Yes!
I am not sure why they don't tell you that you cannot do this? Probably a marketing stunt making you think you need to buy new seeds every year, but hey! What do I know? Some pepper plants can get up to 5 growing seasons out of them!
After the garden died off, we managed to save a few pepper plants. When I say a few... I think we have 6 full blown bell pepper plants and a tabasco plant. We made shelving to house these pepper plants, and we have had about 8-10 peppers over winter, just sitting in the windowsill and grow room.
A pepper plant shows as an annual in the United States grow zones. An annual dies off every year. Well then, what is a perennial? They come back every year. Think about your tulips and bulbs that bloom every spring. The difference is, the pepper plants cannot withstand our freezing temperatures, so you have to bring them in and overwinter them if you want them to produce the next year.
So, if you wanted to preserve your pepper for the next growing season, you would transplant it into a pot large enough for it's root system. Make sure you have room somewhere in your house with light to keep them on some sort of schedule. You can prune back into a V or let them continue growing. I will have to update this summer how they do on year 2 of growth!
I will have to say they made a nice addition to my Italian sausage and onion mix...
Notes:
Do your research on any exotic hot peppers, they might need more care. Jalapeños can be treated as the bell peppers.
If you can provide the same amount of sunlight and growing conditions as outdoors like we were kind of able to, you could most likely bring yours in like we did.
Peppers won't survive being stored in complete darkness, treat them as a houseplant.
We did NOT cut the plants back, we actually planted these later in the season so they were still blooming as fall was ending. In our case these worked out as houseplants, they will be transported back outside soon!
Stay tuned for some updates throughout 2025!
Fun Facts About Bell Peppers:
Scientific Name: Capsicum Annum
Colors: Red, Yellow, Orange, Green, White, Purple
Soil Type: Fertile Loam
Soil pH: 6.5-7
Native to Mexico and South America
Requires full sun (6-8 hours) even when overwintering
Self-pollinating, the male part of flower is called the anther which produces the plants pollen and the female part is called the stigma which takes in that pollen. Even though it is self-pollinating it is good to shake the plants or have a fan system near so the polled is swapped between the two parts of the plant.
If you or someone you know has advice on this, always feel free to share opinions and thoughts!
~DIY With Chelsea
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