Project Kickoff: Skull Bonsai

Hello,

I've started this blog to document a major project of mine.  For several years now I have been growing various bonsai'ed pepper plants, known as bonchi (the word is a portmanteau of bonsai and chile pepper).  Fatalii.net has a wonderful guide on how to get started on making your own bonchi, but essentially you can use all of the methods of making slow growing Japanese bonsai using fast growing pepper plants.  Not only can you get impressive looking plants within a single year using this method, but peppers will continue to produce fruit while bonsai'ed and can live for well over a decade as long as you bring them inside during the winter.  In fact, the preferred method for overwintering a pepper plant is to chop it back into something already closely resembling a bonsai, so why not make it into an attractive display while you're at it?

 

I've recently gotten my hands on seeds for the infamous Carolina Reaper, the hottest pepper in the world with average scoville rating of 1.5 million, and peak ratings of well over 2 million shu.  These aren't peppers, they're weaponized fruit.  Plus, just look at them, they even look like something that would send Jason Vorhees running for his life.

It wants your soul...

So, I've decided to grow some Reapers for harvesting, and to make a bonchi out of some as well.  Seeing as this pepper is known as the Reaper, there's really only one theme I can imagine being suitable for it.

This is a life sized replica human skull cast from resin I got off of Amazon that I have done some work to in order to get it properly dirtied up and aged (it came in almost dayglo white).  My intention is to do a full on roots over rocks bonsai with the world's hottest pepper and this skull.

Not quite sure yet what positioning I'm going to go for yet, or even really how many plants will be on it, but its going to be a long and fun journey, so I thought I'd share it with you!