How long do chilli pepper plants last?

[Leeds_lad]

Was watching friday's gardeners world and he mentioned they keep on flowering and fruiting even now. How long can they last for before they are completely tired out?

[Nordmead]

How long can they last for before they are completely tired out?

there are some people on chilli forums that have their plants in their 5th or 6th year (or even more), so quite a while

[Florence Fennel]

I'm overwintering a few for the first time. I'm going to take them into the office and put them on the warm windowsill.

[Mizjazzi]

Hi there,
There is a person who turns them into Bonzai. Cannot give you the link due to a computer crash, but i think you might find it if you google 'bonzai chilli master'
They look amazing!

Mizjazzi

[Two_Sheds]

They can keep going over winter, but will lose their leaves. If the plant survives, more leaves will come in the spring. I haven't found that these plants do any better than new spring-sown seed though

[DGoulston]

I am over wintering mine in our spare room for the first time, our flat is very warm (only used the heaters 7 days last year) and the spare room is the warmest room.

Mine are still producing flowers (although not many) but still lots of chilli's on my Cayenne's about 15-30 each plant.

so does not look like it is going to stop anytime soon.

some people on here have said their plants kept producing until Feb. so we shall see.

Darren.

[sewer rat]

Until they are done !
I have tried overwintering them in my tunnel covered with fleece but as it can get pretty cold up here, they died, so now I don't bother.
I agree with TS that fresh sown plants probably do just as well - I grow anywhere from 60 to 120 chilli plants each year from seed and always have huge crops - am still picking red Cayennes at the moment, but I suppose once the frosts hit (proper hard frosts that is, that'll be it for another year,

[salome2001]

I have a "patio chilli" and an Antoni Romani plant in my Octogrow still going strong outside though no mature fruit yet (!), can i take these into the conservatory and see if they survive??

[Kaiya]

We've had one on our kitchen windowsill since 2010. It's turned variegated the last month or so - both leaves and fruit (stripy chillis!). It's lost it's lower leaves and looks like it's trying to be a standard so I may try repotting it to see if it has a new lease of life next year. Still actively fruiting though. Tenacious little plants.

Can you take cuttings from chillis? I have one in my mini greenhouse that's a lovely plant, but it's in a grow bag so can't come in. I could try potting it up but that will probably upset the roots. Or perhaps he's a lost cause/

[Thelma Sanders]

I have a "patio chilli" and an Antoni Romani plant in my Octogrow still going strong outside though no mature fruit yet (!), can i take these into the conservatory and see if they survive??

It's well worth a try

[chilliking]

this looks like my kind of thread ;-)

if you plants are under glass and get as much sun as possible then they may just keep ripening so long as the temps don't drop too much in the next few weeks.

that said i'm getting ready to over winter my chillies.it's best done to slow growing varieties such as naga, bhut jolokia, habaneros etc. for quicker varieties (cayenne, jalapeno, Apache etc)

If you want to know more about over wintering chilies there are quite a few articles on my blog here: Overwintering | The Chilli King

good luck!

[Kaiya]

Great info on your blog! I'll treat my indoor chilli to a new pot and maybe a mild prune and heavily prune and pot my outdoor chillis. I wonder if it works for sweet pepper plants as well? I have two that are 4 inches tall and did nothing all year, but obviously will die when the temp drops. Although if they did nothing this year maybe they aren't worth keeping. Or maybe they'll do better indoors (I have a plastic mini greenhouse only, not a proper one). So many possibilities!

[Nordmead]

there's a more in depth guide to over wintering here :over wintering chile pepper plants

[Newton]

I brought in my habanero about 2 weeks ago. The green habs are turning orange and it has started flowering again!

I was expecting to prune it hard and still expect to soon...but for now I will keep harvesting. It was sown 5 feb 2011.

[Zenithtb]

I expect mine to live foreverrrrrrrrrrrr! Mwa-ha-ha-haaaaaaaaaaaa!

Or did you only expect UK-based responses?