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How to tell whether a plant is dead, or dormant, if it drops its leaves (or doesn't)?

I have some young, late started, tomatos & peppers (in pots). The hope is to have them survive winter for planting out in spring. Some are in an unheated greenhouse and some in our cool utility room. The greenhouse ones are dropping their leaves following a couple of light frosts. The ones in the utility room still have their leaves but have stopped growing. I'm wondering how to tell when either set becomes a) dormant - what does that really mean? - or b) dead. I don't intend to bring the greenhouse plants into the house; if they die so be it.

In my experience, the peppers can survive temperatures down to 25°F<. Leaves will drop after it gets cold. They need some light while dormant, and some, especially green less hardened twiggy branches will die, as well as sometimes older semi woody branches as well. This will depend on if they get TOO dried out during the winter. You want to keep them barely moist while dormant.

In my area about 41° latitude, they resume Explosive multiple buddded leaf growth from major leaf nodes if given about 50-60°F warmth starting around January 20 as daylight hours lengthens.

You might be interested in this thread — Subject: Perennial hot peppers - natural seasonal lifecycle?


In my experience, tomatoes are a different story. Only tomato type that have consistently shown regrowth potential after apparently dying down — leaf loss, dying upper branches... are varieties that are considered extra early determinate. I have had some of these Start growing from the roots or lower-most nodes on the stem into a whole new plant ... sometimes more than once.