The cool thing about hot pepper plants is if you take care of them in the winter, they are perennial. 5 to 6 years per plant is possible. I'm growing the wild native Chiltepin plant, thought to be the oldest pepper. I've read they can live to be 25 years old! That makes growing hot pepper an interesting side dish to my citrus growing. They are also a little more forgiving. I keep them around if I take care of them. It always breaks my heart to kill veggie plants once their days are numbered.