[Headgardener22]

I've just chucked out last years peppers (again).

Has anybody successfully overwintered peppers and how much heat do they need?

I put them in an unheated greenhouse wrapped in fleece and bubblewrap but to no avail. I've tried them in the Garage (which is part of the house so is frost free). Am I going to have to keep them in the house?

The physalis work just fine left on their own in an unheated greenhouse but peppers I can't work out.

[JayG]

Physalis only needs protecting from frost, peppers need to be kept at a minimum of around 10C (they won't stand any frost, and get progressively more resentful the more, and longer, the temperature drops below that figure.)

I've not tried overwintering peppers, but my cayenne chilli peppers are now in their 4th year, having been grown on a sunny bedroom windowsill since they were first sown. (Not broken the news yet that they are shortly to be replaced - still willing but rather untidy-looking now!  )

[Lardman]

I've had no problems overwintering them in the house and last years were doing fine on the patio until we had a couple of really cold (-4) nights in Feb, you could tell next morning they'd had it. Are you cutting them back hard (really hard) or just leaving them as they are at the end of the season?

[Headgardener22]

Hi Lardman: The answer is that I've tried both and none have survived. So JayG's comment about 10C seems to be the point. Need to find somewhere with a decent minimum temperature. 

[snow white]

overwintered on my kitchen window sill perfectly.  will let you know if I get a good crop off of  it.

[Lardman]

10C will keep them alive and growing, but you should be able to keep them alive at lower than that.  I've not had anything worth keeping for a few years but I used to just them down to a single 12" stem and trim the roots back so they would fit in a 6" pot with a bit of fresh compost.

which varieties are you trying to overwinter?

[Headgardener22]

which varieties are you trying to overwinter?

Mainly chillies: Cayenne; Jalapeno; Anaheim; etc. but also: Sweet Banana; Californian Wonder; Corno di Torro; etc..

I get a reasonable crop from plants sown in January but I felt I ought to be able to get more if they were overwintered.

I like the idea of cutting them back to fit into smaller pots, maybe that will prevent my BH from getting cross if I keep them indoors 

[mumofstig]

I regularly overwinter Doux d'Espagne (similar to Corno di Torro) sweet peppers. They live in front of the window in the spare bedroom - where the rad is set to minimum. They stay in the smaller size of flower buckets, until potted on in Spring.
 
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=87600.msg1050547#msg1050547

They certainly start to fruit earlier 

[Annen]

I overwintered 2 sweet peppers last year and I had a crop of peppers much earlier than if I had started a new plant.  But that was it, there was no more. Maybe if I had fed them more they might have made some more.

The previous autumn I cut the plants back, top and rootball, and planted in fresh compost in a smaller pot. They sat on a windowsill all winter.  I lost one of the 3 plants. I was supposed to repot them into bigger pots in the spring but they had peppers on before I got around to it.

[Headgardener22]

Thanks folks. Obviously I'm going to try again with tweaks.