Last year I attempted to save some beloved peppers and followed the peppergeek vid and like many others I failed due to questionable dormancy, aphids and plant death.
This year I had success with a new strategy that I would like to share.
In October I prepped this aji for an overwintering and felt like I had nothing to lose given last years failures. I cut the branches to a Y and then cut the rootball down from basketball sized to baseball sized and made sure to clean out every spec and clump of aphid harboring dirt with a chopstick and a hose, I then submerged that rootball in a bucket of water and a heavy dose of castille soap overnight ~12 hours total. I rinsed it in hot water and planted what was left of my prized pepper in a 6″ plastic nursery pot with low expectations. Instead of trying to put the pepper into dormancy, I opted to set it next to a cold window that gets a little sun.
It took only about 3 days for a leaf to sprout. I checked for aphids every day but they never came. The growth was sickly and droopy but it was very alive. After a few weeks it started growing a lot and becoming thirstier so I just kept cutting it back. Yesterday I repotted into a 1 gallon and declare victory.
by niudropout