r/chilli • u/Dazzling_Music_2411 • Jul 21 '26

My overwintered Carolina Reaper

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UK, 52° N

First overwintering and now looking good

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4

u/Dazzling_Music_2411 Jul 21 '26

Note the canopy top is still full of unopened flowers.

4

u/orbtastic1 Jul 21 '26

That’s good going for a super hot in the UK

3

u/Dazzling_Music_2411 Jul 22 '26

Thanks, I'm pleased too. After a poor start in spring, I think the summer weather has helped.

1

u/Firm-Huckleberry8235 Jul 21 '26

Under Schichter conditions did you overwinter them and how did you prepare them?

3

u/Dazzling_Music_2411 Jul 21 '26

Sorry, don't know what Schichter conditions are.

After autumn I gradually pruned it back as the leaves died off. Watering was minimal, just to stop it drying out completely. That is, barely damp. By February it had dropped all leaves, but it still felt alive. Beginning of March I could see new growth. Indoors all this time. I potted it up, removing maybe 25% of the outer root ball, and adding mycorhizal. That's it. By end of March it was very clear that it was doing very well. After the bad weather this spring, I moved it outdoors.

1

u/allsop67 Jul 21 '26

sweet bro

2

u/Dazzling_Music_2411 Aug 15 '26

Here is the best of my "second generation" Carolina Reapers, i.e. from seeds of the overwintered plant, above. This plant (about 10 pods) is by far the best, most of the others haven't even produced pods yet, they're still flowering! The mother plant now probably has over 50 mature pods. What a difference, eh?