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pruning-topping Wintering over pruning question

Valleyman

Valleyman

Hi
So far so good an a half dozen super hots that I'm wintering over. Being new to this technique I was a little timid in pruning way back. Also I wasn't paying to close attention to shaping while pruning back in the fall. 
 
I followed a light water and fertilizer schedule and now that I'm getting some leaf growth I'm wondering if its safe to prune some branches back  for shape now or should I wait until the growth really kicks in once its warmer and they can begin transitioning back outside to the greenhouse?
 
Thanks
 
My first year overwintering as well, failed last year so that doesn't count.
 
Ive been pruning all winter as they get great sun where they are and i try to match the root ball size to the above ground size overall. Look fine so far.
 
 I have found the best time to prune in early spring in my area .
 
Pruning too early seems to really set my plants back.
 
Mother Nature will tell you what needs to be cut and what should be left alone. 
 
Awesome thanks! Yeah, mother nature is cueing me in. Good teacher that she is. My excitement is getting the better of me wanting to jump ahead of her.
 
"Mustn't fool with Mother Nature"  (A few of you Ol' Timers like myself may remember that quote!)
 
I cant wait until I see whats these plants will do!
 
How much earlier can I expect to see pods in comparison to the seeds sown this year? (All from the chinense family)
 
The overwintering project certainly is helping me through this long winter up here.
 
well as it gets warmer you should get him out of being dormant, and start with full strength fertilizer / stick him outside on warm days. Overwinter can already be blooming / growing when/if you transplant him. 
 
I prune my overwinters each year before bringing them inside, and that is it - no more pruning for me. But if you want to prune for shape, I'd wait until you have an overall feel for how the plant will bush out before doing any pruning. As you may know, the previously-pruned branches are not going to grow directly from the cut ends. Instead, they will put out new branches at the growth nodes that remain. This can result in a much wider plant than you started from, but it's a good thing since pods are only created at the branch joints.
 
When I have OW I only pruned back once when the plant came inside and not again. Waiting until spring sounds like good advice. I have a OW putting out flowers right now but I keep picking them off, and will continue to pick them off, until after it has been outside a long time. I don't want the plant to think it is "done" and doesn't have to grow any more after putting out a few pods early in the season. I did not pick flowers last year and the same plant was stunted. I can't prove that's why but it is a theory.
 
Interesting. My orange hab plant in question pushed out a lot of flowers and I left them. It produced a lot of peppers but stayed small all season. I'm not sure if its this plants habit. Glad I'm getting another year to experiment on it!
 
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