They'll branch on their own, Flora. As long as they have enough heat they will be relatively trouble-free. Yum!

Dan

If you let the first cluster of blossoms set fruit you will have earlier fruit. If you pinch out the first cluster you will have fruit slightly later but more of it in the long run. Decide based on how long your season is or do both methods on different plants so you can compare. And do stake your plants. There is nothing more heartbreaking then coming out to find a large branch, or the entire plant, broken off by the weight of the peppers.
Kathy (in short season Minnesota)

I've heard of pinching off the first flowers to make the plant stronger, and I've heard of pinching suckers, but I've honestly never heard of pinching back the terminal bud to make the plant more bushy. That's not to say it's a bad idea though... It might be worth an experiment! Could be worthwhile if your plants are getting excessively leggy I suppose.

Generally speaking though, it's not necessary. They will branch of their own accord.

-Diggity

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Imperative

O.K. Thanks folks. I will leave them alone.
"....broken off by the weight of the peppers." If only, Kathy! I don't really know how long my pepper season is because I don't think we really have one at all, at least not an outdoor one. We probably have a much longer no frost season than you (lowest annual average is about 34f) but much shorter high temp season, such as it is.

"As long as they have enough heat ..." That's the thing, Dan. My average highest annual temp is 71f. So that's why they're probably going to have to stay under glass. I have to grow my basil there too.

Diggity - they are not at all leggy because they are growing in natural light in my glazed porch. So they don't need shortening. I just wondered if I should pinch them in the same way one pinches various annuals to get bushier specimens.

Let's hope I have more luck than when I tried okra. 6 inches high and not a single flowers.

Thanks again, Flora.

Flora, I read that seminole pumpkin will produce mature fruits in parts of the UK. If that is true one would think that some of the short season peppers would produce, outdoors. Obviously they have to be started indoors well ahead of the warm weather as you are doing.

I presume you will bed them in black plastic or fabric? That makes a big difference.

No pruning is really necessary with peppers in general. I would strongly recommend staking or caging though. The wimpy so called tomato cages are great for pepper plants.

Update on the UK pepper experiment. So far so good. I have transplanted several into their final containers (unpinched on your advice) at about 5 inches tall. All seem happy at the moment. I'm also trying for the first time Ground Cherries, Physalis, but they're still in their modules and a squash, 'Crown Prince', which I planted out under a cloche last week. To be continued ...

Ahhhh growing peppers was my first gardening love. Memories....

You for got one thing poor flora will now be teased for not pinching her peppers by other supposed more experienced/ I mean stupid British gardeners. Since the Victorians the British want to pitch,prune and sucker ever vegetable plant known to man. They are obsessed with it.
But that god flora has found a place that where such pruning is such old school outdated bs. flora be where pruning is not required just care that the old crew on the allotment does not prune you plant while you are not looking.

Firstly, ribsyhuggins - I have no idea what you are talking about nor where you get your bizarre ideas from. I see your birthday is April 1st so maybe that explains it.

But never mind ... on to the peppers.

It is now 3 weeks since I planted the peppers into their containers and they have barely moved. Maybe 2 inches taller. They are still under glass as it is nowhere near warm enough outside and may never be. My question is - are peppers always slow to get moving?

The squash Crown Prince is doing nicely outside and the ground cherries are hardened off and ready to be planted out. So far, fingers crossed, none of my experiments has actually died.

Wish me luck. Flora.

Flora:

Yes, peppers are generally late season performers, even here in Kansas, in the Great American desert. Mine do not mature and turn final color until September or October, or even really grow much until mid-summer.

If they work at all for you "over there", unless they are a different type than I grow, I would imagine they would need to grow through the hottest part of your year. If they thrive, though, you can harvest green peppers when they appear, apparently without harming the total harvest.

Flora,

I have a very short growing season-90 days if I'm lucky, but our temps get much hotter than by you.

I put my peppers in wall o waters supported by the smaller tomato cage. After all danger of frost (sometime in June) I remove the wall o water and replace it with a light row cover material wrapped around the cage to retain heat, but mostly to protect it from our horrible, drying winds.

Our summer highs can reach 100+f, but can cool off to the 40/50s at night. The tomatoes seem to deal with the temps much better than the peppers.

This may not be an option for you. But I'll always cover them because I think the plants are protected enough to spend energy on making peppers instead of just trying to survive in my harsh environment.

Peppers are very slow growers in my zone, too. I usually don't even set mine out until there are flowers, and sometimes small peppers on them and they bear fruit after the tomatoes are already cranking. I have to start them a month or two earlier in the glasshouse than tomoates as well.

So your's are acting pretty normally. BTW normally we have very hot summers here too. I used to live in Europe but down in Southern France but my daughter and husband lived in England and I've been there often on visits. It's not pepper territory by any stretch, and barely hospitible to anything but glasshouse tomatoes. ;-) So no.......if you want any fruit off them I'd not pinch.

Flora, I am not sure if they are available in the UK, but you might want to look into the landrace chiles from northern New Mexico. They all come from very high elevations and therefore seem to be adapted to cooler temperatures and shorter growing seasons. Many are even direct seeded by the farmers in their native territories since they will produce mature crops in such a short time.

I am currently growing 'Chimayo'. I started them from seed at the beginning of April and they germinated within 3-4 days (peppers usually take much longer for me). They have been transplanted *outside* in their permanent locations for the past two weeks in one of the coldest, windiest and gloomiest springs we have had in a long time. Nights have been ranging upper 30s-low 50s, and days in the 60s. Have my plants minded the cold weather? I don't think so. They have been vigorously growing and are now setting buds like mad. I have never seen peppers grow so vigorously (or at all, for that matter) in cold temperatures. I am impressed so far.

'Chimayo' is a mildly spicy chile that is supposedly excellent for drying. They can also be eaten fresh but tend to have thinner pod walls than other "modern improved" chiles. I obtained my seeds from Native Seeds/Search in Arizona and from Adaptive Seeds in Oregon (I mixed the two strains together before sowing to help preserve the genetics of the landrace).

Thanks for that ispahan. I checked and I could get those seeds here. But despite liking pretty much every vegetable I have ever eaten I am not a big fan of hot chillis. Are these hot? Do you know their Scoville rating? One plant could probably provide all the chillis we'd eat in a year. But I love sweet peppers, especially roasted.

If you are interested in chillis you might like to see varieties we can get here. All need to be grown in a greenhouse for real success.

Here is a link that might be useful: chillis in UK

Latest - tallest are now about 1 foot and some flower buds are appearing.

Another observation and question. At night the leaves on mine seem to droop down a bit. Is this usual behaviour for peppers? I know many plants do this and some even close right up at night eg Oxalis but I didn't know peppers would do it.

Second question. If they are under cover will they need hand pollinating?

Thanks for all your continuing help with my pepper experiment.

Peppers update - plants now 2.5 feet tall and full of peppers. I have started to pollinate by hand again because although advice was not to bother I find I'm getting more distorted and aborted fruit so I'm going to play it safe.

BUT who said Hungarian Wax as a MILD pepper????? I picked a green one to taste out of curiosity and simply could not eat it. I removed the seeds as best I could but even leaving a tiniest bit of the pith was hotter than I could bear. I will eat pretty well anything - any type of herb or spice, any fruit or vegetable. I even ate mice in Viet Nam. But this pepper was beyond me. The catalogue description was comletely misleading. Do they become milder or hotter as they ripen? It would be such a pity not to eat them after all this anticipation. And the flesh was pretty tasteless too. Very disappointed. And they look so pretty.

I grow most of mine in a sunny windowsill. With the ones ive tried most do better than any other thing. Outside they get too wet and the cold at night seems to upset them too :(

Some of mine were started from random seeds from chillies I've eaten. Two are on their 2nd year and 2 others are doing well.

I grow in small pots though with a mix of peat, perlite and vermiculite. I've also got 2 Habs (started Aug 2010) and 1 Twilight, 2 Salsa and 1 which looks to be a St Helena but was bought without any info,which are my only 'proper' chillis.

You may be ok where you are however as I'm in the cold/wet north west. ;)

No need of pruning pepper plants.As soon as the peppers are ready for harvesting and you start harvesting plants will branch out. In my understanding and experience plants sense harvesting as equivalent to pruning. As you have planted some plants in pots you may take the pots indoors during cold weather.I have left the plants for two years in and out.

Flora, I think the Hungarian black is a type of jalape�o. They will vary in heat depending on water and temperatures when developing. I second the New Mexico chiles for you. The Anaheim varieties are usually fairly mild and tolerate cooler nights. They make the most wonderful green chile stew with pork. Thicken with a bit of corn meal. Make sure you roast the chiles to remove the skin as this adds an amazing flavor. You can find video on how to do this online.
You may also enjoy some of the paprika varieties, although I have not grown them yet.
The habanero/chinois types will probably be very hard for you to grow, since they are fussy and need heat. They are slow even in AZ due to our cool spring nights. There is a sweet habanero variety (not spicy) that I've been trying to start and I've still not gotten a plant to grow because they are so hard to start. I love the flavor of the habaneros, very flowery, which is why I'm determined to grow a sweet habanero.

madferret - I am growing these in the conservatory (rather a misnomer - it's basically a porch) so weather is not a problem. I also have some outside against a sunny wall and they are now doing well but are behind the indoor ones.

Chaman - I have not pruned them on the advice of people here. It is interesting that you have kept them over the winter. I might see what these do. They are not actually in pots but in window boxes. The plants are fine; flowering and fruiting well. It's just the heat I can't stand!

tracydr - because this pepper is called Hungarian Wax and was advertised as being mild I assumed it was a paprika type but it seems more of a chilli to me. Now I know I can grow them I may try a different type next year. I was shown how to hold peppers over the gas ring to char the skin and get it off by a lovely Romanian lady many years ago. I do that with bell peppers sometimes. I'll try it with these and see what the effect is.

Thanks everyone.

Late to the party, just wanted to add that I planted 6 cal wonders and about a month ago, a deer came and ate the top 2 inches of 4 of the 6. All have recovered and I can probably give you a good idea what "pinching" the growing tip will do to a pepper plant.

Thanks everyone who has contributed to my first ever pepper crop. Here they are:

{{gwi:37514}}

That was taken 2 weeks ago and some are red now. I have discovered that they are mild as long as you carefully remove every seed. I think I'll try a different variety next year but at least I now know I can grow them. The pictured ones are indoors. I have some others outside which are looking pretty good too but are only now starting to set fruit. I have also grown Cape gooseberries (Physalis peruviana) for the first time this year (outdoors) and they are also beginning to set some fruit. I only hope they will ripen before our damp cool autumn sets in.

Other news.... the snail plague is the worst I have ever seen and my Romanesco plants are lace. The purple sprouting babies have been chewed to the ground. After 2 weeks away from the garden I probably squashed at least 100 yesterday from a 15 x 5 foot bed. They were stuck to every stake, undersneath the row cover, and plastered on the underside of leaves. These are the big garden snails (Helix aspersa) and they have a big appetite to match. They have to be killed as they have a strong homing instinct and throwing them far away is ineffective.

Here is a link that might be useful: Helix aspersa

Hmmm, "Escarto a la Bordelais" sounds tasty to me... :)

Congratulations on your peppers! I am having the same experience of finding my peppers to be hotter than described. I have a bulgarian carrot that is supposed to be similar to a jalepeno and it would have to be the spiciest jalepeno ever to be an accurate comparison! In fact, it is hotter than my aji pineapple, which is supposed to be fairly hot (and is). Like Tracydr, I was intrigued by the the Aji dulce, or sweet habanero, and have 3 that made it this far, but only set 1 fruit as of yet, still unripe. If it is as good as hoped, I will try to save the plants over winter. Maybe you can do that too, if you find a favorite pepper, now that you've had this success.

Cheers!