Over wintering pepper plant

[carly]

I want to overwinter my sweet bell pepper plants. Do I need to trim it back ?

[Thelma Sanders]

A bit of advice here
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ml#post1470389

[Zelenina]

Most people do trim them back. Some do it more drastically than others, and some people even prune the roots and put them in smaller pots. You can find various videos about it on YouTube. I'm not sure how necessary any of it is. I think it depends partly on how you intend to keep them. If they will be in a place that'll get cool enough for them to go dormant (although it mustn't get freezing cold) then cutting back is probably a good thing. If you are going to keep them in a warmer place as house plants, then maybe not so good because they will carry on growing, but they might need a bit of trim if they get too straggly. .

Bell peppers are in the Capsicum annuum species and I think they are named that for a reason, because they have tendencies to be annual plants and will often die over winter however you treat them. But I have managed in keeping some of them alive, so it's worth trying, but don't be too upset if you don't succeed.

It seems to work better if they are small plants that haven't fruited yet, and chillies seem to be easier than big sweet peppers. The other species C. baccatum and C. chinense have more perennial tendencies and overwinter much more easily in my experience, and produce much better in their second or even third year, whereas I've found the C. annuums do just as well or better sown freshly each year.