On Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:57:30 +0000, D.M. Procida wrote:

I got a chilli plant from one of my children for Christmas.


I'm afraid that there's a pretty good chance that the damage was done
before you received it. It may have suffered from being on display
outside a florist's shop or on a market stall and then just come to you
to die IYSWIM. Maybe best to pick and preserve the chillis now and have a
reminder of the gift every time you use one during the year? I may be
wrong but I think that they're annuals and naturally die after fruiting.
If so these have been deliberately sown late and grown under glass for
the Christmas trade (they usually fruit when tomatoes do).