Chilli Plants

[Cummings]

Hi

Long time reader, first time poster...

I have a few chilli plants in my plastic greenhouse. They haven't given me any chillies though, but they have flowers on. They all look nice and healthy - what should I do with them? Will they all die when it gets colder??

Thanks

Michael

[weekendwellies]

Hiya Cummings.
I cant help with the chillies query but congratulations on taking the plunge and joining in. Welcome.

[stella]

Hi and welcome

[danmon_81]

you wont get anything this year...too late...you may do well over wintering them for next year....they will die left outside.

[Jeanied]

If your greenhouse is unheated it may be better to give your plants a good trim and treat them like pot plants over winter on a windowsill.

[nomis]

Did you not allow insects (hoverflys + bees etc) access to the plants...or attempt to pollinate them manually with cotton bud or fine paint brush?

[Jeanied]

Mine seemed to pollinate themselves on the bathroom windowsill last winter, Nomis - till I read about using a brush/ cotton bud on here. So I tried that too. I had chilli flowers of and on all winter, followed by chillis.

[HotStuff]

Hi

Long time reader, first time poster...

I have a few chilli plants in my plastic greenhouse. They haven't given me any chillies though, but they have flowers on. They all look nice and healthy - what should I do with them? Will they all die when it gets colder??

Thanks

Michael

Welcome to the Vine Cummings

In their native climate Chilli plants are perennials, but that's considerably warmer than we get so a lot of people grow them as annuals in this country.

However, I have some Chilli plants that are 3 years old and still producing and a lot of the Chilli heads on here have similar stories.

If you do a search you'll find several threads on overwintering Chillies, here's one to start you off:

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...nts_10701.html

[Cummings]

Thanks for the replies folks!!

The plants were outside while the weather allowed. So no, no cotton buds (i didn't know about that!)

What does 'overwintering' mean? I've looked online, but it makes no sense.

PS - I did pollinate my corn on the cobs, and got some out of it, so maybe there's hope after all!

Michael

[Caro]

Overwintering just means keeping them going over the winter, so that they can burst into life next spring, rather than binning them. With chillies, as said above though, they'll need to come indoors to warmer temperatures.

[northepaul]

Overwintering means bringing them into a warmer area, preferably your house, and then (fingers crossed) you might be get a head start on them producing next year.

[nomis]

I am overwintering at least 1 of each of my chilli species - the best (ones that produced the most fruit) from Bhut Jalokia, Choc Habs and Scotch Bonnets.

One of the habs produced well over 50 fruit!

They can live on warm upstairs window ledges as I've no house plants on those.

The jalapenos and twilights can all go in the bin though, I was not overly impressed with them. Twilights look nice but are mostly seeds with only small thin skin.

[cupcake]

I'm abit perplexed about overwintering mine again. The chocolate hab only produced tiny fruits and the bhut and fatalli haven't even flowered! I seem to get a better crop from seed. I have loads of cayenne, lemon drop and scotch habs from seeds sown in March.

[danmon_81]

^^^Did you change the compost? New nutrients

[maytreefrannie]

Overwintering chillies

I've been given two tired-looking chilli plants yesterday by my daughter. She's had them on a windowsill (8 plants) and has been picking and cooking small red chillies all winter. She told me I could choose some to take home - I deliberately took the most weary looking and also one that is a little more with-it looking (the latter has a couple of tiny green chillies on it)

Is there anything I can do to keep them going and prepare them for spring/summer growth and production?

BTW, my daughter is not an expert gardener. She just left them on the windowsill and occasionally watered them.