When I prune back (to pot down and bring in for the Winter), I leave at least a few leaves/branches. I have never gone all the way to a bare stem. At this point, I'd wait for some new growth before cutting back any more. As far as thicker stem, that comes with time. If you trim the top, it will cause it to bush out more, not grow taller. Trimming the lower branches would effectively lengthen the stem.

Yep, what tsheets says. It would be tough to make it grow taller although it probably will grow taller a very slight amount each year just part of regular growth. But the problem with peppers is that they normally make a "V" branch and half the plant grows one direction and half the other. The trunk doesn't normally continue straight up from that point and the breaks into another V at some point. You dont get long trunks that grow basically straight up with branches coming out from it along the way.. If it did, then you could prune lower branches making the trunk taller and forcing growth upward.

Here is a photo of my two Hot Hungarian Wax Peppers that I cut back last fall. See how they grow to "V" in succession. Each branch of the V itself ends in a "V". If you try to prune for height, you will get a zig zag trunk. As far as I know, most varieties grow this way.

You can prune whatever you want........it's hard to kill a chile

Yes, you can prune a chili to the extreme, and it might grow back stronger than ever. But, when you prune so drastically, there is also an increased risk of it not making it. So, while you *can* prune it that much, I wouldn't *recommend* it.

Yes, I would always leave a few leaves and probably not crop the root ball quite that much. Between the stress of pruning and transplanting, you do run a fair risk of killing it. You can always continue trimming it throughout the winter.
Bruce

Pruned lots of chiles, never killed one. It's hard to kill a chile plant.

Tepin:

Those Tepin pics are what got me over the fear of pruning and over-wintering a few years back.

But, I have killed plants before. Pruned them way back, and some grew back, others never came back. So, I am a little more careful now and leave a few leafy branches.

One way to create a thicker stalk is to bend it slightly until you get a kink with out snapping it open, then stake it back up so the branch is straight again. The stalk will thicken up as it repairs itself. A strong fan can also help with a sturdier stalk. Neither of which I would do after a severe pruning. Not sure you can force a plant taller then it's genetics except by starving it of light and having it stretch, but I don't think that would do much for yield. Also cutting ALL leaves off is excessive. I've never done that, but I would think a few leaves are needed to get the plant up and running. Peppers may be natively a perennial, but they don't have storage organs such as tubers or bulbs. They are perennial by keeping foliage all year.

There should still be a supply of nutrients in the stem. Long as they left a fair bit of that it should be able to start producing new leaves again. Peppers are really hard to kill after they get going, after all.

Yes, Greenman28 tells his story of a pepper plant left in a container in his dark garage all winter where the temps got below freezing several times. There were no leaves on it and the above ground part was basically dead. But after getting it back out in the warms spring sun, it fired back up. It was just dormant and like Capoman said was just living off it's root system all winter. Josh had said that as long as the root system doesn't freeze, they it should come back.
Bruce

Interesting how tough they can be. I still don't think it's the best method of overwintering a pepper though. I've got one that I left a few small leaves on and it stayed healthy in a window without growing... until recently. First signs it's picking up is the leaves are getting larger.

Thanks for all the advice guys, it has been helpful. i decided to prune it because leaf damage was pretty bad and extensive due to winter, my pepper plant look beaten up.

Wow Williard3, I love your pepper plant!! Looks amazing!!

Later, I will be posting pictures of my pruning, I think it went well..

Capoman, Josh also says that he never had an aphid or spider mite issue with that plant all winter long.
:)

Bruce

My Cayanne Pruned.

Two days later, I could see leaves coming out.

Pruned or defoliated. Haha, I like that. I bet you will bet that thing to be pretty tall cutting him back the way you did. Keep us up to date and let us know how this thing does.

Is this a plant that you just now pruned? Must be nice to grow year round.
Bruce

Bruce, too funny! It would be interesting to compare overwintered peppers that were defoliated against ones that had some foliage left on them. Has Josh done this? I've usually found that early growth results in seedlings and cuttings will give a good indicator of later health and vigor. I suspect that the slower start a defoliated plant would likely have against one that has healthy leaves all winter would affect the long term vigor of the plant. Sounds like an experiment for next winter. I'm always up for a good experiment.

willard3--what do you have that pepper plant in? looks great!

I grow in hydro.

My thoughts are this. And this is only my opinion. If you leave a few leaves on, the leaves the plant keep the plant in a positive energy state. The few leaves left can still manufacture and store food to kickstart other growth. If a plant is totally defoliated, then it will have much more reliance on stored energy in the stems and roots. One example is the vitamin B1 stored in leaves (that I think is stored nowhere else) that is sent down to the roots to accelerate their growth. Then there is also the possibility of foliar feeding to help get started. Does this sound reasonable? Also, the transpiration of the leaves is required to draw water and nutrients from the soil. Without leaves, the plant would definitely have to go backward, using up precious reserves creating a negative energy state, before it moves forward again. I can only see that as a setback in comparison.

I have no photographic evidence of this, but I'll share my experience anyway! :)

I had a jalapeno plant that was maybe 6 inches tall, with few healthy leaves. Then maybe three weeks ago, damn thrips took to the new leaves! The small leaves would curl up and wouldn't grow big anymore--I tried spraying them with peppermint oil+ water, then tried dishwashing soap solution. I ended up burning the leaves! I got so frustrated, I actually topped the plant off! It was maybe 2.5 months old. So anyway, I only left maybe 4" of "stem" in the pot. I was so tempted to uproot it, but left it in the pot and forgot about it. Only this week did I notice the pot again--and lo and behold, it now has new healthy branches, with healthy, green leaves! Woot!!!

Chop it right before the first deviation(stub)
It will grow just fine from there

I have topped my thai and habinero plants roughly a month ago and they tripled in size and width. Just last week i decided to lollipop my plants entire foilage and have already seen a big difference, the nodes have all sprouted and flowered (I am pretty much using the same method that you would use when growing marijuana.)

Instead of the eneregy concentrating on the foilage and the bottom half of the plant it has redirected to the parts that need it most. From what i see this is a very effective way to shift the nutrients to the flowers, allow more sunlight, and produce more vegetation.

What do you mean by "lollipop" the foliage? I'm not familiar with that term, but do have a couple plants I am considering topping (never done this before)

that means pruning the foliage into a ball like shape much like a tree.

Ohhhh.... Ok, that makes more sense now, thx!

Ahhh... Ok! I never knew the actual term for it, but that's basically what I do to my Phoenix palm when it starts to look a bit unruly & overly bushy!

So on peppers, basically remove all of the lower leaves & branches beginning at the base, working up the main stalk a few inches (or more for bigger plants), and then begin rounding all the foliage to make it look tree-ish? Is that what you're saying?

Does this work better than just topping the plant? Has anyone else other than ckellison02 tried this method?

So on peppers, basically remove all of the lower leaves & branches beginning at the base,

I think the generally accepted term topping, when it comes to pepper plants, is to cut the top of the plant off at the first major "fork" to promote more "branching" and thereby "nodes" for pepper flowers to grow. Do not cut anything until we've cleared this up with you.

Hey just got a snack pepper plant.. Should i remove flowers and 2 peppers to promote better growth?

If you are concerned about growth, then probably snip the pods. Pod growth takes up a lot of the plant energy. Buds and blooms, not so much.

When can the plant go outside in your area? How big is it now?

Good luck.

Oh. sorry, I see how big the plant is now. I was viewing on my phone before and the photos were cropped. I guess I would snip those pods and eat them. Then get them outside for the summer and keep snipping new pods for a week or two after you get them out and then let them have at it. It isn't going to make a huge difference either way, but I would probably snip those pods.

Thanks for answering me back. I will snip the pods. It is close to summer now. Im in nova scotia canada. Its been raining for a week now.. I think the sun is suppose to come back soon hahahaha. Should i snip the pods of right at the main stem???or leave 1/4 inch? Thanks for input

Just snip them mid stem. If you try to cut them or pull them off at the branch, you could damage the branch. The extra stem will just dry up and die off any way.