Burying the stems?

[Dulac]

Which guy?

The guy in the video.

Here is a guy burying his peppers gradually and having roots form and also prunes them:

Edit: I have a different approach to pruning than he does. I think he prunes them that far back to conserve space. I'd prune that much if I was overwintering though.

 

[Trippa]

I don't have a great example, but here's one of my Datils that I buried an extra couple of inches... I'm pointing approximately where the old soil line was. You can see how the main stem extends down further.

I think how old the seedling is when you transplant it may also be a factor. Since pepper stems lignify over time I imagine you're less likely to have new root growth on an older plant... most of mine were fairly small and young when I originally planted them, not the monsters you guys usually have.

Not necessarily true regarding old vs new growth. A simple slight scarification of the outer layer of a stem will result in improved root set. If that isn't done basically any node site will be a good place for new roots to form.

Another way to increase root mass and stability of a plant (or simply a way to take a clone of a plant without stressing it by cutting it) when planted in the ground is to weight/tie/peg the lower branches (without snapping them from the main stem) to the ground mid way along there length snipping any leaves in this area off at there base and covering this mid section of branch with soil, allowing the tip of the branch to protrude from the soil.
Give this a few weeks and you should have brand new roots and new feeding zones for the plant and within a few more weeks a very robust plant to withstand wind etc due to having multiple grounding points (living plant stakes)

If you feel the need at this stage you can also simple snip the connection to the main plant and dig up the newly formed root ball and you will have one newly formed genetically identical cloned plant

 

[Justaguy]

Not necessarily true regarding old vs new growth. A simple slight scarification of the outer layer of a stem will result in improved root set. If that isn't done basically any node site will be a good place for new roots to form.

Another way to increase root mass and stability of a plant (or simply a way to take a clone of a plant without stressing it by cutting it) when planted in the ground is to weight/tie/peg the lower branches (without snapping them from the main stem) to the ground mid way along there length snipping any leaves in this area off at there base and covering this mid section of branch with soil, allowing the tip of the branch to protrude from the soil.
Give this a few weeks and you should have brand new roots and new feeding zones for the plant and within a few more weeks a very robust plant to withstand wind etc due to having multiple grounding points (living plant stakes)

If you feel the need at this stage you can also simple snip the connection to the main plant and dig up the newly formed root ball and you will have one newly formed genetically identical cloned plant

Nice to know this. I may do this this season and then have smaller plants for overwintering.

 

[AlabamaJack]

two things I notice about the video...

first...all were annuums...no chinense or other varieties...does this make a difference?...I don't know, but what he showed and where he said "buried them to the second node" was his issue IMO...I always plant my seedlings each transplant to the first node...where the cotyledons were...if you notice, the stem is a different color above and below the cotyledons...most of mine have kinda a "purply" color to them below the cotyledons...that tissue is different than the tissue above the cotyledons...roots definitely develop from the area below the cotlyedons...

here is a shot I took this morning...notice the difference of the stem above and below the cotyledons (first node)

second thing that he said I don't know if I agree with or not is when he is talking about not cutting back...IMO, extreme cutbacks promote healthy new aggressive growth...he was talking like he wanted his peppers to just keep on producing as long as they could...I like to give mine a rest...being loaded with pods all the time is like a woman being pregnant all her life...it's gotta wear the plant out and besides, when it is fruiting, all of the vigor goes to that instead of vegetative growth....it depends on what part of the season you are talking about I suppose...

here are a couple of pictures...

this is a third year scorpion plant...you can see the original first node just to the left of the bottom of the bic lighter...and you can also see the root structure...very compact...

this is a second year scorpion I think and again you can see the first node and all the roots that have grown just below it...

the 3 year was cut back to this on 2 December 2011

and looks like this today 2-14-12...call it 11 weeks after cutback....

remember this...more nodes = more pods and you get more nodes by forcing the plant to "fork" more and you get it to fork more by cutbacks...

 

[Northern_Sizzle]

Noticed this today when I was transplanting this to a larger container. This is about 1 month old and from what I am seeing those are roots growing above surface lol So it does seem peppers can sprout roots under the cotyledons

 

[meinchoh]

two things I notice about the video...

first...all were annuums...no chinense or other varieties...does this make a difference?...I don't know, but what he showed and where he said "buried them to the second node" was his issue IMO...I always plant my seedlings each transplant to the first node...where the cotyledons were...if you notice, the stem is a different color above and below the cotyledons...most of mine have kinda a "purply" color to them below the cotyledons...that tissue is different than the tissue above the cotyledons...roots definitely develop from the area below the cotlyedons...

here is a shot I took this morning...notice the difference of the stem above and below the cotyledons (first node)

second thing that he said I don't know if I agree with or not is when he is talking about not cutting back...IMO, extreme cutbacks promote healthy new aggressive growth...he was talking like he wanted his peppers to just keep on producing as long as they could...I like to give mine a rest...being loaded with pods all the time is like a woman being pregnant all her life...it's gotta wear the plant out and besides, when it is fruiting, all of the vigor goes to that instead of vegetative growth....it depends on what part of the season you are talking about I suppose...

here are a couple of pictures...

this is a third year scorpion plant...you can see the original first node just to the left of the bottom of the bic lighter...and you can also see the root structure...very compact...

this is a second year scorpion I think and again you can see the first node and all the roots that have grown just below it...

the 3 year was cut back to this on 2 December 2011

and looks like this today 2-14-12...call it 11 weeks after cutback....

remember this...more nodes = more pods and you get more nodes by forcing the plant to "fork" more and you get it to fork more by cutbacks...

This is just mindboggling! 11 weeks?!?!?!