Most people I've met don't know this, but pepper plants are perennials! They can live for years and years in warmer parts of the world. Highly sensitive to frost, the plant will die if allowed to freeze. This is why most people consider them annuals, needing to start from seed every spring. Last winter was my first year over wintering a pepper plant in my house, and the plant is still growing strong and producing tasty jalapenos though its second indoor winter! I now have 15 pepper plants, of 7 varieties, growing and leafing out again after their fall drop. My goal is to keep them alive so that they will be able to go back outside in the summer and have very fruitful harvests.
Lets the a look at some of my plant babies!
My kitchen table doubles as a plant table to home these three beauties. Jalapeno, Black Pearl, and Hungarian Hot Wax.
Flower on my 3 ft jalapeno pepper plant!
The 3ft pepper plant. This plant made a remarkable recovery, it was down to less than ten leaves when I brought it in. Happy and bushy now!
New growth on my 2 year old pepper plant. I've been battling aphids and may have gone over board on the neem oil and soap spray, so I'm happy to see this.
Alba Regia sweet pepper plant, seeds from
Sweet pepper, on this I cut down the top growth and left two big leaves per stalk, all the little leaves are new growth!
Mixed pepper pot, two types of sweets and a mystery hot. Another great reason to over winter your pepper plants, if there isn't enough time to produce fruit it'll definitely produce the next summer!
Wonderfully healthy Black Pearl hot pepper plant, happily growing in a South facing window.
Pretty purple flower on the Black Pearl
I hope these lovelies make it. I have them growing in three areas of my home, by two windows and in the basement. The basement peppers have warmth from our woodstove and a small grow light. For the most part they're doing okay! The aphids are a hassle, any suggestions out there for tried and true aphid control?
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you enjoyed my post today :)