Naked Chillis

[Barnowl]

Definitely not evergreens...

Before the frost

[Barnowl]

[Barnowl]

.....after the frost

[Mrs Ava]

Awww - they look cute tho - like Christmas decorations on the naked branches!

[kitten]

Easier to harvest tho, surely!  8)

[Barnowl]

Much easier to harvest and they're all in now - just hope they are ok: the larger varieities that were frost affected  decided to rot instead of drying out ???

[kitten]

Oh no what a shame! Will the plants be okay, or do they die off each year? (Can you tell i really have no idea what i'm getting myself into?!)

[Barnowl]

I cut some back each year and overwinter them in the house and those do fine - usually a better crop the second year - but there isn't room for all of them, so I used to abandon the others. This year for the first time I'm putting quite a few in the garage (unheated but frost free) to see if they survive there.  the SE Asian varieties seem the most cold sensitive. An Orozco (Eastern European) that was out in the same frost hasn't yet lost any leaves at all.

[saddad]

That would make sense... you get frosts in E Europe but rarely in SE Asia!
Landraces is the correct term I think... where plant adapts to local conditions over several generations...
:-\