Grow the Same Pepper Plant Two Years in a Row!

Most gardeners grow peppers as annuals, but they're perennials! Learn pepper pruning strategies for overwintering pepper plants, plus a few other tips and tricks to keep your peppers safe over the cold winter days and nights.

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[bellatrixfire]

I actually did this on accident once. I brought a pepper plant inside I didn’t feel was done ripening to avoid an early frost damage in early Fall. After I got the peppers off it started shedding leaves slowly so I cut it back. I didn’t know that it was perennial I just did what I would have done to any other plant that seemed to still be living. It hung on until the next year and I put it outside when the weather broke in the spring. It lived to produce again. I thought it was a fluke thing but I’m glad to know that I can do the same for a much loved plant. I have one now that I will be doing this with this year. ☺️

[mattie]

I would love to see an update on how it grew after pruning it back!

[thantm]

I did this as an experiment last year not knowing what was on this video. so i turned our hot pepper into a house plant at the end of the season last year, i only took off a few of the really long stems and left my self with a good two an half feet tall and about two foot wide indoor pepper. as it was in the diner it was very warm in there (the boiler is in there) it only shed a couple of leaves and then continued to grow. It started to grow rather quick at the end of feb, and now i have the start of flowers already at the end of march, amazing for central england ;-)
am now slowly working my way through the rest of your videos lol xx

[chrishamilton]

Hey did you ever do a followup video on this one? What the pepper plant looks like in the spring, when to expect it to come back to “life”, etc? Thanks!

[truthandlove]

As someone who just recently found interest in sowing and harvesting. I've actually had a cachucha pepper plant for 4-5 years and never did anything to it over winters in FL and thankfully it kept producing. It's a trooper for sure.

As additional note, even through multiple nights of 30-40 degrees F.

[janette]

I have a couple of pepper plants that I have had for 4 years. I bring them indoor in the winter, then back outside in the summer. They also give out peppers during the winter while indoor.

[mg]

I kept a Jalapeño for 4 years (CT.) It was in my sunroom during winters. Nice production for my family. I rarely trimmed or fertilized it (BEFORE I FOUND EPIC GARDENING! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽) I just new potting soil on top every spring.

[stevenstillwell-NC]

Thanks Kevin, you have given me some inspiration for keeping favorite peppers. In the past I have collected the seeds from the favorites and perpetuated the plant that way - and of course with cross pollination they weren't exactly the same; NOW I can keep the favorites forever. You are still teaching this old dog new tricks in the garden.

[damiansanchez]

Did this last season and the production double this season. Just pruned my back last week again for the overwintering this year. Great video!!

[eBirdy]

Zone 7B here and I take mine inside but also put them in a colder, dark room to make sure there is no growth during the winter and hydrate it very very rarely as with the cold and dark they kind of go into hibernation

[CaptainPupu]

I can confirm it's very much possible. I have tried this with my ghost pepper from last year. Now it's sitting in a pot in my garden full of fruits, full of life.
However I've heard from other gardeners like Mark from self sufficient me that after the 3rd year they won't produce anymore. Maybe a few. You might want to compost it, but if you're into bonsai, you can report it in a pot and train it. That's actually what I'll be doing with the ghost pepper next season.

Love your vids, btw:)

[travistaylor]

I got an Orange Sun from Botanical Interests that I planted this year. It has 4 peppers on it right now, which is dope for a bell pepper but I've spoiled it like a barbie all season. I'm overwintering it this summer and I've never overwintered anything before, so wish me luck! It should be vibrant and lush next season! 😊

[CrystalVisions]

I overwinter my pepper last year. I planted it from seed 3/23. It was a bell pepper I didn’t cut it down. I didn’t nothing. I have it in a 5 gallon bucket I live in North Florida. Another thing you can do is if it’s in a container bring it inside at night and put it back outside during the day

[ecocentrichomestead]

Here we have zone 5 winters and the summer doesn't get really warm. So I am growing peppers as house plants.
I have started 12 plants now though. To experiment with how well they do in the sunroom over winter and then outside in summer.

[alexportiiii]

My Dalle Kurshani is turning 4 this year. I never cut it back, I just bring it inside. It flowers all year and I get 3 big harvests each year. It is a 6 foot tall beast with a 1 inch trunk.

[audreyfastuca]

Great video, very simple and informative. I had a delicious cayenne last year from seed that I overwintered, cut it down considerably like you did, brought it inside, and by mid-May I already had a whole bush of green peppers! I live in Baltimore, so no sunny socal, but it's so satisfying when you see that first green leaf poke out in the beginning of Spring!

[preciousmetalhead]

This is much easier when you live in San Diego.

[lastblow]

Did that on accident this year... Living in zone 10, grow tomatoes, peppers, basil, strawberries, etc. in a raised bed. In spring, would usually rip them, redo the dirt and replant new plants bought in store. Did not do it this year because of the pandemic, so they remained in the bed and... sprouted again! Getting tomatoes, peppers, basil and strawberries right now. Been since cutting back healthy plants with well established roots every few months after harvest to get new growth.

[jossdelage]

Love that, thank you! Here's hoping you do a vid on how to take care of the pepper plant during winter, and how to bring it back.

[bradleyj]

Here in Portland, OR - I have done this for years with Serranos and others. My oldest plant is a 4 year old Ancho Magnifico pepper and it's going gang busters this season. I plant out in the ground once soil temps are 65+. I make a hill and compost around it thoroughly. In the beginning of October I carefully dig it up and pot it up - in a size appropriate pot. I don't cut it back right away. When night time temps start to go below 45 degrees, I bring them in and put them on the edge of my grow bench in the basement so they get a bit of light. I used to cut them back just slightly, but had major aphid problems (Nothing store bought worked to get rid of them. Then found this online - 1 part dish soap to 40 parts water - spray, let sit 20, rinse with water spray, water thoroughly). Last winter I set them farther away from the lights and cut back as Kevin recommends. The Anchos and Serranos made it, but the Jalapenos, Santa Fe and Sombrero peppers didn't. Don't know why for sure, but I believe I wasn't careful enough digging them out of the garden.