[JayG]

How do you manage to keep your plans overwintered JayG? Whatever I seem to do they just die.

When it comes to overwintering chillies, I'm a disciple of the late, great, John Cushnie ( Gardeners Question Time). I quote " Don't bother messing about, throw them away and grow new ones".

3 years is the maximum I've kept cayennes, not because they died on me but it seems to be a good idea to start from scratch before they start to decline, especially, as I mentioned earlier, I don't even re-pot them.

They get quite a severe haircut in autumn, and although they slow down in winter, they never completely stop growing or producing fruit. 24/7/365 on the same 'sunny' windowsill - they would almost certainly not overwinter successfully even in a greenhouse, and it could well be that cayennes are considerably more robust than many other varieties.

[Headgardener22]

When it comes to overwintering chillies, I'm a disciple of the late, great, John Cushnie ( Gardeners Question Time). I quote " Don't bother messing about, throw them away and grow new ones".

That may be so but I would have thought that they would grow stronger in second and third years.

I've got some physalis which is into its fourth year (I know its not the same as a pepper) but last year it cropped several weeks earlier and much heavier than an equivalent plants grown from seed.