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overwintering Overwintering - What survives outdoors by variety

Robisburning

Robisburning

I overwintered a few plants indoors but I also left a few outside in the ground. My experience is the following survives largely unscathed:
 
Anaheim
 
These dropped many leaves but stayed green with slight foliage:
 
Cayenne
Fatalii
Jalapeno
 
The following died:
 
Hungarian Hot Wax
Trinidad Scorpion
Red Habanero
 
A Caribbean Red Hab also tried very hard to die but I took it inside under some light. We had a low of about 3 degrees C in the last month while the average low is about 7C and the average high is about 15C. Obviously I am assuming that having survived this winter means I can leave my Anaheim, Cayenne, Fatalii and Jalapeno in the ground indefinitely which would save a lot of mucking about trying to over winter. I am honestly not sure how to kill the Anaheim, it has grown significantly over winter and is still bearing fruit.  It is kind of a shame the skin on them are so tough.
 
It would be awesome to develop a list of chilli varieties based on their ability to survive cold. My list is obviously pretty inconclusive but if where you live it doesn't get below 3 degress C I would say your Anaheim, Cayenne, Fatalii and Jalapenos are pretty safe. If you have more plants to add to the list that would be great.
 
Hi Romy6, agreed.  What I was getting at is there seem to be different lower temp bounds for different types of peppers. Imagine if there was a list where you could look up the likely seasonal low your area will experience and it could indicate which can be overwintered in ground as opposed to having to be brought inside to overwinter.
 
Robisburning;  That would be great information!  It would be great if folks would list their success with plants that survived temps down to say, 35 degrees and list the ones that didn't survive the same temps. 
 
Gnslngr, a member here, lives at almost the exact same latitude as me.  He wrote that 80-90 per-cent of his outdoor plants survive the winters here.  It would be nice to know which ones lived and which ones died.  Our friend Gnslngr spends much of his time out of the country and very busy.  I did not want to continue to hammer him with more questions.
 
If you live in a geographic area where some of your peppers survive winters, please list the temps you experience, and the names of the peppers that survive?
 
Bigoledude, yip, you got it.  It could be a great reference.  People can input even with info like plant x dies while plant y lives. It would still help get the list in order. Obviously assigning critical temperatures to each would be ideal but whatever we can work up will be better than nothing.
 
All domesticated species die with a hard freeze. The water in the stem freezes and causes the stem to burst. Wild species are much more resilient. Flexuosum can survive a couple hard freezes but not sustained freeze. You will find it really hard to get specifics on temps for most because of how different temps zones are even 10 feet from each other in your garden.
 
There are no bizarre temp zones in my garden.  It is very safe to assume that no micro-climate exists here that would perennially kill one group only 10 feet away from another group of same-kind that perennially survives.  I doubt that this theory applies within 10 miles of each garden around here.
 
But anyway, I'll keep track of those that survive and those that die here in SE Louisiana.  If anyone in roughly the same latitude would like to buy seed for possibly over-wintering, this info just might help them in their efforts. 
 
Again, if anyone out there has had plants that typically survive winters in a similar climate, please list them?
 
I would also be very interested in the local (i.e garden size) variances in temperature. Whatever the outcome I still think the information about the chillies/temp resistance would be useful as indicative, as opposed to definitive, information.
 
Robisburning said:
I would also be very interested in the local (i.e garden size) variances in temperature. Whatever the outcome I still think the information about the chillies/temp resistance would be useful as indicative, as opposed to definitive, information.
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Up here in East Tennessee I have a spot in my garden protected overhead from trees that will not frost like the out open plots.  The protected ones can survive nearly 5 degrees F colder because of this.  Also, I have some brush that creep in to my beds near the end of the year and these help hold the heat in overnight.  The plants closest to the brush can be 10F warmer through the night compared to plants just 5 rows away.  Plants near houses blocked by the wind are the same way.  
 
Bigoledude said:
70043
 
29° 57’19”N   89°56’ 55”W
 
Thanks!
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Yeah, you make me jealous.  It looks like you RARELY even dip into the high 30's.  Is that right?  I would keep the plants out all year and brag my ass off to everyone who cannot. Seems mid-high 40's are you night time lows through winter.  Grow on dude!!
Robisburning said:
Righto, I understand.  I have pretty open expose to the sky.  That brush sounds like a useful thing to protect the plants.
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Only helps for an extra 3-5 days MAX.  Normally not even that.  We almost always have great weather with lows in the mid 50's near end of Oct, beginning of Nov. then BAM, 25F low.  Wipes everything out and the weather people say it will be mid 40's low.
 
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