:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-130785800-db867711b3624311bd20798792630154.jpg?ssl=1 "Should You Bring Pepper Plants Inside for the Winter? How to Properly Overwinter Your Plants")
Key Points
- Overwintering pepper plants indoors helps them survive winter and provides head start on spring harvest.
- Move plants to pots before frost, prune them, clean for pests, and keep them in a cool, dim spot with minimal watering.
- This method is especially useful if you want to skip the slow process of starting from seed in spring.
Peppers are tender, tropical, warm-season vegetables that tend to be grown as annuals unless you live in a region with year-round mild temperatures.
If you want to enjoy a harvest of these veggies as early on in the season as possible, read on to learn how to overwinter pepper plants rather than germinating from seeds again the following spring.
How to Overwinter Pepper Plants
If you plan on overwintering pepper plants, it’s easier to do this if you’re growing them in pots. You don’t have to dig the plant out or risk disturbing its roots, which can add to their stress.
- Dig up the plant (if necessary). When your pepper plant is in the ground, dig it out carefully to minimize root disturbance.
- Move to a pot. Gently shake off excess soil and transfer the plant to a pot with good drainage. Use a quality potting mix to fill in around the plant’s roots. Avoid topping up with garden soil, as it is less aerating and can harbor pests.
- Clean off the plant. Prune off any damaged or diseased foliage and inspect the plant and its roots for signs of pepper plant pests—an infestation can kill off an already stressed plant and you risk the bugs spreading to your houseplants.
- Prune in early dormancy. Once pepper plant leaves start turning yellow and dropping, it’s best to prune the top growth back heavily. This helps encourage dormancy and minimizes the risk of pest and disease problems.
Avoid fertilizing and water very sparingly during winter dormancy. It’s better for the soil to be on the drier side than soggy.
Once the danger of frost has passed in the spring and temperatures are reliably above 50°F, you can harden your plant off by putting it outside during the day and bringing it back in overnight. Acclimating it like this for a week or two can help the plant to readjust with minimal stress.
Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best-growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more!
When to Overwinter Pepper Plants
You want to overwinter your pepper plants before the first frosts arrive. It’s a good time to start the process when temperatures drop to between 45°F and 50°F. Temperatures below 40°F result in stress and chill injury. Consistent freezes will quickly kill off your pepper plant.
Why Overwinter Pepper Plants
If you want to appreciate your pepper plants as true perennials, you’ll need to overwinter them indoors, unless you live in a region that doesn’t experience winter frosts.
You won’t be able to harvest any peppers during this dormancy period. However, it will give you a head start on harvesting the following year. Starting pepper plants from seed isn’t difficult when the conditions are right, but you will have to wait a little longer to appreciate your first harvest.
You might also want to try overwintering your pepper plant if you have nurtured a rare variety that it’s hard to source seeds for.
Tips for Overwintering Pepper Plants
Overwintering pepper plants can be tricky, but these top tips can help you increase your chances of success. However, don’t panic if your pepper plant dies off when you bring it indoors—these plants are easy to grow from seed, so you can still cultivate a new crop for the next season.
- Pick the right pepper variety. Easy-to-grow types of pepper plants in the Capsicum annuum family might be more forgiving of overwintering indoors.
- Reduce light gradually. Consider moving your pepper plant to a shadier spot in your yard for around a week to minimize the risk of shock when you bring it into the lower light conditions indoors.
- Avoid sunny windowsills. You can select a sunny spot indoors, but your plant will require more maintenance than if you trigger dormancy. It will continue to try to produce new growth, and keeping it thriving could be trickier.
- Continue to check for pests. Regularly inspect your pepper plants for pests so you can promptly nip any problems in the bud. Also, avoid positioning near any indoor seed starting stations—you don’t want to risk bugs infiltrating delicate seedlings.