Should You Even Prune Pepper Plants? The Answer May Surprise You!

Pruning peppers is a hotly contested topic. And that's an understatement. Ask ten gardeners how they prune their own pepper plants and you're sure to receive (at least) ten sets of recommendations.

In this video, we'll look closely at the structure of both hot peppers and sweet grilling peppers to understand whether traditional pepper pruning advice is even worth your time and some pruning strategies that might be more beneficial.

You'll learn exactly when, why, and how to top pepper plants, remove early flowers, prune peripheral stems and trim unhealthy foliage.

Equipment you might want to follow this video
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

#peppers #gardening #homestead #pepperplants #vegetablegarden

[Dokocat-zx]

I love the more academic approach of your videos! Really standing out from the rest of the content creators out😊

[carllopresti]

I really, really really (understatement) appreciate your research into every video you post . It is making me a better gardener. Thank you.

[skeeter]

Thank you! I spent an hour looking for a Thai Chili pruning video and finally found yours. Thank you again. Your video is actually the only one I found that is relevant for this type of pepper plant. ❤

[martinaj.]

After I heard of pruning pepper plants and what advantages it should have I did it 2 years ago with half of my plants. I wanted to be able to compare the harvest. I couldn't see a bigger yield at the end of the season. So I let them grow now without pruning.

[rickytorres]

Very informative on this topic indeed, thank you so much as usual. :)

[Amanda-cnpk]

I did a side by side, and the peppers (sweet and hot) that I pruned, by far out did the ones I did not prune. My pruned plants were prolific. The trick is to start peppers early and initially fertilize with a higher nitrogen or atleast a balanced fertilizer, then switch to a bloom booster.

[Charm-]

I have like a KABILLION Thai Hot Chilies so I'm gonna try topping one to see what happens

[ValerieT]

I have grown a LOT of pepper plants. I tried topping off a couple of years ago and decided not do it again. I think it worked on a couple of plants. I had so many hot banana peppers I didn't know what to do with them all even after giving most of them to friends. I wasn't sure if it really worked on the other plants, so last year I just let them go and they did fine. I do pinch off the first flowers to give the plants time to develop and root well. And I prune off leaves throughout the year as maintenance.

[imarchello]

I started my single Carolina Reaper plant in mid-July of this year, in a pot. It is now 30cm tall and it's mid-September. I will overwinter it on my windowsill. I just wonder, should I top it now, to prevent excessive vertical growth during low light winter months, or leave it as it is? What if it gets too leggy during winter? That's what I'm worried about. btw, I'm in growing zone 7a. There will be 4 months of relative darkness ahead. If it goes dormant and stops growing, then maybe I can do without topping. But it'll probably continue to grow during September/October and reach like 40cm height. I'm not sure what to do, if anything.

[jvp]

Have you ever grown ivy gourd? The fact that it's perennial makes me interested.

[joeasthope]

Next year will be the real first year im going to really hard yo grow chillies
I e grown before without much yield nut being in the UK i find it difficult because the weather and temperature so ill be growing in my greenhouse
Do you have any different advice on growing toppings ect it would be most appreciated

[roberttillotson]

I will say that from years of topping in short season growing area, topping if done right and early, means you start way earlier then a typical grower, usually 4-6 weeks.
Through my own research, topping does create stronger overall stem structure. We get winds at time averaging 20-40 in summer and the plants hold their ground better compared to single main stems that have more difficult time.
Furthermore, if you want more production in topped plants, you also have to feed soil too. That means tea every two weeks. Doing so will result in explosive production. This is a fact from own trials.
Lastly, if you choose to overwinter plants for following year successfully, your topped plant has a massive advantage over overwintered single main stem plant.
Also, there are types of plants. Sweet pepper or low heat pepper plants typically don’t need topping. Super hots like I grow, do much better if done here.
Just saying that you are missing details for viewers, and swinging views without all facts disclosed.

[vimondireksri]

I only topped 2/20 pepper plants. Just to see what happens. Any extra steps I can skip without negative effects. I'm in. Do you ever overwinter you peppers/eggplants?

[katedewitt]

my peppers have reach 5 ft tall and are so heavy with peppers and some are over 30" across how do i prune please

[eyesopenedify]

Pruning pepper plants do give a better yield, at least with my plants. You're comparing eggplant to peppers, like apples to oranges.