Grow Pepper Plants Year After Year

Did you know your beloved pepper plants could live for years? When I first started gardening, I read that peppers only grow when it's warm outside and there's no chance of frost. So every single winter, I'd pull my pepper plants from the garden and then start the excruciatingly slow process of growing them from seed again the next year.

Then I moved to Houston, Texas, and learned the perennial nature of pepper plants. The peppers in my Houston garden survived year after year. I took this knowledge with me when I moved up to the colder climate of Chicago, Illinois, so that I could do a lot more with my peppers than just grow them in the middle of summer and pray for peppers before frost.

Here are the simple steps to grow the same pepper plants year and year without ever having to start from scratch (read: seed).

Are Pepper Plants Perennial?

In their native habitat, pepper plants are actually perennial, which means they can live for years and years. You might think of peppers as annuals if you're growing anywhere other than a tropical or subtropical climate. That's because peppers can't handle freezing temperatures.

If you live in a colder climate and would like to keep your pepper plants alive for next year instead of starting again from seed, you can overwinter them indoors. The process of overwintering is pretty simple, but I've got one grower beware for you: You might feel like you're killing your plants instead of saving them. Don't worry. Pepper plants are super resilient.

Your pepper plants will spend the colder months hibernating inside and then push out new growth in the spring.

How to Keep Your Pepper Plant Alive Through Winter

I. Grow Under Cover

If you have a greenhouse, a cold frame, or a low tunnel, you may be able to keep your plants alive all winter long by protecting them from frost and keeping them nice and warm. Your plants can stay in active growing mode, which means you don't need to prune them heavily.

II. Bring Plants Indoors

Most gardeners in colder climates pot up their pepper plants and let them go dormant indoors. This means your plants won't really be growing; they're just going to exist in the soil until things warm up in the spring.

III. Leave Peppers in the Garden

If you live in a climate that doesn't get frost, you don't need to do a thing to your peppers. I kept my pepper plants in my raised beds in Houston, and they were still thriving 3 years later. Just prune your plants back a bit at the end of the season, and they'll come right back in the spring.

Do be prepared with frost cloth in case you get a cold snap. If you're facing a rare freeze, you might need to pot up your plants and move them into a garage for a night or two.

The Advantages of Overwintering Peppers

There are several advantages of taking this extra step:

I. Quicker Growth in the Spring

When you overwinter peppers, you preserve the root system of your plants. Established plants will push out new leaves and flowers much faster in the spring than a baby plant that has to develop new roots and stems entirely. This means you get a head start on the growing season.

II. More Peppers Overall

Since your plants are producing earlier, you'll likely get more peppers throughout the growing season than you would from a new plant.

III. More Time with Your Favorite Pepper Plant

Overwintering allows you to keep your favorite plant alive so you can continue to enjoy it next year.

When to Pot Up Your Pepper Plants

The best time to pot up your peppers is about 1 to 2 weeks before your first expected frost. You might want to push it a little further if your plant is still holding onto a lot of peppers. (In a pinch, you can do this the day before frost is in the forecast.)

If your nighttime temps are dropping into the 40s (about 7°C), you might want to go ahead and pot them up before the chilly weather stresses them out. Once you've had a freeze, it's probably too late since peppers aren't frost tolerant.

Supplies to Pot Up Pepper Plants

• clean pot, container, or grow bag (1-3 gallons in size)
• organic compost mixed with topsoil or potting soil
• pruners
• shovel or trowel
• hose with spray nozzle

I potted my peppers up into grow bags. I plan to set down a tray in front of the window in my garage and just line all my pepper plants up.

Step One: Harvest Peppers

Go ahead and harvest all the peppers on your plant using a clean pair of pruners. Toss peppers that haven't fully formed yet. They won't continue to grow or ripen off the plant. Bring peppers that have reached their mature size indoors. They'll continue to ripen on your countertop over the next couple of days.

Step Two: Dig Up the Pepper Plants

Dig around the base of the plant with your shovel or trowel and gently pull it up. Use your hands to loosen and shake off some of the soil from the root ball so you can keep as much soil in your garden as possible. Easy peasy, right?

Step Three: Rinse the Roots

If you choose to bring your pepper plants inside, I recommend rinsing the roots before potting your pepper plants up. You'll find some gardeners who say you can just pot them up and bring them indoors, but there are some things living in your soil that you might not want in your house.

I learned this lesson the hard way, and let me tell you, my teenage girls were not happy with me for bringing bugs indoors. Now I ensure there are no bugs on the plant before bringing it into my teenage-infested home.

Use your hose to remove all the soil from the roots. This is especially important if you have houseplants. You don't want the soil to bring in pests like fungus gnats, or you'll be dealing with them all winter.

Step Four: Trim the Roots

Your pepper plants don't need all those roots for the winter since they won't be making fruit for a while. Use your pruners to trim the tips of the roots so that they'll fit nicely in the new pot.

Step Five: Pot Up the Pepper Plant

Add a couple inches of soil to the bottom of your clean container. Water this soil with your hose and let it settle for a couple minutes. Place your newly trimmed root ball in the container, and while you hold the main stem with one hand, pour fresh (hopefully pest-free) compost around the base of your plant to cover all the roots. Make sure the stem feels nice and supported on all sides.

Water your plant to welcome it to its new home for the winter.

Note:

If you'll be growing your plant outdoors under cover in a cold frame or greenhouse, you can let it stay as is right now. Move it to shelter, and it's good to grow. Those of you who are bringing your plants indoors have a bit more work to do. Keep going to step six.

Step Six: Prune the Pepper Plant

Now that you've dealt with the bottom of the plant, you need to pay some attention to the top. That means more pruning, and this part might feel a little wrong. You're basically going to prune the plant down to almost nothing.

Here's the deal: When you're asleep, you're not responsible for carrying out important tasks like writing a novel or making lunch for your toddler, right? This pepper plant shouldn't feel responsible for doing the hard work of forming flowers and then fruit during these colder months. It needs to switch into dormant mode. We grant it permission to enjoy a long winter's nap by cutting off most of the branches.

Your goal with pruning the plant is to leave a Y shape with the main branches near the heart of the plant. I know it feels brutal. You might worry you're killing your plant. Worst case scenario, you do kill your plant. But guess what? If you left it out in the garden or yanked it up, it would die anyway, right?

I made the mistake of not pruning my first year in Chicago after moving from Houston, where I had seen the power of the perennial pepper plant. I tried to keep my favorite pepper plant growing and producing throughout the winter in a south-facing windowsill of my Chicago home. It didn't go well.

The plant felt the need to be productive because all its branches and leaves were still there. But it was pretty chilly next to the window. The plant died a slow death over the next couple of months. That's how I learned you have to give these plants permission to rest if you're bringing them indoors. Pruning them tells them you won't be asking anything of them for the time being.

Optional Step: Remove All the Leaves

If you're going to be bringing your potted up pepper plant into your house, you might want to take the additional step of removing all the leaves. Why? Because these leaves, like the soil, could be harboring pests that you don't want to bring into your home.

Plus, your plant doesn't need any leaves while it's in hibernation mode.

Your plant is going to look pretty unimpressive now. Remember, you're doing this for the promise of early peppers. Making your plant look uglier than Charlie Brown's Christmas tree now means you don't have to start with tiny seeds in February and cross your fingers you've got peppers by August. Your plants will be ready to produce leaves and flowers and fruit as soon as your last frost date has passed.

Set Your Pepper Plant in a Cool, Sheltered Spot to Overwinter

Move your potted plant to a spot that gets a little bit of sunlight (next to a windowsill is great). If you're doing a garage or shed, make sure the temperature won't drop below the 50s.

After a couple of weeks, your plants might begin regrowing leaves. This is a sign your experiment worked and the roots survived. You can keep these leaves or prune them. If your plant is pushing out a lot of new growth, you might consider moving it to a spot that's a little cooler (between 50°F and 60°F). Cooler temps help keep your plants dormant.

How Much Light Do Overwintered Pepper Plants Need?

Just a little bit of light is all that's needed since your plants are hibernating. Ambient light from a window is perfect. If you've got a windowless room, consider turning a grow light on for a couple hours each day.

How Often Should I Water My Pepper Plants Indoors?

Plants that aren't actively growing don't need that much water. I typically only need to water every 3 to 4 weeks, just to prevent the soil from drying up completely.

Should I Fertilize My Pepper Plant?

You don't need to provide extra nutrients beyond the compost since these plants are hibernating. You don't eat when you're sleeping, right?

What do I do in the spring?

As soon as your temps start warming up in the spring and you're past your last frost date, you can move your pepper plants back out to the garden. I recommend hardening them off first (or gradually getting them used to outdoor conditions once more). Simply set your pepper plants outdoors for more and more time each day until transplanting.

Enjoy Your Overwintered Pepper Plant

I hope your pepper plants survive the potting up process and come right back next year. View the first year you try this as an experiment to see if it works. If it does, you'll get to grow your peppers for several years and take your first sweet or spicy harvest months before your neighbors. It's the best.

I'd love to see your pepper plants' progress, so tag us on Instagram @GardenaryCo when you post.