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tutorial The Comprehensive Guide to Over-Wintering

That's good to know. Even though I dug mine up before our first freeze, right now some of them look like large brown sticks in pots of dirt. So I won't give up on them yet.

In many cases, small shoots of growth and new buds will regenerate nutrient highways back up a thought to be dead stem. Usually when they become very thick and woody, like these, the inside wont ever really go completely dormant. This means, that while there arent any new shoots at the top of the plant, it doesn't mean it wont happen. Once new leaves begin to form from anywhere on the plant, they will super charge this proccess, making it possible for the rest of the plant to vegetate.
 
Wow man,

Those plants have some healthy root zones, They're starting to flourish nicely......couple of those close-up shots look like they're out of a "50's" sci-fi flick....... :cool:
Taking cuttings of the "mothers" is always a cool thing to do. It's amazing how something so "dead" looking can make a vigorous comeback. That's what I enjoy about overwintering. Your right about perennials and the root system. Keep them from freezing and the'll reward you twice over.

Greg
 
My overwintering process was interupted by an early call out, partial cut backs left to fend for themselves.......and as luck would have it....they have reportedly persevered through the light freezes...and unless we have another freeze before I get back to terra firma, I will have fresh peppers in January ;)!!!
 
Although I was originally going to cut mine back and leave them at that til late winter, I changed my mind and got some lights to see if I could keep them alive and producing. Well, I must not have had enough light at the start because the leaves dropped off dramatically. Then they started growing back, and of course I got aphids. I kept going, though, sprayed them down, burned the leaves, who knew you should turn your lights off for a while after spraying.. Well, three of them have grown new branches and two are even producing peppers but one has just barely put out a new shoot at the bottom of the plant. Should I trim the rest of it off and hope that it picks up? By the way, how do you take cuttings and get them to grow? I bought some root grow stuff but I can't really find anything to tell me how to get the roots to grow.
 
Well, not the technique completely as recomended..but: Tight schedule and the fear of aphids getting on my newborns resulted in all my OW's getting the cut back,some were as per process(trim the roots,new soil,smaller container- these were the dug up specimens) but since I was gonna be leaving them outside, most I left in the larger containers so there would be more soil mass incase of a freeze-and they have all lived through 2 so far. My intent is to repot next trip home-when all frost danger will be past for me, and I was thinking that doing it in 2 steps would let the plant recover a bit(2 are trying to bloom again,most are leafing up really nicely.), before pulling and pruning the roots(these would be just the container grown ones)?????Any thoughts?
 
Pepper Geru,
I see where you get yur name...this is good stuff. Very detailed and informative.
I get a lot fo questions about over-wintering Chile plants...and gained some insight here on how to explain.
Thanks,
Pepper Joe
:dance: :P :dance: :P :dance: :P
 
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Here's one of my overwintered plants, a Butch T that's about 2 feet tall in a 1 gallon pot. :fireball: I didn't cut this one as low as most of the others. It gets practically zero light, just what seeps in through the spaces in the blinds but still looking good. I think he's ready to go outside but that's still a couple months away here. :mope:
 
pepper guru, how old are those mothers? we've been growing peppers longer than i've been alive and have never overwintered; have always treated them as annuals... I found this thread along with some others and it's persuaded me to spring for a shiny new 400w MH/HPS (my seedlings were pitiful this year and the weather has been too freakish to be able to comfortably leave them outside). how many plants could i safely overwinter in 1-2 gallon pots under my new 400w grow light? I'd love to get a head start on next year and keep some of the strains pure. Thanks for all the tips i've really learned a TON!

also, does the heat of the peppers produced during over-wintering change?
 
I just thought I would share my experience over winter. I have a mature choc hab that stayed green all winter. I setup a simple area by a window that has 4 ordinary CFL lights directed at all my plants. The hab did not produce any peppers until early march.

During winter it's limbs grew longer and I managed to get three cuttings to grow. I found it very hard to get the choc hab cuttings to root but I was successful in the end.

Here is what worked for me:

Select a strong healthy 3" limb and take a sterile cutting at a node, rest it in water, prune the flowers, pods, and excess leaves, leaving only about two mid size leaves near the top. Soak a starter grow pellet and pry a hole two thirds into its middle, dip the cutting in root hormone (do not be excessive so shake off any excess powder), then place the cutting into the pellet and firm up the soil around the cutting. Try not to accidentally move the cutting once it is positioned. Spray the pellet to ensure the soil is always moist. For best results I ended up getting a little plastic greenhouse container. I spray all surfaces inside the container to make the environment moist/humid. Another trick I found to be helpful is to add a tiny bit of food to the water in the spray bottle. Since the choc hab seems to take forever to root, I occasionally spray its leaves to ensure its taking water so the cutting wont drop all leaves and die. I try not to spray the leaves too often since I want to force it to produce roots yet I want to keep it alive long enough to root. If you can shield the pellet from light that will help the roots come out. Once I see roots popping out of the sides of the pellet I then pot it into a plastic cup. Darker colored cups are better. You can buy a heatng pad to warm the soil which promotes root growth but I never had one. During the day the natural sun from the window helps warm the pots soil. A heating pad would probably be better but at least spring some cash for a greenhouse container and some starter pellets as they make the success rate much higher.

My first successful cutting has done real well. It is large now and has nearly filled its space in the plastic cup. It will be ready for a real pot soon. The other day I placed it outside with the mother for the days sunshine.

The mother plant is healthy and has been outdoors for a few weeks now. As soon as I placed it outdoors it became a victim to aphids so I thoroughly sprayed it with organic pesticide. The plant lost all its flowers but seems to be aphid free. It still has it's one single pepper growing steadily.

This morning I noticed the young hab got the aphids from the mother when I put it outside for a day. It needs water as its leaves are soft and droopy. I plan on watering it now and then when its leaves are firmer I will spray it for pests tonight and take it away from the lights for the night.

This season I have expanded my vegetables to include cherry tomatoes. I have four cherry tomatoe plants started from seed. Two are already set in their hanging baskets outside and the other two are still in the greenhouse container, nearly large enough to be set in their baskets. I am learning about hardening the tomatoe plants before going outdoors, they seem to be very sensitive to the change.

Thanks to everyone who contributes on this site. I have learned so much from you all. Hopefully I can have a better hab crop than last year. Good luck to your crops too.
 
Hey guys! Well, its that time again! The mothers have been outside for about a month now. They've been in the same containers I over-wintered them in, but now these ladies get put into the garden for another growing season. As I said before, I had to end up taking a hopeful cuttings from both the Trin Scorp and Bhut, but that will do just fine for me. The bases on those two plants were nearly the only thing left after the frost got them last year, so I felt better making them start over. Hope you guys have enjoyed this guide! We have many people deciding to take advantage of overwintering on THP and its awesome to see that! Grow on guys!

Aribibi Gusano
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White Bullet
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Red Fatalii
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Epic Jalepeno

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Crazy Trinidad Scorp Cutting
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Mrs Fatalii in her 65 gallon home for the summer growing season
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Happy Growing THP!
 
Very Cool. I've been over-wintering for years and would like to offer a little advice. When you water add a little Hydrogen peroxide to the water. It brings oxygen down to the root system during winter and helps to keep them alive. I always cut and trim my roots. I also wash off all the old soil and replace it with fresh potting soil so you don't bring anything indoors like bug nasties. Also I use Hydrogen Peroxide in a spray bottle and this takes care of the aphids too.
 
Wow Rich, your plants are HUGE! Are you giving them radiation? :shocked:
Good article by the way. I am fortunate to live where we don't have to overwinter unless it's a freak cold year which is rare.

Pepper Geru,
I see where you get yur name...this is good stuff. Very detailed and informative.

I agree Joe! How did this "kid" learn so much, so young? I am a half century old so when he hits my age I guess he will be called the Pepper Yoda. :lol:

How old are the mother plants like the one your son is standing next to with the Mason jars?
 
Thanks Mota! Lol No radiation here my friend, just loose, airy, soil with an active food web :)

I became interested in science, biology and nature at a very young age. I guess watching my family's gardens over the years is where that love for nature carried over into growing for myself.

In my late teens I started getting into the internet thing, and travel, so naturally the forums have been an outlet for my passion that could reach more people than friends and family. As for the name, its just something that sort of stuck as a forum alias after a friend called me a plant guru one day out in the garden...lol Truth is, there are many unknown growers out there that have taught me sooo much about horticulture and they aren't into the internet, so really the handle is just an ode to them.
The mothers there in that pic were 6 years old. This will be year 7 :)
 
Well I hope to learn more from you, especially on the GC forum if I can ever post there. :banghead: ;)
I am half Dutch so I think that's where my love for plants comes from. They are masters at growing things. :D
 
Guru How do you move 65 gallon Fatalli? With a fork lift?
Man i transplanted a pepper plant into a 20 Gal fabric pot outside and brought it in the house for overwintering and had to stop at the first floor to rest a bit and weigh it... came in at a even 75 lbs...then made it up the second floor to its final destination and i was a bit tired.
Your pot is huge and if it was here with me i would have to rig up something just to move it.
 
Pepper-Guru: Thank you so much for creating this informative thread! I have never overwintered my peppers before due to space issues, but after seeing the pictures and reading this I think I may be able to give it a try for at least a couple of my plants.
 
Depends on how dormant you want em to go. If space and light are concerns then cut em way back and water sparingly. Without many leaves, you will find the soil stays moist for longer periods of time, due to less transpiration.
 
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