overwintering Which Pepper Plant Should I Overwinter?

Octang

Octang

I am going to try to over winter one of my pepper plants, but I don't know which one to choose.  Do any of the varieties overwinter better than others, or does it not really matter?  Can I assume none of them will produce pods indoors during a Wisconsin winter?
 
I am debating mainly between my jalepanos, habs, or ghost peppers.
 
Out of those the ghost is the latest to produce so theres that. Ive never OW a annuum but will be trying one this year so I can't speak for the jalapeño. The hab should do just fine but do you need more off of that? My habs mostly produce like crazy with a few exceptions.
 
Why not do all 3?
 
You will hear mixed results about overwintering annuums (jalapeno, in this case.) I have successfully overwintered purple jalapenos. However, if your jalapenos are of a variety that are easy to come by locally at your grocery store, I wouldn't bother overwintering that one. Same for the hab. However, if you like one of plants better than the others, overwinter the one you like the most, regardless of other factors. 
 
Will it produce? There are three ways go about overwintering; two will not produce, but the other might.
- Force the plant into dormancy - give the stems and roots a good pruning, ensuring that you keep at least 6 growth nodes, repot, then reduce light, temps, and ferts. No production.
- Treat it as a houseplant - just bring it indoors and let it keep going as-is. Likely no production. It may go into dormancy anyway, particularly if you reduce light, temps, and ferts.
- Create a grow space for it - keep it warm, get grow lights, continue to fert and such as if it is full-season. You may get some production this way.
 
As PT asked, though, why not all 3?
 
     What PrimeTime said ^. Also, my success at OWing annuums has always been hit or miss. They're just finicky like that.
     I would go with the hab, if you are only going to do one. Personally, once I pick one season's worth of bhuts, I have enough to last a long time. Habs are usually what I run out of and am jonesin' for come springtime. There can never be enough habaneros. 
 
 
 
edit: Also what geeme said ^. She knows what she's talking about.
 
And one more point - regardless of which approach you use, keep a fan on them to help keep fungus and such from growing.
 
The only plants that I have overwintered up until this year where I plan to keep a few more, are annuums (cayenne and jalapeno). I trim them back, cut back the roots, stick them in a pot and place it near enough to a window that it gets some light (but not too close so that it doesn't freeze since it gets really cold here!) then water when the soil gets dry. I sometimes get the odd pod throughout the winter, which is a nice surprise, but my goal is basically to just keep the plant alive so that it can produce early the following year. This is my 5th year with my cayenne plant and 2nd year with the jalapeno plant and so far I haven't had any issues.
 
Another vote for the ghost peppers.  Jalapenos ripen earlier so new ones each year are easy to get pods from and at worst (debatable) can be eaten green.  I would overwinter a hab too if you have room for it but habs can sometimes be bought from a grocery store if you get a winter time craving for fresh habs. 
 
My only plant to survive the winter is a cayenne :)
It got treated the same, or maybe even a little worse than my chinense..
 
jacqui276 said:
The only plants that I have overwintered up until this year where I plan to keep a few more, are annuums (cayenne and jalapeno). I trim them back, cut back the roots, stick them in a pot and place it near enough to a window that it gets some light (but not too close so that it doesn't freeze since it gets really cold here!) then water when the soil gets dry. I sometimes get the odd pod throughout the winter, which is a nice surprise, but my goal is basically to just keep the plant alive so that it can produce early the following year. This is my 5th year with my cayenne plant and 2nd year with the jalapeno plant and so far I haven't had any issues.
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Thanks jacqui hopefully I won't need to worry about them being too close to the wind this year, a mild winter would be nice....
 
Crap.  Well, the ghost pepper won.  But then I went outside to find the stem snapped off.  Poooooooooooop.
 
Octang said:
Crap.  Well, the ghost pepper won.  But then I went outside to find the stem snapped off.  Poooooooooooop.
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 Maybe spend less time on pepper forums and more time overwintering! Ha!
 
Don't worry you can trim it down like crazy to overwinter it...
 
Octang said:
Crap.  Well, the ghost pepper won.  But then I went outside to find the stem snapped off.  Poooooooooooop.
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Sorry to hear that. However, it may still be salvageable, if there are several growth nodes available. Growth nodes = places where branches fork from the stem or other branches. How many of those are there? Also, you can do a grafting-type of job - use medical or duct tape and slap the parts back together. Use stakes to support the top until the break heals.
Sorry, got side-tracked there. If you don't try to put it back together, the growth nodes are important. If you read this and you've already tossed the top part that broke off, you might try to recover it and try to mend it. I've done this with plants that had unripe pods on them and not only did the stem heal, but the pods also finished ripening. 
 
But if you've decided otherwise, you can let the plant go dormant, as noted above. Preferably the plant should have at least 6 growth nodes - it's not necessarily an end-game if it has fewer, but at least 6 is ideal. Pull the plant out of the soil and trim the roots to about the same distance from the soil line that the top of the stem is. Pot it and water it. Put it in a cool place and get a fan on it. Don't give it a lot of light. Use the weight method (lift the pot and test for lightness) to determine when to water it. 
 
geeme said:
 
Sorry to hear that. However, it may still be salvageable, if there are several growth nodes available. Growth nodes = places where branches fork from the stem or other branches. How many of those are there? Also, you can do a grafting-type of job - use medical or duct tape and slap the parts back together. Use stakes to support the top until the break heals.

Sorry, got side-tracked there. If you don't try to put it back together, the growth nodes are important. If you read this and you've already tossed the top part that broke off, you might try to recover it and try to mend it. I've done this with plants that had unripe pods on them and not only did the stem heal, but the pods also finished ripening. 
 
But if you've decided otherwise, you can let the plant go dormant, as noted above. Preferably the plant should have at least 6 growth nodes - it's not necessarily an end-game if it has fewer, but at least 6 is ideal. Pull the plant out of the soil and trim the roots to about the same distance from the soil line that the top of the stem is. Pot it and water it. Put it in a cool place and get a fan on it. Don't give it a lot of light. Use the weight method (lift the pot and test for lightness) to determine when to water it. 
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IMG_0570.jpg

 
Ok, there is a photo of the stem. I put it in water.  What do I do exactly to save it?  I've never attempted to save a plant before but I would love to learn!
 
Also, the stem snapped off right at the base of the plant where the stem meets the ground.  Am I able to dig up the roots and salvage the plant even though there is no stem? From the sounds of your post it sounds like it may be just as easy and digging the roots out of ground, potting it and watering when needed.  Is it there more to it than that or am I over thinking it?
 
Ouch. Less likely that it's salvageable if it snapped at the very base. Dang. Ok, two options to consider. One is try to make a clone from the top part and ditch the roots. If you decide to give this a try, remove the pods and most of the smallest branches and leaves - only leave 4-6 leaves for photosynthesis. Put it in water and change the water every day. Ideally find some growth hormone (root starter) at your local hardware store or garden center and use it according to directions. Note that cloning is not necessarily easy, but the reality is that the plant may not make it anyway.
 
Your second option is to still try to reattach the stem at the broken point - which you'll only be able to do if at least enough stem remains at the base to get it taped well. Have someone help you as it's hard to do this by yourself. Just line up the broken parts as well as you can and wrap from several inches below the break to several inches above it. They're never "clean" breaks, so sometimes it's tricky to line things up. Just do your best - it doesn't have to be perfect, though. You have to find a way to support the upper part while it's healing. One easy way is to put a tomatoe cage in the pot before you reattach the stem. If you can't quickly get a tomatoe cage (they might be sold out at this point), create a make-shift one. While the other person is still holding up the top part, put stakes around the perimeter of the pot. Use twine to circle around the stakes. Tie it as it gets to each stake, and just keep going around until you've got a "cage" formed. You may also want to put a stake in the middle and run some string between it and the plant and/or it and the perimeter stakes. Given where the break is, from your description, it sounds like you've got maybe a 50/50 chance with this approach - not really more or less than trying to clone. 
 
Because of the placement of the break, choosing one or the other is kind of a coin toss. I'd say to pick the one that grabs more of your interest and go with it. Some people are really fascinated by cloning, and this is a chance to give that a try. On the other hand, grafting has its own appeal, so it's a good chance to try that approach, instead. 

*************
 
Part deaux - Check this out: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/50561-and-it-absolutely-will-not-stop-ever-until-you-are-dead/
 
So keep in mind there is always a chance of recovery - don't give up until you're absolutely sure it's really a done deal - plants can surprise us!
 
Hmmm.
 
Gave up on the whole OW thing.
 
The "going dormant" ow anyway.
 
Have great sucess going into and out of hydro, so the ones I want to keep growing start in dirt, go into hydro, and finish second year in dirt.
 
I haven't gone beyond 2 years in this method (in bulk) because I can only do 4 full sized plants, and I want different varieties.
 
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