[viettaclark]

I was totally amazed that all my plants burst into leaf and today I noticed FLOWER BUDS on one red pepper!
They have been on a big SW facing window sill in the study with no close heat source and a dribble of water every week or so. I didn't repot or trim roots or anything!
They have had a little feed now though for being so clever!
Fruit in April/May d'you think? (Do I need to do the paintbrush if they're inside?)

[Kristen]

Most (all?) peppers require insect pollination - so paintbrush will help

[JayG]

Although Chillies are self-fertile they're not as good at pollinating themselves as tomatoes are.

I don't risk growing them outside where insects would do the job, so I usually just tap the plants from time to time to distribute the pollen in the flowers. An artist's paintbrush would work better though if you've got the time and patience!