Peppers in Pots?

[seedcorn]

If I'd pot one from garden, how would I keep it alive during winter? Inside would I get enough light to keep it alive? Temp it would have to be kept at?

 

[Smart Red]

I over-wintered five different varieties of pepper plants in my sun room. During the darkest, coldest winter nights, the sunroom temperature dropped to 40°(F) at the lowest. They all dropped their leaves for the winter, but spring warmth and longer daylight hours brought the leaves peeking out about February here.

 

[seedcorn]

So it's ok for them to go naked as long as they don't freeze?

 

[Dave2000]

^ Yes, they can go dormant and come back next spring, BUT you must water every few weeks to keep the soil slightly damp. There's a perpetual debate among pepper growers about what amount of trimming is best.

Some say to cut back to the stem, others a little less, while I leave the plant whole given the space to do so, then when spring rolls around you can see what is dead by a few inches of ends of branches turning brown and then cut that off... you could leave that with no ill effect, but it does get out of the way the urge to prune.

Trimming can also depend on the plant's destination. If it's going to stay in the same pot then you'd better trim it back a lot or else it will grow too big for the pot the next year, as well as the issue of depletion of nutrients remaining in that pot. If instead you would repot into a larger pot or put it in the ground then minimal trimming will result in a larger plant with more yield.

 

[seedcorn]

thanks, will hopefully try that with some of my peppers next year. If I could get one to live, it would stop me from buying 4 pacs of that variety.