Hi - I like its potential, but have a couple of things to throw out - I don't know who told you to water little bits often, but it's a mistake because the roots never get any water, or at least not enough, but the top parts stay soggy, which is not good for newer higher-up roots... so do water less often, but well (til it comes out the bottom a bit). Secondly, it's hard to say what it is because you have many plants/trees there that we don't have up here, so it could be a honeysuckle, but also who knows what, and you could bring it to a local nursery for help with an ID as without one, it'll be hard to do the right thing by it! As with any tree or plant that normally grows naturally outdoors in your climate (vs another very different one), you must leave it outdoors to experience all its requisite seasons properly - are you in e.g. N. Queensland where it's almost always very hot, or in the south, where it can get cold and wet? Now what you have to do is choose individual branches to keep and to prune away - but as it's a deciduous (leafy) tree rather than an evergreen (pine, etc), prune in spring and not autumn, which of course is right now where you are (spring, I mean :-). Don't just hack away at things, but do it for reasons of style (to at least some extent in accordance with bonsai tradition (rules) until such time as you know so much about them that breaking the rules becomes a conscious thought out design decision that makes sense on its own... and that probably won't be for years I guess... which is why rules help, to understand why you cut this branch and not the other... blah blah! I'll leave it to you to research why (not just for artistic angles, but to encourage (or otherwise) new buds to grow where you want them. You need to have some idea in mind of what you want the future tree to look like (years from now) before just cutting branches off that you might want after all. But it's also important to consider those which grow directly opposite each other on the trunk (not necessarily desirable), or cross each other in X directions, etc... start reading up on all that and then cut only when you're very sure about it. Get back at some time (whenever) with new pix and Q's if you have any. But find out what it is before anything else, if only so you get a better handle on how often to water (or not, if it's living outdoors and nature is doing the job).

You'll probably hate me too. I've had great success starting and growing Jolokias. Your container size, half barrels, is fine. I grow mine in 5 gallon pots. I understand that soil/growing medium can help achieve optimum results but I'm lazy. I do just fine using ProMix BX which is mostly peat. Not sure where you heard they don't like peat? As for fertilizer, farmer friends turned me onto a commercial 20-8-20 mix. It's primarily used in forestry but it works really well for peppers. FWIW, Bill

@hot.pooper The reason overwatering causes the drooping is because, as odd as this sounds, it prevents water from reaching the leaves. Most people don't realize that while plants make oxygen during photosynthesis, they also breath it the same way we do. Photosynthesis is using the sun's energy to make food for the plant, but when it comes time to "eat" the food it has, it has to use oxygen to break it back down, same as the rest of us (look up the krebs cycle for details on how that works). Above ground, thats easy. Photosynthesis creates more oxygen than the plant can use to break the food back down with, so the leaves and stems are always in good shape. The roots, on the other hand, have to pull oxygen out of the soil in order to breath. If you put too much water in the soil, there isn't any room for air left, and the roots start to drown (literally). Drowning roots are too busy trying to stay alive to effectively take in water and nutrients to send up into the rest of the plant, so the symptoms of overwatering tend to be identical to underwatering with nutrient deficiency thrown in for good measure(drooping, yellowing leaves, dead spots, etc). So, only water your peppers when they have dried out to the point the leaves are visibly drooping. If you have to ask "does it need water yet?", the answer is no. If you walk in and the leaves are hanging limp and the branches are drooping, it'll be obvious its time to water, and thats when you do so. Give it a good soak, then don't water it again until its dried out and drooping again.

Well, I'm back to the Dorset or 7 Pot camp then. Having a big bite and letting us know how hot will help figure it out. Start with the small and then compare with the larger one. Maybe we can get Ravi (trfanatic) to volunteer and man the defibrillator during the taste test? Ravi, you game?