Prunned, 2 months after

[future_man]

I just wanted to show progress of my prunned plants as a lot of you were skeptical and I heard a lot of complaints I shouldn't prune so much so late in the season in this thread: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/48701-was-it-fine-to-prune/
 
Maybe it was a bit late yeah but I still expect harvest in late september to october. All of them are starting to flower.
 
Prunned and 2 months later pics:
 
Habanero:
 

 

 
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Tondo picante:
 

 

 
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Jalapeno:
 

 

 

[Zoli]

Good looking plants, but yeah it was way too late.

 

[future_man]

Good looking plants, but yeah it was way too late.

 
Does this mean I won't get so much fruit this year?

 

[Phil]

Nope, won't get much. But they do look nice and healthy

 

[Sarg3]

While you may not get much of a return this year, if you have the room overwinter them.  When you bring them out next year they will most likely produce like crazy. 

 

[jubjubrsx]

Wouldnt it really depend on the location.... Like here in california, it stays warm almost year round.

 

[Dave2000]

^  Of course but it looks like most areas in Slovenia will have at least a couple months where the plants are either at risk of freezing or possibly longer in hibernation mode from the low temps.
 
http://www.slovenia.info/en/Weather.htm?_ctg_vreme=0&lng=2

 

[Dreamweaver]

I'm not convinced this increases the number of flowering tips/nodes...i guess it will reduce the overall height though.

 

[Dave2000]

^  It can depend on the length of season, general grow rate, and general growth shape tendencies of the plant type.  If you can get your plant to a decent size then it doesn't help because your stem forking and nodes/pods double over and over again. 
 
If you can't get the plant to a decent size then instead of only one main stem forking 1st, 2nd, 3rd, times, you get multiple shoots lower down doing that, with less energy put into thick stems.  Those shoots become limited in their ability to fork and sustain the weight of pods after a certain point but in a low growth scenario they may not make it that far before end of season.

 

[future_man]

I'm not convinced this increases the number of flowering tips/nodes...i guess it will reduce the overall height though.

 

^  It can depend on the length of season, general grow rate, and general growth shape tendencies of the plant type.  If you can get your plant to a decent size then it doesn't help because your stem forking and nodes/pods double over and over again. 
 
If you can't get the plant to a decent size then instead of only one main stem forking 1st, 2nd, 3rd, times, you get multiple shoots lower down doing that, with less energy put into thick stems.  Those shoots become limited in their ability to fork and sustain the weight of pods after a certain point but in a low growth scenario they may not make it that far before end of season.

 
Then explain this video to me and how he got this ghost pepper plant to grow so big by prunning...
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgVvNRqc3nc

 

[John1234]

Only thing I would say, is prune closer to the node, and prune at a node with the strongest new shoot growth. It saves a lot of time on regrowth and stress' the plant out less.

 

[Dave2000]

 
 
Then explain this video to me and how he got this ghost pepper plant to grow so big by prunning...
 
[youtube]

 
That's not at all a large plant for its age.  At over 1 year old it is smaller than many of my few-months old plants.
 
To address the other points in the video, it obviously has low pod production because pruning and resultant low forks side-shoots cannot hold many without breaking or dragging the ground, unless staked and tied.  If it were staked and tied that removes another concern addressed in the video which was whether a taller plant sways around in the wind too much.
 
Without pruning, most varieties of chinense will also fill in at the bottom with new shoots over time, so long as they aren't pot bound or overly shaded by adjacent plants.
 
The part that blows me away is the statement "I do not eat these."  WHAT?? 
 
If he's not eating them then fewer pods doesn't matter as much.

 

[Dreamweaver]

 
 
Then explain this video to me and how he got this ghost pepper plant to grow so big by prunning...
 
 

 
Meh...my 8 month old Jolokia.

 
Just gave it a haircut a month ago...becuz it got too big.

 
One month later aka now.

 
 
As per other poster i guess it all depends on the growth rates you can achieve and the length of your season.

 

[future_man]

Are you 2 kidding me? How do you achieve such length in such short time? Some of my less perfect plants are 6 months old and still few inches high, others are only high as in the picture above.. Maybe they need bigger containers

 

[Dave2000]

^  They probably don't need larger containers "yet" if they are small.   Make sure you have well draining soil and sufficient compost in it + fertilizer, and of course a lot of sun.  Like anything it takes years of practice (or $$) but you have the internet to your advantage.

 

[future_man]

Yea sun is something I don't have. We have constant rain here and freezing temperatures. I am thinking of moving my plants indors early

 

[Dulac]

I'm not convinced this increases the number of flowering tips/nodes...i guess it will reduce the overall height though.

 
It does. It's common practice in gardening. However, the guy in the video isn't practical about it. What he's doing is fine for plants you keep for years. He is going for sturdier leaves rather than node count, which isn't a bad idea for growing a plant for years. It helps to top them if you grow them annually and there is no reason not to stake your plants. Topping does help strengthen your plant's branches though.
 
Edit: You will notice a bigger difference with c. annuum and other varieties.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Are you 2 kidding me? How do you achieve such length in such short time? Some of my less perfect plants are 6 months old and still few inches high, others are only high as in the picture above.. Maybe they need bigger containers

 
In one word...HYDRO

 
It does. It's common practice in gardening. However, the guy in the video isn't practical about it. What he's doing is fine for plants you keep for years. He is going for sturdier leaves rather than node count, which isn't a bad idea for growing a plant for years. It helps to top them if you grow them annually and there is no reason not to stake your plants. Topping does help strengthen your plant's branches though.
 
Edit: You will notice a bigger difference with c. annuum and other varieties.

 
I thought that i would see that with my Thai but it still split at around 14" high...as did the Mushroom.

 

[Dulac]

 
In one word...HYDRO

 
I thought that i would see that with my Thai but it still split at around 14" high...as did the Mushroom.

 
Very odd. It should split at the nodes bellow the cut. I was able to get one to split and split off the splits this year, giving 6 branches. I was thinking Thai peppers might be tricky, but mushroom should work.

 

[Dreamweaver]

 
Very odd. It should split at the nodes bellow the cut. I was able to get one to split and split off the splits this year, giving 6 branches. I was thinking Thai peppers might be tricky, but mushroom should work.

 
When i said split i mean the natural Y...all 3 of my grows have done this so far at around 14"....this leaves me with a trunk that tries to sprout but i nip these and they never grow back.