overwintering Why prune to overwinter?

future_man

future_man

I am letting my plants do their natural cycle after I brought them indoors. Because of colder temperatures and less light, they are starting to enter dormancy which means they are droping leaves since they don't need so much energy produced.
 
My question is, why should I prune them back? Why not just let them do their own natural thing and drop leaves by themselves?
 
PS: Bonus question, should I leave unripe small pods on them, or cut those? My plants continue to grow flowers and pods.
 
Leave the unripe pods on them. When the plants "wake up" in the spring, they will finish ripening the pods.
 
Note, however, if flowers and pods continue to be produced the plants are not in dormancy - not even going into it. If the leaves are dropping and they're still flowering, you've got some sort of problem that needs to be addressed. 
 
You do not absolutely have to prune back when overwintering. You can just bring the plant inside and treat them like houseplants. Or, you can give them extra artificial light (plus light through a window) and see if they will continue to grow and produce. However, many of us want a break from tending the plants over the winter. Simply keeping them cooler and in less light helps with this. Pruning encourages new growth nodes to form, and since pods are produced at the nodes, this should mean more pods in the next season. Pruning also helps rid the plant of some nasties - eggs may be in/on the leaves and roots, for example. Still, there are other ways to deal with these things. You have to decide for yourself which path to take.
 
geeme said:
Leave the unripe pods on them. When the plants "wake up" in the spring, they will finish ripening the pods.
 
Note, however, if flowers and pods continue to be produced the plants are not in dormancy - not even going into it. If the leaves are dropping and they're still flowering, you've got some sort of problem that needs to be addressed. 
 
You do not absolutely have to prune back when overwintering. You can just bring the plant inside and treat them like houseplants. Or, you can give them extra artificial light (plus light through a window) and see if they will continue to grow and produce. However, many of us want a break from tending the plants over the winter. Simply keeping them cooler and in less light helps with this. Pruning encourages new growth nodes to form, and since pods are produced at the nodes, this should mean more pods in the next season. Pruning also helps rid the plant of some nasties - eggs may be in/on the leaves and roots, for example. Still, there are other ways to deal with these things. You have to decide for yourself which path to take.
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Suppose I bring them under artificial light and let them produce new growth, how will the plant be different from the ones that are "resting" in dormancy?
 
You answered yourself, Dormant plants are inactive. The producers are active.

Dormant plants get less light, nutrients, and water.

Indoor plants think it's spring.
 
Slizarus said:
You answered yourself, Dormant plants are inactive. The producers are active.

Dormant plants get less light, nutrients, and water.

Indoor plants think it's spring.
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No I mean my plant needs rest, will it produce all year round or is it better to leave them to rest and get energy for the next year?
 
future_man said:
 
No I mean my plant needs rest, will it produce all year round or is it better to leave them to rest and get energy for the next year?
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My plants produce year round. There's a six- to seven-foot Reaper tree in my backyard, as well as a few other varieties planted last season that are roughly the same size. Just means needing to fertilize more times per year.
 
Wicked Mike said:
My plants produce year round. There's a six- to seven-foot Reaper tree in my backyard, as well as a few other varieties planted last season that are roughly the same size. Just means needing to fertilize more times per year.
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I read somewhere plants can die from exhaustion or something. Looks like this isn't the case?
 
The plants aren't going to die from exhaustion. If you are giving them rest overnight, that is all the rest they get in the wild, so they'll be fine. 
 
Not all plants need "rest" or a dormancy period, especially those originating in the tropics/subtropics like Capsicums. They may only exist in this phase when conditions are unfavorable (low light/water/temps), but if conditions remain favorable, plants like Capsicums will continue growing and producing indefinitely.  I keep a few plants in a greenhouse where I work and they just keep going, although with the shorter days they typically produce smaller fruit.
 
Chiles are perennials and will produce for many years.

If you supply the right growing conditions, chiles will produce year around.

>>>>>>Suppose I bring them under artificial light and let them produce new growth, how will the plant be different from the ones that are "resting" in dormancy?

I think you may be having a problem with English. Growing plants and dormant plants are completely different

Dormant: : marked by a suspension of activity: as
a : temporarily devoid of external activity <a dormant volcano>
b : temporarily in abeyance yet capable of being activated


grow
: to become larger : to increase in size, amount, etc.
 
That a plant drops some leaves in response to colder weather or less light, is not necessarily a sign it is going to complely go dormant, especially if it did that outside and then you bring it inside.
 
Prune before bringing it inside if you need it to fit in a smaller space, or don't have enough light and want it to lose the ends of branches instead of the more centered leaves.  Also prune to achieve a more compact plant that will achieve more shoots from lower down in the stem next spring because if the existing branches keep getting longer and longer then eventually they won't be able to bear the weight of the pods any longer and you'd end up having to do some very creative staking and tying or another method of supporting them.
 
IF/when mine go completely dormant and aren't trimmed they usually self abort roughly the last 3 or 4 inches on every branch.  It could be that I don't water them enough but they seem to consistently do that.
 
Definitely leave the small pods on, except that if the plant loses a lot of leaves then you might consider cutting a large % of the small pods off but not all, so the plant has more energy per pod available to grow them to full size.
 
Dave2000 said:
That a plant drops some leaves in response to colder weather or less light, is not necessarily a sign it is going to complely go dormant, especially if it that outside and then you bring it inside.
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What sign is this then?
 
From my reasearch I believe plant started to drop pods and leaves because it couldn't support them anymore due to less light and lower temperatures. Correct me if I am wrong.
 
Yes it drops some but if it still has a fair amount of light it just continues on at a slower pace, keeping some leaves instead of losing all of them, particularly when it started happening outside from low temp. then you bring it inside.
 
However it is seldom that the plant will abort any but the tiniest of pods from this, unless exposed to a hard frost or freezing.
 
Dave2000 said:
Yes it drops some but if it still has a fair amount of light it just continues on at a slower pace, keeping some leaves instead of losing all of them, particularly when it started happening outside from low temp. then you bring it inside.
 
However it is seldom that the plant will abort any but the tiniest of pods from this, unless exposed to a hard frost or freezing.
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I should be more carefull with my words it seems. Plant didn't drop any pods but it dropped a hell lot of flowers and still continues to do so inside
 
Flower drop probable causes:

1. Day temp too high >95F
2. Night temp too low <65F or too high >85F
3. Too much nitrogen fertilizer
4. Too much water
5. Low light levels (reduces fertility).
6. Very low humidity (reduces fertility)
7. Poor air circulation (air circulation contributes to pollination).
8. Lack of pollinating insects.
9. Size of pot
10. Too much mineral in feedwater.
11. Too much grower attention/anxiety.
 
willard3 said:
Flower drop probable causes: 1. Day temp too high >95F 2. Night temp too low <65F or too high >85F 3. Too much nitrogen fertilizer 4. Too much water 5. Low light levels (reduces fertility). 6. Very low humidity (reduces fertility) 7. Poor air circulation (air circulation contributes to pollination). 8. Lack of pollinating insects. 9. Size of pot 10. Too much mineral in feedwater. 11. Too much grower attention/anxiety.
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Welp we can exclude minerals and whatnot since my leaves were already yellow (lack of nutrients) when the drops started. All the other things are true though since my plants are indoors with low light levels. I don't know about pot size however, plants are rootbound I know that but why did the plant get so many flowers if it knows the roots can't spread any more.
 
Why do people have children they can't afford?  It's nature's way to try to reproduce even if conditions aren't the best.
 
The strange part is you question them being root bound and not enough nutrients plus low light then worry about having blooms?  It's the best outcome in a bad situation.  Don't worry about pruning yet, fix the other problems.
 
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