Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Phil L wrote:

I grew some chillis from dried seeds which I got from Spain a few
years ago. They grew to about a foot high in the greenhouse last
summer but the whitefly almost killed them so I moved them
outdoors...they didn't really get any taller or anything else,
they
just seemed stunted, none of them flowered or fruited.

They are pretty marginal outdoors, but most varieties are OK in
the south. If they are infested with bugs, it can stop them
flowering
(like many other plants).

Another thing is that the varieties you buy or bring home from abroad
won't necessarily be ones which do well in the British climate. The
ones you get in packets of seed bought here are more likely to be
reliable.

Also, dried chillies may be quite old, so it's best to sow many more
of the seeds than you think you'll need in case they've died of
boredom.

I brought them into the house about September and now they are
just
brown stalks, but I'm sure I read on here that they will regrow
this
Spring?

It's a bit misleading. While they are perennials, they are
tropical
ones and don't naturally go dormant.

There is no greenery at all but they have good root systems and
the
woody stems seem to be strong, is there any hope for them? - they
are about ten inches tall and I have kept them on a windowledge
above a radiator, keeping the compost slightly moist but not wet.

I would junk them.

Me too, as you say the stems are brown: they should still be green.
I've kept them going for another year by cutting them down to under
6", and supplying only enough water to stop them actually dying over
the winter; they shot from the base, and I got crops from the new
shoots, but nothing like as good as from fresh plants. It was worth
it only for interest.
[...]
Mike.