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overwintering Overwintering dormancy

I am overwintering a few small Zimbabwe black plants for the first time, here in England. I have pruned then right back to 6" stems but instead of going dormant they are now sprouting lots of new growth. Is this normal? If not how do i convince them to go to sleep? I didn't bother pruning the roots, could this be why?
 
I am overwintering a few small Zimbabwe black plants for the first time, here in England. I have pruned then right back to 6" stems but instead of going dormant they are now sprouting lots of new growth. Is this normal? If not how do i convince them to go to sleep? I didn't bother pruning the roots, could this be why?
Where do you keep them? What temp & light are they kept at?
 
I leave my potted peppers outside until a freeze or frost is called for, then cut them back water them
& put them in the basement, dirt floor with one small window to the east. Temps stays at 51F.
With very little light it keeps them asleep & the lower temp has always worked out for us.
We have never pruned the roots, just repot or plant it in a lager pot or in ground come spring.
 
Ok maybe they're getting too much light..
I'll try moving them somewhere darker
Getting small light green sprouts is normal ,as long as they don't get too much light they won't grow & then they will go dormant.
 
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In my experience temps are the main consideration. If a pepper plant gets warmth it will want to grow and if there isn't enough light relative to the warmth it's likely to be problematic, inducing weak growth or stretch. For dormancy, I think Marturo's temps of 51F are coming in at a good level and wouldn't want to be much above or below that. Coupled with some light, but not lots - 4-5 hours/day not too strong - I've gotten good results. I use LED's for OW because they put off less heat, which helps prevent warming the plants out of dormancy and hatching out pests on the plants. I'm not sure what you mean by temps of 27F (below freezing), but if you're comfortable in the same room as the plants I wouldn't expect dormancy, but some level of controlled growth.

That's my two cents ;)
 
In my experience temps are the main consideration. If a pepper plant gets warmth it will want to grow and if there isn't enough light relative to the warmth it's likely to be problematic, inducing weak growth or stretch. For dormancy, I think Marturo's temps of 51F are coming in at a good level and wouldn't want to be much above or below that. Coupled with some light, but not lots - 4-5 hours/day not too strong - I've gotten good results. I use LED's for OW because they put off less heat, which helps prevent warming the plants out of dormancy and hatching out pests on the plants. I'm not sure what you mean by temps of 27F (below freezing), but if you're comfortable in the same room as the plants I wouldn't expect dormancy, but some level of controlled growth.

That's my two cents ;)
Maybe 27C? that's about 80f
 
Could be. Or maybe a transposition of 72F. Probably not 27K though
I meant 15 degrees centigrade. I tried to translate to a temperature you americans might understand but I failed! An interval of 15C = 27F but apparently a temp of 15C = 59F which makes no sense obvs. It would simplify things if you lot started using a proper temp scale like evryone else;)

Good info about the 4-5 hrs light and the 51F though, thanks. 51F = 10.5C fyi...
 
Haha. No kidding. I wish we'd switched to the metric system long ago so it would be second nature in the U.S. now. Your interval is correct, but you have to add it to 32F as that's the F equivalent of 0C = freezing.

Good luck with your Zimbabwe black plants!
 

Fahrenheit to Celsius Conversion Chart​

FahrenheitCelsius
-40°F-40°C
-30°F-34°C
-20°F-29°C
-10°F-23°C
0°F-18°C
10°F-12°C
20°F-7°C
32°F0°C
40°F4°C
50°F10°C
60°F16°C
70°F21°C
80°F27°C
90°F32°C
100°F38°C

Celsius to Fahrenheit Conversion Chart​

CelsiusFahrenheit
-40°C-40°F
-30°C-22°F
-20°C-4°F
-10°C14°F
0°C32°F
10°C50°F
20°C68°F
30°C86°F
40°C104°F
50°C122°F
60°C140°F
70°C158°F
80°C176°F
90°C194°F
100°C212°F
 
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