Chillies - arer they annuals?

As clueless says, technically they are perrenial evergreens although you will lose a lot of leaves in the winter - and some more will start growing.

I'm a perrenial man so overwinter them. If your conservatory is kept frost free then they should survive OK but they prefer the temperature not to drop below 6C.

Year on year my chillies (mouth bustingly hot :hehe have given a bigger and better crop but I'm not sure how the less hot chillies will fare. If you have the space and inclination then I would give it a go.

Here is a photo of one of my four year old plants. I have kept it pruned down to just under 6ft (not really measured it ) and have been picking ripe ones for a couple of months.

I also grow new plants from seed just in case the old ones die. One of them gave up the ghost this spring :(

 

You can leave the new growth at the bottom. If the plants start to grow quickly you will find that the main stems will get leggy and can prune those. That way you can restrict the height and help the plant become bushy instead. It is easier to cope with that way.

At the end of the second year with mine I was away for some time and, with not getting around to pruning when I got back, they ended up about 7ft tall. I had to be fairly drastic with them because the branches were drooping all over the place.