Heres a serano in an 8" hanging pot with 4 flowering annuals. I started it in a ceed sell kept it indoors until nights were warm and ive already harvested 5-6 peppers.
They do need lots of sun, but they dont need much of anything else, including space. You can see the plant is small and new growth is stunted and its wilted from not watering, but i have peppers. This is obviously a decorative pot, but I had a pepper plant that was going to end up on the compost heap, so it was a sink or swim moment.
While high nitrogen can encorage green leafy growth rather than flowers and fruit, if theyre not growing at all I put my money on cool temps, or rather cool soil... this is in a dark colored hanging pot so its roots are toasty warm.
Im in zone 6b.
