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Frost tolerance of peppers

naturegirl_2007 5B SW Michigan

16 years ago

All the tomato, watermelon, and pumpkins vines in my garden are history. Yet all the peppers live on. I'm guessing they must survive a slightly lower temperature than the others. Anyone know just how tough the peppers are?

I'm figuring they will likely die tonight as frost is predicted again. After spending a few hours today bent over to pick everything that looked big enough, I'm ready to say good-bye. I wish I hadn't also dug the potatoes. My body is about done in tonight!

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yukkuri_kame

11 years ago

hahhahah...that's a good point greenman

well, it's a perennial topic...

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Comments (7)

User
16 years ago
I've had two frosts already but covered the peppers with plastic bags. They are still ripening. Trying to get the the last drop!

Try garbage bags over them tonight.

Good luck,

Bill
georgew79
16 years ago
Hi I'v already brough some of my peppers inside to overwinter them. depending what you are growing some will take the cold better than others, like Rocotos which will take near freezing temptures so long as they are not hit with Frost which will kill pretty much any pepper as they are tropical or near tropical plants, that are grown as anuals here in most of the states, where as they are grown pretty much as perennials in Florida and other much warmer states. I had a Rocoto that I had in a five gallon bucket for several years that would grow back from being heavely pruned and get to be over 6ft. tall and just load up with really nice red apple shaped hot peppers, I have yet to be able to overwinter a bell pepper though.
At any rate keeping them from being hit by frost will extend their life.
George W. Z5-6
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pepper_paul
16 years ago
I can't really answer the question of how low a temp they will stand but I know they are able to handle short freeze.
I forgot to turn the heat back on in my greenhouse last winter. every seedling turned black. Tomatoes, Cucks, Mint.. even my pepper plants (150 of them) in about a week I noticed a few little green shoots on the peppers so I took the out of the scrap and watered and set them in a heated area in sunlight. They amazed me. sprung back to life and have yeilded heavily this summer. Much Salsa on the way from plants I thought were dead.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pauls Pepper Place
yukkuri_kame
11 years ago
My yellow rocoto pepper is in a big 7 gallon(?) nursery pot. It's about a year old.

It definitely survived a couple of frosts with minimal die-back this winter and is now nice and green and putting out lots of new growth.

As a long-term project, I'm interested in breeding sweet peppers for frost-tolerance and perennial characteristics.

This will be the first year growing sweet peppers here, any that survive next winter go into the breeding pool.
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
11 years ago
This is a 5+ year-old post, Yukkuri.
Jana Aust
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
ButBu

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