Late chillies

[More basil]

Hello,

Some of my chilli plants had their flower bud and top leaves eaten while I was away on holiday. They have only just recovered and finally look magnificent with lots of flowers. It is lovely and warm at the moment but I am acutely aware that we are coming up to the end of September and that the weather may turn.

Does anyone have any ideas for how to speed things along? Should I pinch out some of the flowers/branches and water them less to get them to concentrate on producing at least some fruit?

Also, last year I brought some plants inside but alas, also swarms of black flies which rather tested mine and Mr Basil's patience. Does anyone have any ideas about how I can limit insects in plants that go inside?

The chillies in question are Rocotillo, a mild hab type and Aji Lemon

Thanks!

[Scarlet]

My aji lemons come in over the winter, they will ripen up on an indoor windowsill and possibly overwinter. They are one of the easiest (in my experience) to overwinter. I've not grown rocotillo but it may be similar to rocoto manzano that I often grow. They do well inside. Most chillies are a short lived perennial so if you give them the right conditions they should fruit up til Christmas, reduce watering until early spring when you see signs of new growth.

If you haven't got the room to keep them, take off a load of flowers. Keep the ones that are further ahead, but bring them indoors when we are forecast cooler temps.

[More basil]

Thank you, that's encouraging. Chillies at Christmas...Perhaps one of them can double up as a Christmas tree with chilli 'baubles'!

[PMW]

And 'fairy lights' chillies would be perfect for that.

I stuck mine in the shed and pretty much left it alone last winter and was picking chillies into February. It was a bit slow to get going again this summer, but covered in multi-coloured chillies again now.

Might not be so lucky again this winter with the weather, but this is how it looked on the 23rd Jan this year

[Philthy]

Assuming your plants are undercover, you want to maximise light, warmth, and food: remove any shade cloth / paint on the glass, close any vents / windows at night to eliminate drafts and minimise temperature fluctuations between day and night, and feed the plants twice a week with a high potash feed (any tomato food is fine).
At this stage I wouldn't worry too much about over / underwatering.

If you can't provide these conditions outside, bringing them indoors is a better idea. Trim off the straggly growth to concentrate development of the best fruit specimens. Either way chillies harvested green should still ripen no problem on a window ledge.

Aji Lemon (aka Lemon Drop / hot Lemon) tolerates cool conditions fairly well, plus as Scarlet says it's one of the best choices for overwintering. I've just taken a load of developed but still green chillies off my 4 year old Hot Lemon (shrub I guess you'd call it), and given it a trim. The chillies have been strung up in the window for a week, and are turning nicely. In the meantime, the plant is sending out new shoots, so I'm hoping I can keep it fruiting for a few more weeks yet.

[More basil]

Thank you, that is good advice. I will also try to follow your and Scarlet's idea and try to over winter them- 4 years, that must be quite a beast! Do you trim the plants right back at the end of they year or leave some branches?

[Philthy]

I trim them back by at least 50%, or more if it's a big plant. Usually on or close to the day I decide to bring the keepers indoors. Some people trim the branches right back, to within a couple of inches of the main stem. I prefer to maintain the structure and shape, particularly if the plant is very healthy, and also there will invariably be some dieback during the winter that'll require cutting off anyway.
Some people don't trim their plants at all. I don't think theres a right and wrong to it.
The main thing to be careful of is watering; the compost should be the dry side of moist, if that makes sense. But not bone dry.

This is my 4 year old Hot Lemon plant (at the back). I've trimmed it since this picture was taken. I've harvested easily two mixing bowls worth of chillies off it this year already, with scope for another two at least.

[Scarlet]

That looks fantastic Philthy!

[More basil]

That is an absolute beauty Philty! I do think it's one of the tastiest and most versatile chillies which is probably lucky giving your harvest. Right, off to give a pep talk to my plants, they've got some growing to do! Dry side of moist makes perfect sense, thank you.

[Philthy]

Dry side of moist - for when your plants are dormant and inside during winter.
Water them as much as you deem fit right now, as long as they're not saturated / sitting in water. To be honest the twice weekly feed should be ample water at this time of year.
Just wanted to be clear on that.

Thanks for the comment.
Thank you, Scarlet.

[Scarlet]

This is my 4 year old Hot Lemon plant (at the back).]

You've got to enter that in the vines best container category!

[Scarlet]

Philthy, how do you attach those bamboo canes to the pot?

[Philthy]

I worked out how many canes I needed to achieve what I want (five on this occasion), then equally spaced them around the container, marking the lip at the top with where I wanted them to be positioned, and then drilled a small hole at each position.
I used stout canes that are roughly the thickness of the gap between the container and the saucer it sits in, and then jammed the ends of the canes into that gap, so ensuring a snug fit.
I secured the canes further up by attaching to the top of the container using a plastic cable tie.

The saucer is an integral part of the process. It's all very sturdy

[snakeshack]

Impressed, nice neat simple solution


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