Chillie plants

The two best producing chillie plants of mine cropped very well for maybe the last 6 weeks, but even though the summer still has plenty left in it, the last half dozen or more fruits only grew to about a half size of the early season ones. I have been picking them green and freezing most of them. Now it looks like the plants are about to give up for the season, pale leaves, dropping leaves etc. But the plants that produced at a slower rate are still thundering on healthily. I thought that because I was picking green fruit that all plants would continue until the colder weather, but am i wrong in thinking this? I don't know the variety name, but they are big fruits, 5 to 8 inches long, about an inch fat, and very hot.