I was late of the mark growing chillies this year but I have a plan to get a head start next year. Since most chillies are not annuals I plan to over winter my plants and hope that this will give them a massive head start next spring.
I have split my chilli plants in to two groups. The first I am leaving as is on the kitchen island. The second I have cut back the stem to 15~20cm above the pot surface. I also removed the foilage so as to stop the plants wasting unneccessay energy of winter.
All the plants are indoors on the kitchen island facing a window to maximise the amount of sunlight they receive. They will need a light watering every week or less so as stop them drying out.
How did the severely cut back chilli plants fare compared to the uncut?
ReplyDeleteI'm still in two minds whether to trim back or not.
M.
Both did very well. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of new growth on the severely cut back plants in January.
ReplyDeleteThis year I have a lot more chilli plants with half indoors and the rest outdoors under a cloche. I plan to cut back all my outdoor plants in the coming weeks as they are producing little fruit at the moment and the leaves are starting to discolour.
Most of my indoor plants are still fruiting and still have strong foliage. I am planning to leave them as is for as long as possible and to keep them indoors over the winter months. As soon as fruiting finishes and the foliage looses it colour I will more than likely cut back the indoor plants too.