tutorial The Comprehensive Guide to Over-Wintering

[AldenMiller]

Just wanted to post a picture of a few of my over wintered plants.  The Trinindad Moruga Scorpion has quite a few peppers on it already.  This is the same plant that only produced two peppers at the very end of the season last year.  All the others look great too!
 
-Alden
 

 

[Pepper-Guru]

Fine specimens! 

 

[howardsaz9]

mine are the same size and have been producing for a few months... but mine are still outside and have been for 1.5 yrs ... its great to live in Arizona

 

[smokenmirraz]

Spring has sprung in the southern hemisphere
 
Here's a group shot of my overwintered chilli plants in Melbourne, Australia.  The middle plant, a Trinidad 7 Pot, has not stopped growing, and is flowering already.  The two outsiders on the left and right, red and yellow bhut jolokias, don't look like they are going to survive
 
Any tips for helping them get ready for the move outside?
 
 

 

[Pepper-Guru]

Spring has sprung in the southern hemisphere
 
Here's a group shot of my overwintered chilli plants in Melbourne, Australia.  The middle plant, a Trinidad 7 Pot, has not stopped growing, and is flowering already.  The two outsiders on the left and right, red and yellow bhut jolokias, don't look like they are going to survive
 
Any tips for helping them get ready for the move outside?
 
 

As for moving them back outside; It's very much the same way you would introduce young seedlings to full sun. OW's will be a bit quicker to harden off than seedlings, but still its Little by little. I like to move them to a diffusely lit location for a week or two. I have also been know to do a quick and dirty where I put them in full sun right away until they droop a bit, then move them to the shade. Repeat until no more droop  

 

[SavinaRed]

Anything above 40 and you'll be "alive". Above 55 and you'll be growing.

what about day time temps in the 60's and night time temps in the mid to upper 30's ? Can you leave them outside in those conditions ?

 

[bhankins]

I'm in Oklahoma and I just started germinating my seeds this year, first time ever. I don't expect to get any peppers this year but wanted to get a head start on getting my plants ready for the garden next year. I thought I could get them to a point to do this over-wintering thing before it got too bad. I think I'm going to be growing these inside next to a south facing window for the winter. Would one of these multi-shelf mini greenhouses be beneficial for my plants for over-wintering in the setup I described over not having one of these at all? http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/693686/6936863044049.jpg

 

[Pepper-Guru]

what about day time temps in the 60's and night time temps in the mid to upper 30's ? Can you leave them outside in those conditions ?

I wouldn't rely on temps in the 30's to keep them viable. 

I'm in Oklahoma and I just started germinating my seeds this year, first time ever. I don't expect to get any peppers this year but wanted to get a head start on getting my plants ready for the garden next year. I thought I could get them to a point to do this over-wintering thing before it got too bad. I think I'm going to be growing these inside next to a south facing window for the winter. Would one of these multi-shelf mini greenhouses be beneficial for my plants for over-wintering in the setup I described over not having one of these at all? http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/693686/6936863044049.jpg

Any greenhouse setup will be cold at night unless you have a heat source. That can be a heater, or solar masses but either way, you'll need them. 

 

[chilicheesebeard]

Hey thp,
I have a couple trini scorpions and a bhut that haven't really done much, save for the start of flower buds in the past week or so. I plan on keeping the same regiment of east window am and west pm at the moment. Would it be wise to prep for over wintering and trim or just keep as is. They're all around 6-8" tall with little to no secondary growth. Thanks for your time!

 

[winland]

Below is a Datil pepper plant that I am over-wintering.
Couple of questions:
1. Should I cut/remove one of the primary stalks and just keep one primary trunk?
2. Should I remove all leaves on the trunk, below the "Y" split?
 
Thanks for the help.
 

 

[Hybrid Mode 01]

     If it were mine, I'd vote "yes" and "yes". The two stems close together will only impede air flow and light penetration. Limited airflow can lead to foliar disease and shaded foliage could cause leggy, etiolated growth. As for removing the sprouts, I always do that. My plants are usually "clean shaven" below the "Y". (imagery   ) I like to keep the branching on my plants up off the ground a bit. It's been my experience that lots of low branching just leads to poor (again) air flow, as well as lots of easy routes for slugs to make their way from the mulch up to the foliage.
     A lot of folks insist on topping plants (a sacrilegious practice to an arborist such as myself) because it supposedly promotes branching, and thus, fruit production. I don't find this to be the case. My plants branch out juuuust fine - albeit 6-8" off the ground. Where dew and rain dry off the leaves faster and where slugs can't climb.

 

[winland]

So  right now!
 
Thanks for the advice and very good info.

 

[kayjay]

Just a thanks for all of the advice in this thread. I brought my container Apache and Cayennettas inside back in October, and... well, they still look alive and the house has gotten as cold and dark as it's going to get. Pic in my glog. The countdown to spring begins.

 

[Pepper-Guru]

Below is a Datil pepper plant that I am over-wintering.
Couple of questions:
1. Should I cut/remove one of the primary stalks and just keep one primary trunk?
2. Should I remove all leaves on the trunk, below the "Y" split?
 
Thanks for the help.
 

Don't remove anything. That is a great base structure to grow a very large plant on. Those leaves you were thinking of taking are going to be your new branches When I over winter, I don't prune anything. If its growing, its supposed to. It's the plant taking advantage of the supply of light. Means your conditions are great. 
 

Hey thp,
I have a couple trini scorpions and a bhut that haven't really done much, save for the start of flower buds in the past week or so. I plan on keeping the same regiment of east window am and west pm at the moment. Would it be wise to prep for over wintering and trim or just keep as is. They're all around 6-8" tall with little to no secondary growth. Thanks for your time!

Keep as is. Pruning is really only done for one reason when overwintering; equalizing foliage to root mass. It's so the plant can transpire correctly after an aggressive transplant. If you're not transplanting or damaging the roots in anyway, then don't prune. You'll know if you need to prune because the plant will droop big time. Almost looks the same as needing water. 

 

[Valleyman]

I agree with Guru. Let grow. When it's growing like gangbusters later in the season, then you can trim/shape if you still think you should.
 
I'm still fairly new at wintering over plants but I have plants inside now that are going into their 3rd season and by now, I know for when to water, feed trim, ect. based on how the plants are reacting to their environment. Last year (1st overwinter) they needed less water and nutes. This season I need to water more frequently ( though still way less than when growing outside.)
 
Btw, Your plant looks fantastic!

 

[Alynne]

This is the first plant I have tried to overwinter.  Late Feb and I guess it has survived, but it is not happy.  My one Carolina Reaper from last season that only produced the one pepper.  I hope this is enough to give it a head start for this season and would love any advice.  It's in a west window, I water minimally.  

 

[Pepper-Guru]

Looking good. I see some minimal leaf spot here and there, but just continue doing what you've been doing. Don't forget to harden plants off before sticking out in full sun permanently. 

 

[Geonerd]

Well, I guess I did OK; all my plants survived the brutal  Tucson winter.  About all I did was bring them into the shed during the dozen or so nights the temperatures got below the high 30s.
 
I gave the soil a huge flush during the first warm spell a few weeks ago, and applied light ferts.  I need to re-pot many of these guys into bigger containers, surrounding them with some fresh soil.
 
Fatalii with lots of fresh green leaves popping out!

 
Some of last year's leaves were looking mighty tired!

 

[Pepper-Guru]

Looks great! You can prune any dead, diseased, or damaged older leaves at this point. She looks ready for plant out! Whats the temp there in AZ?

 

[Pfeffer]

Keep as is. Pruning is really only done for one reason when overwintering; equalizing foliage to root mass.

Not to troll you, but I begin to differ. I deem pruning an necessary evil for my OW plants. Many pests like nematodes, aphids, mites, gnats etc can hide in the foliage and top soil.

If you just prune the foliage the plant really doesn't really cares, if there is still sufficient nitrogen in the soil (don't fert!). In about a week it really bursts with fresh, healthy leave growth. I also refresh the soil, untangle and do some minor pruning on the rootball as well.. Just to prevent issues with the soil (nematodes, salt buildup from liquid ferts, aphids, gnats).

Just don't prune to much woody stem material, you want to keep those. Foliage will just regrow.