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Pruning pepper plants is the simple process of removing portions of the plant to invigorate new growth. It is easy, but not always necessary. So, in this article, I’ll cover why you might want to prune your peppers, and how to do it properly.
Before you jump right into cutting your plants back, consider whether pruning is a good option. Most pepper plants will grow perfectly well without ever pruning. But, there are a few cases where you may want to give it a shot. Let’s get into it!
Skip Ahead:
- Why prune?
- Should you prune your peppers?
- How to prune pepper plants
- Pruning flower buds
- Do I have to prune?
How to prune peppers (video):
Why Prune Pepper Plants?
Generally speaking, pruning pepper plants is a simple method of reshaping your plants. By cutting away certain branches or leaves, you’ll force the plant to focus growth and energy elsewhere.
Topping pepper plants, or removing the top few inches at the adolescent stage, typically leads to lower-growing plants, at least in the short term. The areas of the plant that you remove quickly recover and fill in with new growth from the lower nodes (more on nodes later).
However, it is important to only prune if it is necessary or beneficial. You wouldn’t want to take away too many of the plant’s leaves or branches. This could cause a setback that may lead to lower yields, especially if you live in a colder climate.
Do I Need To Prune Pepper Plants?
There are four different scenarios during the growing season when pruning might be beneficial to pepper plants. Be sure to consider carefully whether pruning is necessary for your plants.
Here are the major growth stages during which pruning may be helpful for peppers:
Topping (4-6 weeks after sprouting)
The first time to consider pruning pepper plants is a few weeks after the plants sprout. After 4-6 weeks of growing indoors under grow lights, your plants should be about 6-8 inches tall with a few sets of true leaves.
At this stage, your plant may look slightly tall or ‘leggy’ in stature. Topping may help protect the plant from strong winds and encourage a lower growth habit. To do this, you can prune away the top 1-2 inches of growth.
This can encourage stockier and fuller plant growth in the long run. Having a stronger, thicker stem with a bushier shape may lead to better pepper yields, though there is no guarantee.
Note: It is worth noting that we no longer top our pepper plants (watch this video to learn why)! If you provide enough light during the early stages of growth, your plants should grow strong and bushy without the need for topping.
While topping does not cause long-term harm, and the plants do recover, the 1-2 week setback is just not worth it in our climate (zone 6). If you live in a cold climate, zones 6 or lower, I wouldn’t suggest topping at all. However, it can still be fun to experiment to try for yourself.
Bottom pruning
While topping can be controversial, I highly encourage growers to bottom prune their pepper plants. Bottom pruning is simply cutting off the lower leaves from the plant, keeping foliage up and away from the soil.
Soil can harbor pathogens that can be fatal to your pepper plants. By bottom pruning and keeping the first 6-8 inches of the main stem free of foliage, rain and wind will not splash as much soil onto the plant’s leaves.
Bottom pruning can be done shortly after moving plants outdoors in the spring, and as-needed throughout the season. Learn more about bottom pruning in our video here.
2-3 weeks prior to frost
So you’ve had a great harvest, but winter is now approaching. Your pepper plants are nearing the end of their life cycle, and the risk of frost is growing closer. Pruning can be done at this time to encourage the last of your peppers to ripen up.
At this stage, you can cut away any branches that do not hold any peppers, leaving enough leaves to continue photosynthesis. By removing excess stems, you will help direct the remaining energy from the plant towards ripening the existing pods.
With time running out for the pepper plants to produce, pruning can help get you a few more ripe peppers before winter!
Just before frost (overwintering plants)
If you plan to keep your pepper plants alive over the winter (overwintering), you will need to prune away most of the plant for the winter. This is the most dramatic pruning that we ever do, removing all foliage and many of the longer branches.
During overwintering, pepper plants will go from having dozens of stems and hundreds of leaves to having just a few branches.
How To Prune Pepper Plants
The method of pruning peppers I’ll focus on is known as topping the plants. It is done early on at around 4-6 weeks of age. These steps will show you where and how to prune pepper plants.
Supplies:
- Pruning shears
1. Identify plant nodes
Nodes are like a crossroads along a pepper plant’s stem. They are important points from which new leaves and stems can grow. The long stems between nodes are simply called “internodes.”
As a plant grows larger, the stems develop more and more nodes, shooting off more leaves, flowers and stems along the way.
It is important to be able to identify the nodes on your plant for pruning because we will use them to determine exactly where to cut.
2. The cutting point
For topping, you’ll just need to make a single cut. Ideally, do this while the plant has a single central stem, before there is a fork (or Y shape). We recommend pruning young peppers just above the 3rd or 4th node, counting up from the bottom.
This will trigger new growth from lower on the plant. Many pepper varieties have a tendency to grow tall and a bit lanky, especially under poor lighting conditions. Pruning can also help keep your plants a manageable size while they are still growing indoors.
3. Cut with sharp scissors, just above a node
Once you have chosen which part of your plant to prune, it’s time to make the cut. Make sure you use a pair of sharp scissors or pruning shears. Do not use your fingers to break or pinch the stems. This can cause damage to the plant.
Use pruners for a nice, clean slice that will heal quickly. This way, the pepper plant can recover and begin forming new growth sooner.
We love these sharp shears from Amazon.
4. Propagate the cutting (optional)
If you don’t want to see your cutting go to waste, you can easily propagate it in water. Simply submerge the cutting in a few inches of water, making sure that at least 1 node is underwater.
After 2-4 weeks in a warm, shaded location or a bright window, you should start to see roots. Change out the water every few days for the best results. Once the roots are a few inches long, you can transplant it into soil.
Should I Pick Early Flowers Off Pepper Plants?
One common question that people ask about pruning peppers is, “Should I pick off early flower buds?” This is a tough question to answer because it depends on when you started your plants and how long your growing season is.
Read More: Should I Pinch Off Pepper Flowers?
If you started your plants early enough and have plenty of sunshine and growing time ahead, then we do recommend pruning early flower buds. I recommend you remove flowers until the plants have been established outdoors in their final growing location for 2-3 weeks.
Pruning flowers will postpone pepper production and encourage more foliage and branching. The goal is to grow your plants large and strong before allowing them to set fruit.
Again, pruning off flowers should only be done early in the growing season (March-May in cooler Northern Hemisphere climates). It is also possible that your plants are flowering because they have outgrown their current container. In this case, it’s time to up-pot.
If you got a late start for your plants, or have a shorter growing season, you may want to allow your pepper plant to flower naturally. Flowers are ultimately what turn into your peppers. If you pick pepper flowers too late in the season, you may end up with fewer peppers overall.
Do All Pepper Plants Need To Be Pruned?
Pruning peppers is not required! All pepper plants will produce a healthy harvest without any pruning whatsoever. This is why we no longer top our plants. Instead, we just bottom prune leaves and pick early flowers.
Feel free to experiment with pruning your plants and let us know the results below. Some varieties may benefit more than others, so it may be worth testing for yourself.
I hope this guide helped you learn about pruning pepper plants. If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out or comment below!
Calvin
One of the original Pepper Geeks! When Calvin isn’t gardening or learning more about peppers and botany, he might be traveling new places or playing some music.
