Show your bonchis!

[Kakq]

Since here are quite few photos of people's bonchi projects and I am pretty sure that it is not because no one has bonchis but because they just don't want to create a new topic for them. This section was clearly lacking a general topic where everyone could exhibit their bonchi projects easily without making the bonchi section look messy. So here's a topic for Your bonchi related pictures!

I start with my first bonchi experiment with Bubba (c. baccatum). I complain the quality of some photos.


This is what it looked like before cutting it down ja after harvesting. It grew in a ebb & flood system during the summer and made a decent crop.


Here's it after cutting.


Roots cleaned and cut. Maybe I could have cut them even more.


And here it is on the windowsill potted, cut and tops bent.


And a small detail in the end  .

I think that maybe I left the stem too tall and perhaps I should cut more those tops but first I see how it starts growing in its new narrowed shape. Any tips are welcome!

Now it's someone else's turn to show their bonchi projects!   

[Fatalii]

Very nice start!

You are right, at least I would cut it down a lot more (less stem).

As the foliage grows, it will gain as much height you want it to... then again, wide looks better.

Be prepared to cut the baccatum bonchi a lot.

Gladly, there is not rush to do the cutting, you can always take your time and see how it grows at first.
But I'd cut id down immediately...

[lee]

Stem of C.lanceolatum, it seems that the base is created by fused branches.   I will definitely turn this one into a bonchi ones the fruits are matured

[Fatalii]

lee, that will be absolutely super-fantastic!!

The root base looks very promising too, just imagine when you dig it up...

Can't wait to see how it progresses!!

[lee]

yeah I was very surprised how it looked. Would be nice to succeed with this one.

[JuhaS]

Here's my first bonchi experiment.
Apache in summer 2008.



Here it's just cut down.



And now it's a beautiful bonchi 

[Fatalii]

Very nice if it's your first bonchi!

It will lookj even greater if you keep picking off the largest leaves and the new growth will be more dense and smaller leaves.
Not a far away to go!!

And when it starts producing pods, it will be perfect, congrats!

[Kakq]

Nice pictures you all have! Here's a little update to my bonchi project.


Seems that Bubba has survived transplanting and it has started to grow new branches so I dared to cut it little more.


And here's my new project, Pimenta da Neyde that grew in some kind of drip feed system during the summer. I cut it down few weeks ago and left it in the system so that it could form new foliage faster. That is what it looked like few weeks ago just before cutting it down.


And this is the situation few weeks after. Roots are also trimmed at this point. Not so healthy looking roots tho, don't know why.


And finally the same plant in a new pot on a windowsill. It could look nicer if there was enough light to turn leaves dark. But still, in my opinion, it looks pretty promising.

[Fatalii]

kakq, promising start indeed.

This is actually an great example about the root trimming.

I can see thicker roots there... I would have trimmed plenty of small roots to expose the thicker ones.

Usually this means you will end up getting the actual plant higher, which is a good reason to cut a lot from the height, but this is fairly easy to do later too!

Just an example, still great work.

My first bonchis didn't look even close to that good.

The most beautiful ones now were very ugly after cutting them, it just takes some time, gladly, not too much!!

[lee]

C.rhomboideum. A friend helped me out. He took too much of the stem away. Hope new growth will make it

[lee]

I bought a small CFL-light today for my bonchi. Light is a bit too much on the red side for growing but I think it will work
It's only consumes 20W. The output is equal to 100W
Colorspectrum=2700K
Lumen=1050
I paid €2.79 for it.

[bluesman]

My first attempt to try a bonchi.First the original two orange habaneros (both have been out in the garden all summer,just took them in because the frost.

And the one of the two. I haven´t dared to prepare the roots more visible, just trying to see if I can keep them live.


Is it possible to trim chilis after the growth has begun, I mean the roots and so on? I bought a sack of bonsaisoil (38€) to put the plants in a smaller pots but still keep the moisture in. Here´s a few of my overwintering chilis;


These are not bonchis but overwintering plants but I´d like to make bonchis out of them. Is it too late?
One of my favourites died;
   But one of the most prolific producers is alive and well. Pay attention to the stem thickness.

[Fatalii]

Of course it's possible and even recommended to keep pruning both growth and roots after the bonchi has survived.

Your bonchi starts look promising, I would cut them down much shorter, they might actually have even better change to survive as they don't have to waste too much energy on long thick stem.
Of course, it is a good idea to keep pruning it down, even the thick stems as the new growth emerges from the lower parts of the plants.

[bluesman]

 The orange habanero bonchi pic is a bit old. I just discovered flower buds in them. I wouldn´t like to prune the buds or what?
Even though they still keep on coming aftrer shortening the stem.

[Fatalii]

Wwll, if you're trying to get dense foliage on the plants, you should prune big leaves, longer stems, flowers, buds and even pods...

[Tahooma]

So, ill post some pics later this afternoon, but one of my two bonchis survived
The Chupetinha died, but the NuMex Twilight one survived, grows lots of leaves, AND it already starts to flower 
Ill post a pic, i didnt care about the roots first, so i guess what you tried to say before is you can "dig out" the roots afterwards, after the bonchi survived ?

[Fatalii]

Yeah, you can do that later, a little by little if you like, to minimize the risk of it dying.

[Tahooma]

So here is my bonchi-trial project
It grows lots of leaves.
The Root is not as nice as it had to survive a hard thunderstorm in july with big hail.
But I love it, it grows.
Next steps are getting the roots out of the foil and  wireing the leaves...

[Fatalii]

Great start!

You might want to raise the whole plant with adding more soil / akadama etc below the plant before digging the roots and trimming the smallest roots.

It's a happy to see your bonchi growing new foliage isn't it.

Bonchi will usually become your favorite plant after it survives the first shock!

[bluesman]

 When you are using akadama, do you use it just as it is in the sack,  or do you mix it with turf etc?
Do the water preserving properties change if you put something else in it?