Why we like to over winter peppers
 

Put my over wintered peppers out and they are exploding with growth - should get ripe peppers on them a good 4-6 weeks ahead of the newly germinated plants for the not superhot peppers and 2 months ahead for the superhots. Some of my super hots - yellow fatali, yellow scorpion, red Congo, Cardi scorpion - are starting their third year and look great, full of blossoms. Even the ones that did not apparently survive the winter are putting out new growth from the roots.

As many of us have noted, superhots produce at least 5X more in their second year, as they seem to be a slow growing plant.

Yeah I want to try overwintering a few myself. Some I got a good start in the first year and want to keep them going.

Scott, can you overwinter them outdoors in your climate? Any protection given? Here, I think I'd have to grow them in containers and bring indoors for the winter because I can't imagine the roots would take kindly to being dug up and put in a pot for the winter, only to be planted out again the following spring.:?!?:

Kath, I can't overwinter outdoors, but I do overwinter in a room that is between 45-60 all winter.

And I do exactly that: I dig them up before the first hard frost, wash the roots thoroughly in a bucket of water until they are bare (basically by grabbing the stalk and dunking them up and down), sprinkle with a little myco, and then replant - in pots for over wintering or in the beds in spring. I never transfer soil between the two. That helps me see the root ball to diagnose any issues, and to ensure that any pests are not transported back and forth.

So each plant is dug up twice a year. They don't seem bothered by it.

I use Tania's recipe for container soil for the over wintering.

Wow, that's very interesting- I might give it a try this winter. DH will probably clear a spot for me in his cactus greenhouse or I guess I could just keep them in the basement. Do you keep them by a window, provide grow lights, or just let them go dormant?

I keep them by a window, but they basically go dormant due to the temps, lose their leaves, the outer branches turn brown, some turn into bare stalks...I reduce watering to a minimum, just when the soil is really dry. And then they take off as soon as they are put in warm soil in spring. I always lose about 1 out of 10, though.

I am sure they could be healthier if I weren't so lazy in the winter.

Thanks for all the details, Scott- it's really great to know that they can handle a bit of neglect!

See my pic above of the bare stalk - pushing new leaves and branches out of the last remaining length of surviving stalk. Even this one will out perform my new plants this year.

Every leaf you see on the pics above is new growth - there were almost no leaves left on them when I put them out in end March.

This is definitely something I want to remember to try this fall. I've been looking through other old threads here about overwintering peppers and it seems that people have varying degrees of luck using all kinds of methods: pruning/not, light/none, small pot/large, cold/heat, etc. My biggest concern is bug infestation since that seems to be a recurring theme. Not only because it'd be messy to spray inside during the winter, but because I don't want to have them already established anywhere that I need for seed-starting in spring.

I talked to others who overwinter. Even got some seed. Like I got seeds from this Orange Tree habanero
[URL=http://s128.photobucket.com/user/whitenoise_photo/media/OrangeTreeHabanero-1.jpg.html][IMG]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p181/whitenoise_photo/OrangeTreeHabanero-1.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

This is a 7 pot brain strain. None of these are my plants, but is what inspired me to overwinter.
[URL=http://s128.photobucket.com/user/whitenoise_photo/media/7potbrainstrain-1.jpg.html][IMG]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p181/whitenoise_photo/7potbrainstrain-1.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Those are huge, Drew! I'm hoping to keep things on the small side for convenience sake. Since I've already got a fig tree in the greenhouse and I want to try to save more than one in case some don't make it, it'll be important for me to limit the square footage needed for this experiment.

I started an orange manzano pepper, This pepper is a rocoto
tree pepper relative and is noted for its cold hardiness, as it naturally
grows on Andean mountain slopes, this pepper will survive several
degrees below freezing. Plants grow to 2-6ft, can live for many years. this is it's first year. It's seems to be growing really well, and is known to overwinter well. So this one for sure will be overwintered. I'll plant the orange habanero next year, just got the seed.
[URL="http://s128.photobucket.com/user/whitenoise_photo/media/011-3.jpg.html"][IMG]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p181/whitenoise_photo/011-3.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[QUOTE=kath;415199]Those are huge, Drew! I'm hoping to keep things on the small side for convenience sake. Since I've already got a fig tree in the greenhouse and I want to try to save more than one in case some don't make it, it'll be important for me to limit the square footage needed for this experiment.[/QUOTE]


The small ornamentals can just be grown all winter. So that might be something to try. I have Black Pearl, Chinese 5 color, Purple Flash, and Twilight all growing this year. I'll choose one to overwinter.
But any pepper can be overwintered, so choose one you use, like whatever, even a bell, why not?
I figure the ornamentals will look cool. Peppers are so varied in use. I could grow hundreds of them.
I'm still learning how to grow these beasts.

Thanks for the suggestion, Drew, but except for a small garden in the front of the house, I don't tend any plants that don't produce food- and even that space contains all the herbs that the deer won't eat.:lol: Before I was able to grow veggies, I had a few houseplants but now the only plants that are ever in the house are starts.

Think my best bet is to prune some of the smaller sweet pepper plants before I bring them in since they're the only ones I'm in a hurry to eat in the summer. The hot peppers go into salsa when I can later in the year so I don't mind starting them each year from seed.

Hi Scott, you're peppers look really great! You seem to have a great jump on the season.

I too overwintered a plant last year (Lemon Drop). I grow in pots anyway so at the end of the season I just root pruned it (which it really did not seem to mind) and severely pruned down the growth and stuck it in a 1 gallon nursery pot to over winter near my patio window. I am very happy with the results after the replant.
[IMG]http://www.tomatoville.com/picture.php?albumid=248&pictureid=1515[/IMG]

I am definitely going to do this again after this season (albeit with a few more plants, of course :) )

My question to you is, how many years can you keep the same plant going? You said a few of your's are on year 3. Have you ever successfully kept one longer, or is it better to start from square one after year 3? Any advice would be much appreciated! :yes:

Here is a 6 year starfish plant, so at least 6 years!
[URL=http://s128.photobucket.com/user/whitenoise_photo/media/brazil-1-1.jpg.html][IMG]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p181/whitenoise_photo/brazil-1-1.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[QUOTE=drew51;415222]Here is a 6 year starfish plant, so at least 6 years!
[URL=http://s128.photobucket.com/user/whitenoise_photo/media/brazil-1-1.jpg.html][IMG]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p181/whitenoise_photo/brazil-1-1.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/QUOTE]

Wow! That's amazing!

6 years - good news. Three years is my max - just because I started three years ago. I don't know of any natural limits. The three year old peppers are starting to look like tree trunks.

Again those are not my plants but from users on the GW hot peppers forum. Here's a Hungarian Wax 2 or 3 years old.
[URL="http://s128.photobucket.com/user/whitenoise_photo/media/Hungarianwax.jpg.html"][IMG]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p181/whitenoise_photo/Hungarianwax.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

There is a Scandinavian who grows a jungle of peppers in his apartment
and on its balcony. I thought I had bookmarked his website, but it must
have been on a different computer.

this is so cool! any northerners do this? can it be done over a really long dark winter?
Karen

I have 8 year old peppers that live outside.
I also know where some are if they are still there that are older than me.

Worth

Yeah, the orange habanaro is from a guy I think in Ohio. They need as much light as possible, and even light feeding.
Everybody has their own methods. This genetleman told me to trim roots down a touch and all foliage off. Put it in a smaller pot for indoors. Do this a week or two before you bring it in. Let it grow out some outside in smaller pot then bring it in. The plants will lose leaves if brought in without trimming off, so best to remove them. But with smaller ones, you can just grow it under lights. it may even produce fruit during thee winter. They will keep growing. I plan to try both methods. With the smaller one I will bring it in slowly exposing it to less light. Softening off I guess?? :)

[QUOTE=KarenO;415388]this is so cool! any northerners do this? can it be done over a really long dark winter?
Karen[/QUOTE]

That's a good question, Karen. I over-winter for about four months. If I had to keep them inside for 5 months or more, it might drastically change the survival rate. I know that at the end of four months, some of them look pretty pitiful.

Longer periods might require more work - more lighting, for example, or perhaps even some fertilizing. I give them very diluted fish fert about once a month when they are over wintering, but I really don't fuss over them at all.

Thanks to this thread I dug up 2 Santa Fe Grandes's, 1 Giant Jalapeno and 2 Red Habaneros this fall and put them in containers in my garage. So far they are still producing fruits...much smaller than outside fruits...and they are keeping their leaves. It gets down to the mid 20's in my garage so I put a couple of spot light type grow lights on them to keep them from freezing but the overall light is very low. I have them with a Boston Fern that has lived several years by overwintering in my garage. I'm very hopeful to have big productive pepper plants next spring!

[QUOTE=Salsacharley;517285]Thanks to this thread I dug up 2 Santa Fe Grandes's, 1 Giant Jalapeno and 2 Red Habaneros this fall and put them in containers in my garage. So far they are still producing fruits...much smaller than outside fruits...and they are keeping their leaves. It gets down to the mid 20's in my garage so I put a couple of spot light type grow lights on them to keep them from freezing but the overall light is very low. I have them with a Boston Fern that has lived several years by overwintering in my garage. I'm very hopeful to have big productive pepper plants next spring![/QUOTE]

How would you compare the taste of a red Hab to an orange Hab?

Worth

For me Red Hab is very similar, if not the same. It is supposed to be hotter but at this heat level I really can't tell the difference. It's like what feels hotter....120F or 125?

Worth, which varieties have survived winter outside? Does productivity suffer the subsequent years? :surprised:

[QUOTE=Worth1;415389]I have 8 year old peppers that live outside.
I also know where some are if they are still there that are older than me.

Worth[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Aerial;517353]Worth, which varieties have survived winter outside? Does productivity suffer the subsequent years? :surprised:[/QUOTE]

Just the wild chili pequin.

Worth

Last year was my first OW'ing peppers. I simply brought in everything that was in a pot, ~20+ plants. I housed them in a separate room that was very well lit (7 windows on 3 walls), but closed off and unheated from the rest of the house. I wasn't willing to spend any $$ on heat,but gave them everything else.

Most lasted a very long time, well into march, some continued production for a bit.They got aphids which I tackled with mixed results. But last winter wouldn't quit and that room stayed cold for too long. Then I ran out of steam with health issues, and cleaning snow and ice dams, so neglected the plants at the end. By the time I took them back out, only one had survived, a Jalapeno. It produced well this summer.

It is the only one I brought in this fall (year 2), DW made it clear she didn't want a greenhouse with bugs in the house.

In hindsight for last year, if I had continued the care and prevented cold for that last month (march/april) I bet many more would have survived.