• Do you need help identifying a 🌶️?
    Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
    Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.
  • ✅ Expert and friendly hot pepper grow advice.
    ✅ The latest information on hot pepper varieties.
    ✅ Reliable seed trading.
    ✅ Hot sauce recipes and food safety guidance.
    ✅ Hot sauce business tips for startups.
    🌶️ And more!
    It's all here, at The Hot Pepper! The Internet's original hot pepper community! Est. 2004.

Cut 'em back! Cut 'em back! Waaaaaayyyyy back!

imaguitargod

imaguitargod

Well, in all my chili expertise, I have yet to explore a certain part of overwintering...cutting the plant back. Most of my peppers have gotten very large (over 7.5 feet in one case). I hear alot about cutting the plant back for overwintering. Does one actually have to do this? Will it hurt next years growth/fruit size if I do not?
 
When I overwinter, I cut back to about 12 inches. The plants I leave outside and cover, I don't until I see where the new growth is coming in the spring. My pequin I usually cut back to about 12-14 inches, and yet in the summer it grows, with minimal care, in a whiskey keg with four year old soil to over 6 feet.
 
My numex twil is in a fairly small pot, got to about 18 inches high, and some of the outer leaves at the top are drying out on the tips, so I think it needs repotting next year OR cutting back in Jan/ Feb.... might cut back, coz then I'll have the nice main trunk for the new growth to come out of.
 
I'm over wintering about 6 plants, i have cut right back to 8-10 inches, cut the roots back so they have a skin head soak in luke warm water to remove the old dirt then re-pot in a small pot on a windowsill, all mine have new growth after 2 weeks.
 
Here's some pics of cut back plants

Sad looking Medusa before cutting back


Today, December 12. Almost 2 months after cutting back.


And here's a Tepin today, about 3-4 weeks after cutting way back (almost all green is new growth)
 
Wow is that snow in the background? brrrrrrrrr

Well our 4 yr old fatalii i cut back a few months ago and is already having ripe fruit so i'd say cutting back is a good thing when your plant is looking a little ragged. Each time we do the plant responds well.

Mick
Kato's
 
Hmmmm... my last post came across as WAY gayer than I meant it to...

Potawie, did you basically cut all the branches back to the main trunk?

Clever things, these plants.
 
Shooty* said:
Hmmmm... my last post came across as WAY gayer than I meant it to...

Potawie, did you basically cut all the branches back to the main trunk?

Clever things, these plants.
Click to expand...

The medusa, I just cut off all the peppers and dead growth leaving a few good branches. In the tepin pic you can see quite a few woody branches were left, but over half the plant was pruned off.
 
Sivuli (tepin) before:

tepin1.jpg



Sivuli 10 mos later:

sivuli5.jpg
 
Put it in a rockwool cube and put it back in hydro.

The blackish tissue made tiny roots in about a week and we were off......
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top