Over-wintered chillies - regrowth already. Prune again?

[sandspider]

Hi all

As the title says - two of the chilli plants I pruned back hard to over winter are already growing new leaves. (Small on one plant, but getting quite big on the other). Should I prune off this new growth too, or leave it? I assume the former, as the new growth will be wasting the plant's resources, but if it's still warm enough for them to grow new leaves, perhaps I should leave it...? (See what I did there?! :s)

(The plants are inside on a windowsill by a radiator, but it does get cold during the day and night still when the heating is off...)

Thanks.

[Fleurisa]

I cut mine back hard and they are re growing and flowering. I just leave them to grow, mine are on a window ledge too. If the leaves are getting sunlight and are green, they will be photosynthesising and producing food for the plant.

[rustylady]

Can you put them somewhere cooler? Maybe a bathroom windowsill?

[sandspider]

They're already on a bathroom windowsill! Any my house isn't too warm at the best of times...

The leaves are getting some light, though not a huge amount. I'm actually quite surprised at how lush and green they're looking!

I might prune if anything starts to flower, but I suppose if it's warm and light enough for leaves to flourish, the plant will benefit from having them?

[chilli_grower]

I also trimmed mine back, but they are producing lots of new growth and are flowering.

I will be leaving mine alone....

[Scarlet]

Hmm, I don't cut mine back at all. The Habaneros that are in the house are all still flowering and setting fruit.

[Scarlet]

Sorry! On my phone and you can't add a pic after you've posted ... Here's a pic

[sandspider]

Thanks all.

I might as well let mine grow, then! Since they've used up their energy to make new leaves they might as well get some energy back from them.

[horticultural_hobbit]

Gave this thing a brutal hair cut; didn't plan to over winter the purple chillies. But this creature has other ideas.


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[Two_Sheds]

the new growth will be wasting the plant's resources,

no, because leaves feed the plant so it's not doing any harm to the plant. However, the tender new leaves are going to be very susceptible to the cold, and might blacken.
Ideally, the plant needs to be cool (not cold) and in the light. Mine are on a south or east facing windowsill with no radiator. West would also be OK, but north is too dark

[Philthy]

Having ascertained which plants I'm keeping for the following year (hopefully ), I tend to prune the larger plants several times between autumn and spring; initially to remove the bulk of the foliage and any remaining fruits, then again prior to bringing them inside when it starts getting properly cold, to get the shape I want for next year. Come January, any plants destined to fail will usually have done so. For those remaining, a further trim is often necessary to remove inevitable die-back and weak stems, but after that they should be fine until April.

I'll aim to leave a few leaves on each plant; these will invariably wither and drop off when the plant is done with them. A cool environment helps maintain plant dormancy. Too warm and the plant may re-shoot prematurely. It's unlikely given the time of year that this new growth will develop into much. More likely it'll just shrivel up. You won't be able to make lasting pruning cuts to these new shoots either as they're too tender; personnally I'd just leave them and perhaps lower the room temperature a tad or water more sparingly. Its been my experience that a period of rest (dormant plant just ticking over), is very helpful to ensure a strong performance the following year.