I dug this plant up last fall and when the branches started withering I pruned them. I noticed some flower buds on a new branch today. Has anyone kept any of these over the winter and had them produce the next spring?
I saw jalapenos on a garden tour where the gardener had them for 4 years. He said he would put these clear plastic type umbrellas over them during the winter. I imagined that acted similar to a green house. He said they were actually a garden item that he ordered. Our winters are mild so maybe that helped.
Peppers are a perennial in their native environment. I've taken them inside for the winter and had them produce more peppers the second and third years. The main stem will actually become 'woody' as it gets older.
What everyone else said! And you're doing it right by keeping them in pots. The peppers that we keep in pots here stay warmer since they tend not to freeze during a frost. Which if you're around Fayetteville (GO Razorbacks!) you have about similar weather as we do, maybe a little more humidity.
The ones that we keep each year we let winter out with leaves and all then cut back what's dead in late winter and the recover nicely in the Spring.