growing a bonchi

I want to grow a bonchi bolivian rainbow or royal black.
What's the fastest way of growing a bonchi?
Should I let it grow this season and cut it back before the winter comes?
Or is it faster to start pruning it, once it reaches a good height?
 
     The answer is kind of in between your two choices. You don't want to take off too much right away and slow its growth. But at the same time, putting off all the pruning until fall will require you to make larger cuts than if you'd kept up on it throughout the growing season.
     When I want to shape one of my plants, I prune it kind of like how I would prune any other shrub or a tree. If you have a branch that you want to remove, you can subordinate its growth by removing part of it or just pinching off the meristem (if its a small branch). This trains the plant to stop putting as much energy into that branch and put more into other areas.
     This will be good for the plant for two reasons: the plant won't be shocked by having a large portion of its photosynthetic potential removed at once. And by not allowing unwanted branches to get too big before removal, you will end up making a much smaller cut when it comes time to remove the branch completely. Small cuts seal over faster and are less of an eyesore.
     Good luck! Post pics!
 
dash 2 said:
     The answer is kind of in between your two choices. You don't want to take off too much right away and slow its growth. But at the same time, putting off all the pruning until fall will require you to make larger cuts than if you'd kept up on it throughout the growing season.
     When I want to shape one of my plants, I prune it kind of like how I would prune any other shrub or a tree. If you have a branch that you want to remove, you can subordinate its growth by removing part of it or just pinching off the meristem (if its a small branch). This trains the plant to stop putting as much energy into that branch and put more into other areas.
     This will be good for the plant for two reasons: the plant won't be shocked by having a large portion of its photosynthetic potential removed at once. And by not allowing unwanted branches to get too big before removal, you will end up making a much smaller cut when it comes time to remove the branch completely. Small cuts seal over faster and are less of an eyesore.
     Good luck! Post pics!
+1 ! 
 
& those two plants would both make beautiful bonchis! 
 
dash 2 said:
The answer is kind of in between your two choices. You don't want to take off too much right away and slow its growth. But at the same time, putting off all the pruning until fall will require you to make larger cuts than if you'd kept up on it throughout the growing season.
     When I want to shape one of my plants, I prune it kind of like how I would prune any other shrub or a tree. If you have a branch that you want to remove, you can subordinate its growth by removing part of it or just pinching off the meristem (if its a small branch). This trains the plant to stop putting as much energy into that branch and put more into other areas.
     This will be good for the plant for two reasons: the plant won't be shocked by having a large portion of its photosynthetic potential removed at once. And by not allowing unwanted branches to get too big before removal, you will end up making a much smaller cut when it comes time to remove the branch completely. Small cuts seal over faster and are less of an eyesore.
     Good luck! Post pics!
But the stem won't be as thick making it look small
 
Nightshade said:
But the stem won't be as thick making it look small
     Why not? If the plant is pruned properly, it will be growing just as fast, if not faster than if it weren't pruned, or was pruned incorrectly. And depending on how you prune the stem, you could end up with a tall, single stem topiary-type bonsai, or a really low-branching, fat bur oak kind of trunk.
 
 
edit: Oops, I think I misunderstood you before (it was late…). If the goal is to grow a bonsai with a big, gnarly, disproportionately thick stem, then yes, I think the only way is to grow a huge plant and then cut it way back. My response before was just regarding how to shape a plant from an early stage. Once you have your plant pruned into the basic shape you want, let it grow huge and then hack it back to reveal the tree within!
 
And what do you do with your bonchi in the winter?
It's quite warm indoors and not much sunlight...
 
Also, If I focus on making a bonchi, is it wise to pinch of all flowers?
 
Itoero said:
And what do you do with your bonchi in the winter?
It's quite warm indoors and not much sunlight...
 
Also, If I focus on making a bonchi, is it wise to pinch of all flowers?
One bonchi can survive and produce from just one cfl. Grow your pepper plant as big as possible let it produce and do its thing then at season end chop it back put it in a small pot add light and prune to your liking
 
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