It is hard to grow indoors if you dont supplement the light (like if it is sitting near a window). You should be fine if you are providing enough light.

Ok. I have a similar question.
I do not have room and lighting to grow them normally.
How can I just keep them as semi dormant ? All I want is to save and regrow next spring.

This post was edited by seysonn on Sat, Oct 26, 13 at 8:44

There is a search function at the bottom of the page

Here is a link that might be useful: Ovewintering Chiles

Thanks Willard. Not much hope and help from there.

I could keep them as a houseplant. That is not a deal. I just want them to stay barely live.

I think I will try to do it in a cold frame. Our winters here is not that cold and rarely in the freezing range. So this way they get sun but won't freeze.

seysonn, search for radical root pruning

Peppers don't really go dormant. They don't need the cold to bear fruit, etc...

If you have HID lighting, you should be golden.

If you don't have HID lighting, expecting them to fruit over the Winter may leave you disappointed. It happens from time to time, but, usually the fruit is smaller and possibly not as good as Summer harvests.

I prune them back, tops and roots, and keep a few of them as house plants over the Winter. I have never pruned back as radically as what's referenced above, but, enough to fit in a 1/2 - 1 gal container.

Thanks everyone. I will do a search on "radical root pruning", because I'm not familiar with that.
tsheets - only a 1/2 - 1 gallon container? Mine are in 7 gallon pots. That makes me even more curious about this topic.

I will try "radical root pruning". This way you can manage them inside. By the time they grow roots and branches, hopefully you can plant them out (in bigger pot or in bed).

Way to go. Still I think it will beat growing from seeds.

In general I don't prune, though I have done it for the larger plants. My winter light is good too so although I'm not looking for production in the winter, I get a little and the plants don't go anywhere near dormant. I'd say prune the excess foliage largely to get the shape to something manageable, and root prune only to get them into smaller pots if that is necessary. Good luck.

Dennis

I don't see the point of overwintering a plant in a barely alive, radically pruned state. Wouldn't it be better to start with fresh vigorously growing new plants in the spring, rather than trying to bring a half-dead old plant back to life?

Due to lighting issues I am going to try both ways. Some are sitting in the south facing window of the house and the rest are headed for the basement for a once a month watering and almost zero sunlight. I have nothing to loose but time. Most of my potted plants bloomed late due to a rainy and cold summer so I pruned them back. Will let you all know how it worked out next year.

I am also going to try Root Pruning and reduce pot size. All I can loose is a little time. But then I might gain if the plants survive. I am just doing 3 plants, not a whole lot.

One of the big problems with overwintering peppers is pests. Aphids and spider mites can overwhelm them rapidly if you don't keep a close eye on them. I suspect this would be a problem with plants under lights as well as plants you are trying to force into dormancy. If you can treat them with a pesticide like neem a couple times before bringing them in that can help prevent problems.

Yes, you'll definitely want to be prepared for bugs. I keep insecticidal soap handy.

Loweride...with your lights, all you need to do is just let the plants go and do what they do best...grow and produce pods. Your plants look great. I would leave your plants alone especially the roots. If the plants get a little leggy, then knocking them back some is fine. You can always increase the size of the pot come spring but not now. The only reason people mention hibernating is that they have just enough light to keep the plant alive but not in active growth. You do.

Thanks everyone. I'm glad I can let them grow. I don't see the purpose of over-wintering if I'm just going to take a "stump" out next spring. I want to take some big-ol trees out. :)
The aphids are wicked and I have the soap spray right next to them. I get a little scared with those hot lights and the spray, though. If I do a big wash, I move the plants away first. I wish there was a natural predator I could put down there for them.
I took two cuttings last week to see if I could propagate. I think they took, because they still look awesome and it has been over a week. Maybe I'll pull back some soil tonight and see if they have roots. If they do, I'm going to do some more.

I wish everybody luck. But in my experience, overwintering has been a big disappointment. I have tried everything and they never seen to come out of it in the spring like they should. They produce earlier, but not near as much as the first year. Anymore i take them in loaded with peppers and flowers and they grow very slowly under flourescent lights i have fresh peppers till some time in febuary. Then i just pitch them when i need the lights for the seedlings. The radical pruning for me killed 8 out of 10 last year.