In my opinion that is a little lower than I would prefer. I have always used 50 as my bottom cut off on the low. Others may tell you that they will be fine. I'm one who treats peppers more like okra. Don't transplant it till the soil warms up. So personally I start peppers the same time I start tomatoes. Then by the time I get the tomatoes all in the peppers will be ready. My plants are usually smaller than the ones in the nursery but I have gave plants to coworkers who planted them alongside the bigger plants they put out 2 weeks earlier and they usually do as well or better. I know way more info than you asked for. In my experience if you set a pepper back by exposure to cool temps it takes a long time to recover. Jay

Thanks so much for the reply. I'll keep them inside for a while longer. Chad

Chad,

Jay gave you great advice, and I just want to add a little additional info about the effect of cold temperatures on pepper plants.

Research shows that pepper plants exposed to temperatures in the low 40s even briefly often remain stunted and nonproductive for months, if not for the entire season. So, in my opinion, it pays to keep those plants in a location where the temps never drop below 50. I tend to start my tomatoes and peppers at about the same time, but the tomatoes go outside to the screened-in porch or patio much, much earlier than the peppers to be hardened off. I keep the peppers inside until there is no chance of them being exposed to temps lower than 50. I usually plant the peppers about 2 weeks after the tomato plants. The rule of thumb I go by is that the soil temperature at planting depth has to be at a steady 55 degrees or warmer for 3 days before I plant and I'd really rather it be at that temperature for 5 to 7 days before I plant.

Pepper roots that are transplanted into soil below 55 degrees will not grow and can be damaged by temperatures below that threshold. Even though the plant roots will eventually begin to grow again after stalling in the cold soil, they often suffer irreparable harm.

Any time I have tried to push the limits and plant my peppers too early, they have struggled the entire year so I don't try to push those limits any more.

Don't get me wrong....it is important to plant peppers, especially sweet peppers, as early as you reasonably can so they can flower and set peppers before the high temps start impacting pollination. Still, it is equally important to make sure the air temps and soil temps are in the right range too. It is sort of a Goldilocks thing where you want the temps to be 'just right'.

Dawn