Show your bonchis!

[Fatalii]

They have a great look, I really likem them!

There is no correct or wrong way to make bonchis.
I personally tend to make bonchi's even more bushy if possible by simply cutting it down and giving 'em plenty of light until they start to adapt their new form. With some species or varieties this might be more difficult but can be done.

I would cut down them once again and I'd also keep cutting them until they get more bushier, but it's all up to you.

Here's the latest bonchi project of mine, a Medusa plant turned into bonchi without growing it large at first:


Have fun with your bonchi's

[Edymnion]

Just cut this one back yesterday.  I call it "The Hand", since if you look at it just right, it looks like a hand grasping its way up out of the earth.



I'd say its not too bad for a first attempt.  A late start first attempt at that.

The pepper is, I think, a Naga Morich.  The "soil" is an akadama substitute, namely Moltan Oil Absorber brand montmorillonite clay.  Pot I got for $10 at walmart, which had some kind of ivy and grass thing going on it at the time.

[Edymnion]

Been a week now, and it seems to be thriving quite nicely.

[Ryhis]

^ Thats gonna be one exellent bonchi when the foliage is fully grown.

[exa]

^I agree. It has a unique look to it, very handy...  I like the name too, I can't help but imagine that in a zombiechile flick (yeah been watching the Walking Dead again...) raising through the soil.

What you could do is reveal the lower part of that bonchi even more boldly. I bet that cluster is gonna look revolutionary! Atleast from here it seems like those roots are pretty thick and heavy. Nonetheless, a very beautiful bonchi, keep updating. 

[Edymnion]

Right now I'm wondering how I should attempt to shape the foliage.  On one hand, a traditional shape would look nice and would be the easiest to make and maintain.  Exactly what shape that would be, I don't know though.  Maybe a cloud shape or something conical.  On the other hand, I've got a trunk that looks like a hand, I could also try to sculpt the leaves into a recognizable shape or object to make it look like something is being held up.  These nagas are extremely hot, I could potentially go for something as elaborate as a skull (start off by making a sphere, extend some branches down into a jaw, then carve out eye sockets in the foliage), I just don't know.  But as you can see, it will be a while before I have enough green to work with to attempt at wiring up anything.

[Edymnion]

My other bonchi I just cut back a few hours ago (apologies for the lousy photo, but its indoors, no light out, and with an iphone).



Its my "Hot as death" Halloween themed bhut jolokia bonchi!

[wizzard]

Bit old shots, now must keep them inside during the night due to cold weather.



in order: habanero red : black pearl : habanero red : habanero orange

Last one probably won't make it, left it in out the cold and it dropped all foliage :/

[Edymnion]

I hope that last one makes it, it has the best looking roots.

Sounds like my luck though, I'd end up killing the best looking one from doing something stupid.

[mohsart]

My first post, hi all :-)

First try: Limon and Inca Red Drop, cut down and repotted Oct 20-21; Limon seems to have died but I haven't completely given up yet.

Second: CHampion and Pimenta Da Neyde, cut down and repotted today Nov 02

All pictures from the beginning of these and other plants lives can be seen here.

/Mats

[Ryhis]

Lookin' absolutely fabolous mohsart! And welcome to the chiliforum!

[mohsart]

Next one, a Morouga Blend


/Mats

[mohsart]

Inca Red Drop is doing fine, starting to get a nice bend of the stem. Pimenta Da Neyde, though a bit blurry, is doing fine too.



/Mats

[joonast]

Venezuelan Purple Bonchi.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/269/img0101guw.jpg/

[Edymnion]

My first one for this year.





A Masquerade ornamental pepper.

[Toby]

How do you do it? The bonchi looks exactly like a tree. And it has big juicy chilli fruits. So awesome! And the skull makes it just perfect. It suits very well. Must try it. When looking at these photos they make me feel like to grow a bonchi myself. I got to figure out how to transform an ordinary chilli into a bonchi. It needs just cutting, right? Accurate and planned cutting...

[Edymnion]

I cheated a bit on this one.  I didn't grow it from seed, I was getting something else at my local hardware store/nursery and saw they had an entire flat of these ornamental peppers almost this size.  So, I figured they'd make for quick and easy bonchi and went through them all looking for one that already had a good central trunk.  The fact that this one was so tall was a complete happy accident, as most of it was actually underground until I hosed it off.

You see that knot about half way down the trunk, where it turns from green to white?  All of the white part there down to the roots was underground, it ended up being nearly twice as tall as I thought it would be.  Total happy accident.

Beyond that, it was just a matter of pruning.  Look at what you've got to work with, pick out the branches you want to keep, and cut everything else back.  Don't worry, they're peppers, you can't hurt them by chopping on them.  Then once you get the basic shape with your branches, let it fill back out and then cut it back again.  Then just take off individual leaves that stick out too much and voila, bonchi.

Another good tip, let it grow up big in a pot or the dirt so that it has lots of roots, then chop it's head off.  No, seriously.  If I were to hack every leaf on this one off right now and just leave 3 stubs where the branches used to be, in a week or two it would start filling back in twice as thick again.  Long as the roots are good, you can hack a pepper almost to the ground and it will just come right back twice as bushy as before.

[Toby]

^^ Cheating or not, your Asquerade ornamental pepper is doing fine. And just like you said it was a happy accident that the bonchi grew so tall

[ChiliChillailija]

I'm thinking that I could try to increase the Orange Habanero bonchi. I have read some of the instructions and it seems quite easy. Is it?

[ChiliChillailija]

My first bonchi, Biquinho.