Pepper tends to be relatively delicate plants compared to other fruit-bearing species. As such, you should use caution when you prune, lest you cause unintended damage to otherwise healthy stems. The best tool to use to prune your
Pepper is a pair of clean and sharp hand-held pruning shears. Whether you are performing early-season, or late season pruning, you should follow each stem you intend to remove back to where it meets a larger stem or the main stem. Make your pruning cut as close to the larger stem as you can, to remove the smaller stem entirely and prevent it from regrowing. During the early part of the season, you should use your pruning cuts to create the strongest form for your
Pepper. Removing stems that do not contribute to the plant's main structure, or any leaves that appear wilted, will make your
Pepper better-suited to supporting heavy fruits later in the season. The second form of pruning should occur after the bloom period when the fruit development process is just beginning. At this time, you should cut off any flowers or excess leaves as well as any stems that do not hold fruits. This type of pruning gives your
Pepper the chance to focus all of its energy towards fruit development.