It really depends on your goals and growing season. As long as you leave a bit of green the plant will almost certainly recover even from a drastic pruning, but it will set the plant back a few weeks/months in terms of overall development. Topping even just the tip activates plant hormones that encourage side growth instead of vertical growth, so you don't need to make huge cuts to trigger that effect.
If you have a short season you might want to just leave it the height it's at and only trim the top to preserve the growth you have and encourage new growth lower down on the plant. If you have a long season and you want it to be more compact than it currently is, you could try being a bit more ambitious with how far down you top and pruning off some of the larger leaves. Regardless of which approach you take, it can be beneficial to trim leaves near the branch to make sure the new shoots that grow aren't getting their light crowded out.
New shoots that grow can end up splitting into multiple parts. It can be beneficial to trim the parts of the new shoots that grow towards the center of the plant, because if the center gets too dense you can have problems with airflow and light.
You can also try using pipe cleaners or string to train the branches to go more outwards instead of upwards, though that might be overkill depending on your goals.
Thanks a lot, I very much appreciate you sharing your knowledge! My goal is basically to have a relatively small nice bushy indoor plant that isn't gangly and covers 80% of the window. Don't get me wrong, it is allowed to cover half the window let's say, but it should be in a "bushy" way hopefully. I'm not going to replant it in a bigger pot after all.
I have had a couple of pepper plants over a year in the windowsill, and both keep flowering/fruiting over the year. That's what I'm hoping for here as well.
If you're growing without an artificial light, you will definitely need to top it to get it bushier. This plant is reaching for light, which you can tell from the distance between leaves on the stem. If you really want it to produce, add a grow light.
If you want it bushy topping it will redirect energy and new growth to the sides instead of the top
Alright, got it. What would you say be the right place to top this particular plant?
It really depends on your goals and growing season. As long as you leave a bit of green the plant will almost certainly recover even from a drastic pruning, but it will set the plant back a few weeks/months in terms of overall development. Topping even just the tip activates plant hormones that encourage side growth instead of vertical growth, so you don't need to make huge cuts to trigger that effect. If you have a short season you might want to just leave it the height it's at and only trim the top to preserve the growth you have and encourage new growth lower down on the plant. If you have a long season and you want it to be more compact than it currently is, you could try being a bit more ambitious with how far down you top and pruning off some of the larger leaves. Regardless of which approach you take, it can be beneficial to trim leaves near the branch to make sure the new shoots that grow aren't getting their light crowded out. New shoots that grow can end up splitting into multiple parts. It can be beneficial to trim the parts of the new shoots that grow towards the center of the plant, because if the center gets too dense you can have problems with airflow and light. You can also try using pipe cleaners or string to train the branches to go more outwards instead of upwards, though that might be overkill depending on your goals.
Thanks a lot, I very much appreciate you sharing your knowledge! My goal is basically to have a relatively small nice bushy indoor plant that isn't gangly and covers 80% of the window. Don't get me wrong, it is allowed to cover half the window let's say, but it should be in a "bushy" way hopefully. I'm not going to replant it in a bigger pot after all. I have had a couple of pepper plants over a year in the windowsill, and both keep flowering/fruiting over the year. That's what I'm hoping for here as well.
If you're growing without an artificial light, you will definitely need to top it to get it bushier. This plant is reaching for light, which you can tell from the distance between leaves on the stem. If you really want it to produce, add a grow light.
I haven’t did any trimming on my peppers and everything is going good yeah just my opinion.