Pepper plants overwintering

Many growers consider pepper plants to be annuals, but they can be kept for the winter with a little winter care indoors. Winterizing pepper plants can be difficult, but if you have a specialty pepper, such as Carolina Reaper, winterizing peppers is a great way to get a head start on next year’s season and extend the life of your pepper plant. Continue reading this blog from The Grow Supplier to find out how to maintain peppers in winter.

How do you overwinter pepper plants?

A word of caution: if you plan to overwinter pepper plants, keep in mind that although the plant will survive, it will not produce fruit. Peppers need a certain temperature and amount of light to develop fruit, which the normal house in winter cannot give. If you want to produce peppers in the winter, you need to grow them in a greenhouse with extra lighting.

Bringing peppers indoors is the first step to keeping them through the winter. When you are done, spray the plant well. This will help eliminate any insects that may have settled on the leaves. Remove all pepper fruits from the plant, both mature and immature.

And now what?

Finding a cool, dry place to place the pepper plant – somewhere that stays around 13 degrees – is the next step in overwintering pepper plants indoors. It is best if you have an attached garage or basement. The pepper plant does not need much light for winter care, so place it near a window or near a fluorescent light.

Reduce the amount of water if you put the pepper plant in this spot. You will find that peppers use significantly less water in winter than in summer. When overwintering pepper plants, you only need to water them once every three to four weeks. Don’t let the soil get too wet, but don’t let it get too dry either.

The leaves will begin to die shortly after you put the pepper in a cool place and water less. DON’T WORRY. This is quite normal. The pepper plant is preparing for hibernation. It is almost identical to what happens to trees in the wild.

Preparing for winterization

You can prune back the pepper plant after the leaves begin to die. Prune the pepper plant branches back to a few large “Y’s”, leaving about 2.5-5 cm for the top half of the “Y”. When overwintering pepper plants, this technique will remove dead leaves and make the plant less prone to pests. In spring, the pepper plant develops new branches.

Remove your pepper plant from its cool spot and move it to a light, warmer position about a month before icy weather to complete your winter care. To add even more heat, you can place a heating mat under the pot. Keep watering the pepper plant, but be careful not to overwater it. You should see some fresh growth within a week or two.

But even if you follow all the procedures to properly winterize peppers, your pepper plant may not survive. Some pepper varieties will do better than others during overwintering. However, if you manage to overwinter pepper plants, you can count on a record harvest of your favorite peppers!

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