Water those overwinters, and they might surprise you. My tiny Petin, about 14" in diameter all total, in a 3 gallon pot-crispy dried straw colored(rice crispy dry, dead hollow branches-you could brush them and get straw rain)surprised me about 2 weeks -time to yank it came, so like any good pepper head, I scoured the dirt dead leaves for a few dried pods for seeds, and low and behold...hmm, looks like clover starting at the base,,,yep deader n hell...wait, dig a bit at the base,and about 15 or so little shoots were coming out an inch or so below the soil line
.I stalled on pulling a huge Black Naga, an Infinity,and a Red Douglah later that day -unfortunately, the rest had been pulled-even a fav.Douglah x Butch T, as after finding the sprouts, I went and checked all the pulled plants and about three or four had green cambium layers below the old soil line.Usually they kick back "on" much earlier-but they did have several hard freezes, so I was sure they were dead. Too late now, anyway, I got to start a whole new brood, so no great loss. These pepper plants are a good bit tougher then we tend to think.
Good luck on your grow again this year, and as Charles suggested there a few places selling live plants that will mail em-I have a12 coming that I ordered a few days ago when it looked pretty grim fungus gnat wise for my last starts.I did the same last year.My guy has pretty much sold all his stock, but I think Jim Duffy at refining Fire sells live plants on his site.
Have a good one-
DJ