasagne bed last summer. The chiles had 2”-3” diameter trunks. I will be trying this this this fall for next summer.
My second year brazilian starfish have had a great year. I overwintered a few others as well. A couple didn't make it but I'll take whatever I can get. It's nice to have those earlier producers when the new plants are still young.
I had some great tasting, very productive poblanos this year, I’ll give this a shot, nothing to lose. I also kept seed for next spring, may try both.
I am totally going to try this!!! I am in Illinois so my pepper plants die after that first frost. I will dig up a couple and bring them in for the winter. I didn’t realize a pepper plant could produce more than one season since I always lose them when it gets cold.
Shows
Can you share your results? I'm in Illinois also.
@@ramz1455 It did not go very well! I just put the pepper plants in the pots outside last week and the chipmunks and squirrels my have possibly killed it already. They tore up the roots pretty good digging in the pot. I should have put the pepper plants back in the ground right away, but I kept them in the pots because I wanted to see how the weather was going to go first.
@@naomimay82 Damn I'm sorry to hear that, squirrels ruined my peanut plants last year so I feel your frustration. I started my peppers about a month ago but damping off ruined about most of them. So I'm starting all over again. ugh.
@@ramz1455 I have new peppers started as well. 😊 I have started them in the house and will put them out in the garden as soon as they are big enough. The tomatoes are going out into the garden this week; as soon as we have a day not rainy and soggy.
Good stuff! Love your video's mate😊
Yes it would be good to see a video explaining what you do to over wintered chilli plants after the winter into spring💯
Making bonsai with Epic Gardening.
I was able to overwinter 2 Jalapeno plants without taking off any foliage. I kept one in the sunniest window and the other in one that only gets light the first 1/3rd of the day. Both of them grew around 10 inches taller and wider and they also produced peppers. They were just smaller
I am in san diego too (inland area) and i just kept a pepper in the ground no pruning - I have harvested jalapenos in DEC,JAN,FEB - i think i will just keep it going for next summer too
Great video, great tips!
I have to bring my peppers in, the frost and snow kills most plants where I live. Once spring comes around, my ghost pepper plant will start it's second fruiting. I'm excited for those. =)
Hey Kevin! I appreciate the tips in all your videos! I live by you; I’m over in Talmadge and a lot of the issues I was running into have been solved with a lot of these vids being that it’s SD based temps.
Appreciate the content ! -Teddy-
You're welcome Teddy!
awesome video with great info. Planning to hibernate a habanero and a cayenne plant.
This is interesting. I tried/currently trying to overwinter a pepper plant as a test, as I thought it would be interesting to see how it would turn out. I grew my first ones last year, they were together in a bit too small of a pot, I didn't optimally fertilize them, but I got 5 interesting looking sweet peppers (like the bell peppers, but just long and sharp like chili, I think those are called sweet paprika in English?), although a 6th one died/rotted due to insufficient calcium.
Once I had taken all the peppers, the plants were clearly pretty much done, dropping leaves pretty rapidly and not growing at all, so around Christmas I just put them outside on my balcony. Didn't prune them or anything, didn't prepare them properly, and even though here in Scandinavia we had a relatively mild winter this time around, the temperatures were still going -15 Celsius below freezing.
The only things I did was water the pot with warm (not hot) water only 3 times during the winter to make sure it didn't dry out, and maybe it helped that I did use some sort of moss in the soil mixture when I planted them originally (I think I put a bit more moss on the top layer too).
Now some nights already remain above freezing temperatures and currently during the day it's finally above +15 Celsius, which I think I read as being a growing temperature for peppers (although night temperatures are still too low IIRC).
Currently waiting to see if they would wake up. Some of the branches definitely don't feel outright dead, since they are fairly limber and not fragile (fragile ones snap easily), and it feels like these plants are still firmly rooted into the soil, so their roots could be alive (I think I can see some root like parts around the biggest one, if I try to wiggle it around and look into the soil around it). All of the 4 sort of "debarked" themselves in the cold when I initially put them outside, the top layer sort of split and sheared off, leaving the white wood like structure up. One of these plants does seem to have also developed vertical splits on the wood like part, but these happened just recently.
Currently trying to figure out if I should prune the top parts now and see if they start developing from there. I kinda don't want to water them yet, since the soil is pretty damp, and it's not the cleanest one either (not moldy yet, but I think there's a mold risk). If I see signs of life, I think I would repot them, especially since I don't want to grow them again in too small of a pot.
I originally grew these from seeds I personally took from store bought sweet paprikas, and those sweet paprikas were home/locally grown, so I don't know if that changes the situation, but I like to think maybe they are a bit more cold resistant thanks to that and will be able to spring back to life.
I did not know that peppers were perennials. Thanks for the info.😄 I will try this next year.🌱🙏
You're welcome Tracy
Thank you, Epic! I will use this on my first pepper plant when I grow it!
Thank you for these tips! You have been an inspiration for me from day one and actually one of the people who motivated me to start my own channel - Growing Roots - pop on over, meet my plants, and leave some feedback if you have a minute!
I will take a look!
@@epicgardening thank you so much for checking out my channel! 💚🌱💚
I wouldn't have thought a plant would live with out any leaves at all. I appreciate you showing closely where you cut.
Im in Ontario so it would have to be brought indoors. Do i keep it in dark so it sleeps (others speak about keeping them in dak)
Or a window to get some sunlight?
How often would you water ?
Tks much.
I live in Ontario. I bought my plant and kept in garage and forget till next summer.It was live again itself.
@@manjumehra4292 wow that is amazing. I'll try it. Tkz
@@manjumehra4292 Good to know. I’m in Minnesota and kept mine under grow lights all winter. But if I don’t have to keep them under lights that would be great.
Thank you so much for the great, short, videos. You’ve helped me along my way of trying to grow a few vegetables for my first time.
Hoping year 5 of overwintering goes well for my Serrano pepper plant. Zone 10b. Maybe I’ll try cutting it back this time per your great video!
Year 5! Good luck
I had a pepper plant that I overwintered but didn’t prune, it came back but the peppers were half the size of the previous season. I will try pruning them next winter
@epic
Is there a follow up video for this method? I tried this last fall with 6 plants. All but one didn't make it. The one that did survive has been hardened off and back outside as of this weekend. I am not sure what I did wrong with the other 5 or even what I did right for the 6th plant.
2:31 why is there a lonely little pepper on the floor on the top right hand side of the container?! Lol 😆
I need to do this to my jalapeño plant!!! It wintered over but I never pruned it and the leaves were soo poor!!! Production was minimal too
I was thinking about making a pepper plant into a standard, would look awesome in the garden covered in peppers.
You made this sooo easy. Thank u
WOW!!! Thank you for sharing!!! Wonderful tip 🤗👏
I planted 5 gypsy peppers 8 years ago in a Veggiegro raised bed. 3 are still going strong with two volunteers to make up for the two lost. My problem is I would like to change the soil but don’t want to kill them. I’m like you where we get only a few nights a year in the 30s . I get peppers all year if I water and give them fertilizer. They are on the back porch south facing. At what time should I stop feeding and repot them. Yours looked pretty droopy before you trimmed them. I also have three Romanos that are in their second year. 🥳
Blessed to live in México, hére we have +40 Celsius in summer and our winters the lowest it gets its like 2-5 Celsius only december or january and not every year, most years are 5-10 Celsius our winters, so... We don't have that "freeze winters" that kills plants ours plants dont die and we can have in our gardens the peppers plants for several years giving fruits twice or 3 times at year. so if you ppls can overwinter the plants correctly theys can live many years...
I am going to try and over winter one pepper plant this year outside and see if i can get it to survive the winter. I have low expectations but worth a try. I am getting to old and tired to keep starting new every year. Just finished getting all my peppers in the garden a couple days ago and my back and knees are still killing me. Luckily though have many months to figure out what exactly I am going to do.
Thank you for a very succinct and informative video.
Love these kind of videos!
Do you water the overwintering pepper? If so how much and when to water it?
Can all types of peppers plant be wintered? I have jalapeño and habanero and trying to grow cayenne peppers.
How often should I water? I plan on bringing a dragon cayenne and a few habaneros into the house for winter. Curious if it’s needed daily once they’ve gone dormant.
Depends on size of plant but once a week is probably tops unless growing fruit under lights. If overwater plant can get edema...have a pic of what that looks like in this link instagram.com/p/CFgD6jSAxp7/?igshid=1k6jvass0sn4x
I’m trying to over winter my peppers. How often should I water them during this process?
Do you have to keep watering it during winter?
What about new growth that starts in January/February? Trim that too or let it go?
very interesting, kevin. i never thought peppers were perennial. thanks. have a great thanksgiving.
You too!
Has there been a follow up to this video? I'm very curious of the outcome.
I tried this. Sacramento here and I don’t know if I should just get rid of it. The new leaves are coming out of the trunk only, so I don’t know if the plant grew from a seed or was grafted at the nursery. If it was grafted I don’t know what type of bell pepper it would be. Do they graft bell peppers?
@@guysevedz3581 hm I don’t think so. If it has growth it’s still alive so should sprout. Mine has growth coming from the trunk and nodes
I take back what I said. It actually is worth it. I also kept a Japanese eggplant from last year. They just needs time to wake up, but once they do there’s quicker growth and more flowers. This works
How often do you water it in the winter?
How often do you water them after you start the overwintering process? Also, what month typically? San Diego here too. Thanks!
So does this get watered regularly? I live where it gets down to -30 so I can bring some in and try to keep from freezing. Can give them minimal light just not sure if you water them
once a month; nothing like you'd do normally
Thanks for this, I have a hybrid hot / banana pepper plant that is amazing on pizza. I am going to do some cuttings and dig it up / transplant before its frosting (Oct 3). Here's hoping!
So I have seen a few "over winter,peppers" vids so I will try it.
I'm looking forward to the sequel!
I like to prune my peppers, too, not quite as hard as you did, as I'm not trying to overwinter mine yet. Waiting to see if they set fruit.
At what temperatures should you do the pruning? I know a lot of plants don't like lows below 50 and we are about to have some around 45. What temperature kills bell peppers?
Oooh this is interesting. I have 2 pepper plants in my greenhouse anyway, so I will just leave them there and give them a little more protection.
hey, have you ever tried air pots for the peppers?
if so, let me know what you think about them?
i'm about to repot some birds eye chillies from the seedling tray to a 1L air pot in the coming week. also what soil mixture do you use for chillies grown in container?
Heya, with the right light levels and temperature can you just keep them going all through the winter with leaves and fruit?
You would need to have a ton of light and warmth. You can keep them under lights so they don’t go dormant, they might even flower, but I’m guessing fruitage may not be great.
I heard a chicken grower say once that while she can "force" her hens to lay all winter with light and feed, she sees nature providing for seasons of fruiting and rest so she follows that pattern and lets her girls just rest over winter. Your plant might keep going or it might just get tired and go poopie. You won't know til you try!
Question: can you leave the leaves on the plant if you have a strong grow light?
Absolutely
Do you have videos of your overwintered peppers growing again the following year?
learned something new. i did not know pepper plants were perennials. thanks for sharing.
You bet Peter
When shall we grow the over winter plants outdoors
Are you doing a follow up on this? How did it grow back?
Can I overwinter peppers in fabric grow bags if bringing indoors? Also, should I continue a regular watering and fertilizer schedule during overwintering? Thanks for the video!
I brought my scotch bonnet peppers into the basement one winter and the next summer, they fruited 20x more than in the first year. Pepper plants can survive outside as long as it doesn't get below freezing...
I love using reptisoil and likewise products for plants. Would it hold enough nutrients to grow with? I have a poblano pepper and a jalapeño pepper. Pablo is in nature’s miracle soil and is quite small (Walmart bought and smaller pot) and the jalapeño was grown in a larger pot outside at a nursery (doing very well) but what’s the best soil for peppers?! I got what I thought was best and even used pepper fertilizer but it isn’t growing nearly as well (I know I need a bigger pot to start with)
I have a beautiful green habanero which only gave me 5 peppers on the plant I think it was in to small of a pot so I repotted it, I just picked all the peppers I live in NYS Syracuse area so should I leave it out for a while or just cut it back now and bring it in? Thank you for any info you can give me
Live in zone 9 area here in California managed to keep all my pepper plants alive but I never pruned them should I prune or let them continue growing???
Do you have to water it? If so, how often?
Hi there, did you ever make an update on this plant?
We've overwintered a jalapeno plant indoors without pruning and has come back great for three years now even though it always sheds all its leaves. We overwintered Jamaican bonnets the same way, and they've also grown back, but they've gotten super unwieldy long offshoots at the top and are not putting energy into the nodes lower down. We live at 60N latitude and Zone 6 so it's normal for plants to be leggy but this is just bonkers! I'm worried about pruning though, in case it won't tolerate it.