overwintering Overwinter or Taking Cutting

[SIZE=medium]Hi all,[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=medium]I would like to choose 3 varieties from my lot and try to keep them through winter.[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=medium]Chaguanas (2)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Douglah (2)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Primo (2)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Congo SR Gigantic (2)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Burgundy (2)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Barrackpore (2)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Caribbean Red Habanero[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Bhut Jolokia (2)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Trinidad Perfume (2)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Brown Moruga (2)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Aji Lemon Drop[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Cherry Bomb[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Thai Hot[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Numex Big Jim (2)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Numex Joe E Parker[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Aji Amarillo[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=medium]I am really worried by taking aphids/gnats/mites/thrips in, even if I haven’t seen any of those on my plants this summer.[/SIZE]
 

1. [SIZE=medium]Do you guys think the option of rooting cuttings and taking them in should reduce the possibility of bringing maggots in?[/SIZE]
2. [SIZE=medium]What are your 3 suggestions for overwintering? I read that annuums are supposed to be harder to overwinter, but would like your opinion.[/SIZE]

 
[SIZE=medium]Thanks,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Teurf[/SIZE]

Personally, I would give the plants an extreme haircut back to the main stems about 4 or 5 " above the ground....then pull the plant up, inspect/wash the roots, and put in fresh clean no nutrient potting soil....keep the soil pretty wet to begin with but don't drown the roots...keep them in a cool dark place...with no leaves to support the plant should not use much water...then when you want them to start growing, put under light and fertilize the hell out of them....
 
as far as which ones to overwinter...my choice would be the Bhut, the Carribean Red, and a Morouga...the CR should give you hundreds of pods in it's second year

I have successfully overwintered annuums, so I don't know about them being harder to overwinter. The thing about insects you haven't seen - you don't know if they've been there, deposited some eggs, then moved on. Even a cutting could have eggs just underneath the surface, so I wouldn't base a decision on cuttings vs. overwinter on the likelihood of avoiding pests. Additionally, I guarantee some pests are in your home right now, but you just can't see them - broad mites, for example, are too small to see with the naked human eye, so can easily enter your home through tiny openings. 
 
I would suggest overwintering based on a few things, first and foremost being which ones you liked eating the best. Next thought would be given to which ones are more difficult to acquire for you. Also, possibly which ones take the longest to produce pods - bringing them in will give them more chance for production or at least to ripen what's already on the plant.
 
I've overwintered two ways: the way AJ mentions above (though I prefer to keep them taller than that), and just bringing them indoors and keeping them going. Regardless of which way, I always remove them from their pots and remove as much soil as possible, to ensure I'm getting rid of as many soil-laid eggs as possible. After that, if I'm keeping them going, I only trim the roots a tad. If I'm trying to let them go dormant, I trim both the roots and stems so they are the same distance from the soil line. Then I repot. 
 
Yes, my overwinters have had aphids appear in the spring while there's still snow on the ground outside. And yes, I've ordered ladybugs from buglogical.com and released them inside my house in order to get rid of the aphids. I don't know if buglogical is your best bet, given that you're in Canada, but hopefully you can find another beneficial insect vendor if they don't ship there. I would recommend finding one now, so you are prepared in the event the little buggers (or mites, or anything else) show up.

AlabamaJack said:

Personally, I would give the plants an extreme haircut back to the main stems about 4 or 5 " above the ground....then pull the plant up, inspect/wash the roots, and put in fresh clean no nutrient potting soil....keep the soil pretty wet to begin with but don't drown the roots...keep them in a cool dark place...with no leaves to support the plant should not use much water...then when you want them to start growing, put under light and fertilize the hell out of them....
 
as far as which ones to overwinter...my choice would be the Bhut, the Carribean Red, and a Morouga...the CR should give you hundreds of pods in it's second year

Click to expand...

 
 
Might want to leave more than 4-5in up here in Canada. I cropped to 1ft last year and plan to leave as much as possible this season. The big head start is nice with such a short season.
 
 
 
 
As for bugs etc. Get a pyrethrin based product and, after you've trimmed and the plant has sealed itself up a bit, give it a thorough spray. That'll kill'em all.
 
Annuums grow fast. Save chinenses. I'd pick supers just because they take longer to ripen, given your location. Then, choice is up to you... which do you like the best?

AaronRiot said:

 
 
Might want to leave more than 4-5in up here in Canada. I cropped to 1ft last year and plan to leave as much as possible this season. The big head start is nice with such a short season.
 
 
 
 
As for bugs etc. Get a pyrethrin based product and, after you've trimmed and the plant has sealed itself up a bit, give it a thorough spray. That'll kill'em all.
 
Annuums grow fast. Save chinenses. I'd pick supers just because they take longer to ripen, given your location. Then, choice is up to you... which do you like the best?

Click to expand...

 
You said it, they take foreever to ripen... I have lots of pods, but the only ones I have had the chance to taste are Numex Big Jim, Chaguanas and Thai hot, of course.
 
I guess I should have some more soon.
I was thinking, Red Caribbean Hab because i heard so much good critics about it.
Red bhut because it is a red bhut.
 
And either Burgundy or Perfume, burgundy looks nice and I can feel it will taste nice. Perfume is not hot, so I guess my compadres can eat it also
 
Thanks all for the advice,
I might end up doing both techniques just for fun.
TEURF

I have taken cuttings of peppers to over-winter.  They do not take-off easily... so it is a good idea to take alot of cuttings.

Yes, rooting cuttings will probably guarantee no bugs as long as nothing is clinging to the leaves. I have not found pepper cuttings to be the easiest to root, so make sure to take a lot of cuttings, and use a rooting hormone to help things along. If you want a free rooting hormone you can make a tea with young willow branches.
 
When I have overwintered plants I have had white flies, aphids, springtails, and even digging wasps (yay!). It's hard to avoid but not that much of an inconvenience. Just keep an eye on things and treat accordingly. From experience I would say keep any OW plant away from houseplants or new pepper plants you start from seed over the winter.

That's an interesting question for me too. My overwinters had about a 50% survival rate. All developed aphids/mites while in the garage during spring. But the bugs were beat back and most of the survivors are now quite larger than this year's starts. I did nothing special except cut back to the main stem and park in the garage on the window side. Interestingly, the ones furthest from the sun source were the most likely not to come back.
 
I tried cloning last year for the first time but not until December. To my surprise, the clippings had about a 90% survival rate and zero bugs while inside. However, they took forever to grow out and many still appear stunted. 
 
I'm going to try both again this year and see if I can improve the results. The overwinters - I will probably pull up, clean the roots and pot up in 1 gallon pots with clean seedling mix (as AlabamaJack suggested), and get more plants closer to the window. The clones - I will start earlier and try to improve my cutting techniques.

They're both good methods for keeping alive really interesting genetics. In my experience rooting cuttings may be tricky so dont rely solely on it.
I've succesfully overwintered plants in a sheltered outdoor environment, the cold easily take care of pests

Good luck

Datil

On strawberry "cutting" its possible to sink in hot water for some time to sterilize before planting in new pot, is it possible to use hot water on chilli plant cutting and would that remove bugs?

^  Water hot enough to sterilize would kill the plant, and come close to the same risk if hot enough to kill bugs or eggs.

Strawberry cuttings can be in 115F water in 10min and then cold water. This would kill mites. I have not tried it but i have strawberry and think i will try it next year.

^ I have used pwb's method on mature plants to deal with mite outbreaks before (actually using a shower head instead of dipping) with good results. All of the plants survived, although some of the tender new growth did shrivel up.