Everything you need to know about pruning pepper plants

Owning a garden and growing your own fruits and vegetables is a dream of many homeowners. Peppers are one of the easiest vegetables to grow and can be grown easily from seeds. This makes peppers an ideal beginner crop. While most vegetables and fruits are low-maintenance, there are some recommendations to follow for the best results. One such recommendation is pruning. Although pepper plants do not require pruning to encourage growth, pruning will help you achieve better yields. If you’re currently growing peppers or plan on doing so in the future, let’s take a closer look at why you should prune pepper plants and how to prune peppers correctly.

What are pepper plants?

Peppers are part of the Capsicum genus. These flowering vegetables are native to the Americas. The genus Capsicum belongs to the Solanaceae family, also known as nightshades. Peppers are now cultivated worldwide as crops. Common pepper types include bell peppers, poblano peppers, and anaheim peppers. Some types, like jalapeno and poblano peppers, bear small fruits. Bell peppers are popular large peppers.

What is pruning?

Pruning pepper plants is the act of cutting or trimming pepper plants. Removing weak or damaged shoots encourages growth and stronger stems. Pruning also helps stimulate good air circulation, better sunlight penetration, and helps prevent pest infestations. Pepper plants belong to the Solanaceae family and are mostly used within many different dishes. Peppers are easy to grow and grown throughout most places in the world. To stimulate growth, you can trim pepper plants, however it is not required.

Why should you prune pepper plants?

It is totally up to you whether you want to prune your pepper plants. If you don’t prune your pepper plant, it’ll still produce fruits. However, pruning pepper plants correctly can produce a more bountiful harvest. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of pruning peppers. ·      Pruning improves sunlight penetration Pepper plants can grow in direct sunlight. This nourishes and ripens the fruits, creating more flavourflavor. Pepper plants use sunlight to help their photosynthesis requirements for growth. By gently pruning the plant, it’ll get better exposure to sunlight. ·      Pruning stimulates air circulation Pepper plants require good air circulation to grow.  Pruning opens up the plant and stimulates better airflow around the roots. This helps protect the pepper plant against diseases and pests. ·      Pruning encourages stronger stems Peppers need strong stems to support the weight of their fruits. Pruning the tops of pepper plants early on helps strengthen the stems ready for fruits later in the year. ·      Pruning provides better visibility and accessibility Pruning your pepper plants can result in better visibility and accessibility. Sometimes, the lower leaves can touch the ground, making it more challenging to reach the site without damaging the plant. ·      Pruning prevents soil-borne diseases Peppers grow well in slightly acidic soils that range from 6.5 to 7.0 on the pH scale. Pepper plants also need moist but not waterlogged soil. Fungal soil-borne diseases can spread easily in wet soil. Removing any damaged leaves that touch the soil helps prevent this. Spotted, yellowing, or rotten leaves are major indicators of the presence of fungal disease.

When should you prune pepper plants?

Pepper plants should be pruned twice a year – early season pruning and late season pruning. Perform early season pruning before the plant starts fruiting to improve yield quality. Late season pruning speeds up the ripening process by redirecting the plant’s efforts into the last maturing fruits.

How to prune pepper plants

Early season pruning 1.    Before transplanting young pepper plants outside, prune off the upper foliage. This is called “topping”. Ideally, pepper branches should be cut at the leaf nodes to encourage more branching, which results in more peppers. 2.    From each Y-shaped area of the stem, count up the nodes. After the third or fourth node, snip off the remaining foliage. This stimulates the plant into focusing on strong stem development. 3.    Once flowering begins, remove the flowers for two to three weeks. This encourages the pepper plant to focus on growing strong roots and a sturdy stem to support the fruit. 4.    For pepper varieties with large fruits, trim away the sucker shoots around the base of the main Y-shaped stem. These channels more energy into the main growing portion of the pepper plant.

Late season pruning

1.    About a month before the first frost is due, remove any branches that aren’t bearing fruit. Peppers need sunlight for photosynthesis, so leave some foliage to facilitate this. 2.    Remove any remaining flowers and any fruits that are still small. This forces the pepper plant to redirect its remaining energy into larger fruits. 3.    Prune off any branches or suckers that cover maturing fruits. This allows more sun to reach the last fruits, helping them to ripen.

Pruning pepper plants for winter

Pepper plants go dormant during the winter to conserve energy for the next year. Once the foliage of the plant starts dying, prune it to prepare the pepper plant for the next growing season. Begin by removing any dead leaves. Then trim the pepper plant right back to just a few leaves on the strongest Y-shaped stems. Remember to make cuts above leaf nodes to allow the plant to grow next season.

Pruning pepper plants in spring

When spring arrives, new buds will begin to emerge from the leaf nodes of your pepper plant. These are the areas where new shoots will branch off from the main stem. Pruning peppers in the spring helps encourage lots of new buds. After the final frost has finished, remove the lower branches of the pepper plant. This keeps the foliage away from the soil, reducing the risk of disease and promoting better air circulation and sunlight exposure.

When is it too late to prune pepper plants?

Once pepper plants are starting to produce small fruits, it’s too late to begin early season pruning. Late season pruning must be performed about a month before the first frosts. If late season pruning is started later than that, the plant will suffer from cold damage.

What stage of peppers’ life should you prune?

For pepper plants that bear large fruits, early-stage pruning should only be done when the plant has reached at least 30 cm in height. Once the plant reaches this height, it will be easier to detect the strongest branches and cut the smaller ones, including suckers. When trimming pepper plants, ensure you do the following:

1. Cut branches just after the node
2. By cutting branches, growth is encouraged for the pepper plant
3. Try not to cut when plant is about grow fruits

Top vs bottom pruning

Top pruning is also known as “topping”. This involves cutting the foliage back to stimulate more branching. Topping works best for pepper plants with smaller fruits because these varieties benefit the most from branching. Larger peppers grow best with bottom pruning. This means pruning small sucker shoots and branches away from the central Y-shaped stem. Bottom pruning helps keep the plant’s energy focused on the main stem, which produces the fruits.

Should you cut the top off the pepper plants?

Cutting the top off pepper plants, also referred to as topping, is beneficial for smaller fruiting peppers. Topping is performed early in the season to encourage bushier growth and sturdier stems. If you’re growing large types of peppers such as bell peppers, topping is not recommended.

Pruning large or mature pepper plants

Even large or mature pepper plants can still benefit from pruning. Topping a large or mature pepper plant allows you to shape its growth. Removing congested interior branches also helps improve airflow and lets in more light.

Tools to help you prune pepper plants

Pepper plants are easy to prune with minimal equipment. Due to the compact size of pepper plants, basic tools like hand pruners or small scissors will suffice. You can also pinch out unwanted buds on young pepper plants using your fingers.