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TegwynTwmffat
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How to prune and winterize hot chilli peppers

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Super hot chilli plants such as the 'Carolina Reaper' and 'Bhut Jolokia' need to be pruned every now and again and more specifically, pruned for surviving the Winter in temperate climates such as in the UK.

My plants were sown from seed at the beginning of April this year in a propagation box and potted on into the glasshouse where they thrived and even produced a few fruit, which is very good going in the first year. The 'Super Hots' are generally perennials, which means that they will keep growing and producing fruit for a number of years.

All hot chilli peppers originally came from the deepest darkest depths of the Amazon from where they spread and expanded in diversity through central America, the Caribbean and on to India.The species that I grow are essentially 'Capsicum chinense' but the true lineage is slightly more complicated than this. For example, the Bhut Jolokia ভোট-জলকীয়া), is an interspecies hybrid of C. chinense and C. frutescens genes. The Carolina Reaper was then created by crossing this plant with the Red Habanero.

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I do cut back my peppers to renew them. I don't live in a cold place but they do better in at least a 4 gallon pot. They have a large root system and don't like to be crowded.

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TegwynTwmffat
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Yes, my plants will be potted on in the spring and kept in the glasshouse where, hopefully, they will produce more fruit next year.

PS. There is a video showing the pruning here: https://youtu.be/Zhl7IKGwi_k



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