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Bonsai Pots Featured Articles

Introduction of Yixing Zisha Bonsai Pot

Yixing-Clay-Bonsai-PotIt is said that if we use a Yixing zisha teapot for many years, we can brew tea just by pouring boiling water into the empty pot. Highly praised for its porous nature, which works wonders in absorbing the flavor of tea, Yixing clay makes awesome teapots, while at the same time, is also an excellent material for making bonsai pot.

Yixing clay potteries are usually left unglazed. With Yixing clay’s porous nature, Yixing bonsai pot is excellent in moisture absorption and ventilation, very suitable for the growth of bonsai trees. Moreover, the unpretentious earthy tones and subtle beauty give more reasons for the bonsai enthusiast to fall in love with these bonsai pots that are made of Yixing clay.

Yixing – The Capital of Chinese Pottery

Yixing (宜興) is located in the Taihu Lake drainage area of Yangtze River Delta, about three-hour drive away from Shanghai, or an hour from Wuxi. Enjoying the reputation as “the capital of Chinese pottery”, Yixing is splendid in the pottery culture and tea culture.

Yixing Clay

Yixing clay has been made into pottery for thousands of years in the Yixing area. While there are Yixing potteries showcased in museums dating back as far as 6,000 years ago, many would agree that Yixing/zisha pottery started in the Northern Song Dynasty and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Yixing clay occurs naturally in three characteristic colors: purplish brown (zisha clay, 紫砂泥), light greenish buff (鍛泥), and cinnabar red (朱泥). Other colors are created by mixing these three colors or by adding mineral pigments.

There is a household story about the discovery of Yixing clay.

Long, long ago, a monk came to Yixing one day and told the locals that he had something valuable to show. People of Yixing were curious and followed the monk into a cave, where the monk suddenly disappeared without any trace. While the local people of Yixing couldn’t find the monk, they found a very unique kind of clay – Yixing zisha clay.

Yixing-Clay-Bonsai-Pot

You may also be interested in this article – Bonsai Pots of Different Materials

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Bonsai Pots

Should We Go for Glazed or Unglazed Bonsai Pot?

Bonsai pots come either unglazed or glazed. While some bonsai lovers like glazed bonsai pots, some others prefer the unglazed ones. There are different opinions on whether we should go for a glazed bonsai pot or an unglazed one, and ultimately, it comes down to personal choice. Yet, before we purchase our bonsai pots, here are a few points that we should first consider.

  • Unglazed bonsai pots allow the roots of the bonsai tree to breathe better. And by the same token, unglazed bonsai pots lose moisture through their walls faster than glazed bonsai pots.
  • Glazed bonsai pots retain more moisture; hence we probably don’t need to water as often. However, air cannot move through a glazed bonsai pot as well as an unglazed one. If it is a tropical bonsai tree we have, we may want to consider using a glazed bonsai pot since tropical trees live in humid regions love moist soil.
  • In general, a dark colored unglazed bonsai pot can give a classic bonsai tree a stronger sense of age.
  • A glazed bonsai pot may be more appropriate for a flowering bonsai tree.
  • Never ever use a bonsai pot that is glazed on the inside. Without an unglazed surface, the root of the bonsai tree cannot get a firm grip on the inside surface of the bonsai pot.

Bonsai-tree-Podocarpus Bonsai-tree-Murraya Mame-Shohin-Bonsai

There are many bonsai pots for us to choose from. Besides glazed and unglazed, there are also many different sizes and shapes, large variety of colors and materials. As said, it all comes down to personal choice. Just remember to pick a bonsai pot that not only compliments with the bonsai tree, but also provide a suitable environment for the roots.

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Bonsai Pots

Bonsai Pots for Mini Bonsai Trees

Mame-Shohin-Bonsai

It is important to select the right kind of pot for your shohin bonsai and mame bonsai. To give our mini bonsai tree the effect of miniaturization, we would need to get an equally small pot for our mini bonsai tree. However, the size of the bonsai pot is important only for shows and exhibitions. During the training period, it is totally acceptable to let the small trees grow in bigger containers. This will give our mini bonsai tree the time to regain strength. Potted in bigger containers, our bonsai trees have more space for root development, as well as more moist and fertilizer retain in the soil for better growth. Hence, it is definitely advisable to use oversized containers in the development stage for our shohin bonsai and mame bonsai.

Before a competition or bonsai exhibition, we can prepare our mini bonsai tree by repotting it from the big container into a smaller bonsai pot. The bonsai pot must have the dimension as specified by the organization of the bonsai exhibition or competition. In addition, we should repot our mini bonsai tree in spring, to secure the bonsai tree from suffering after repotting.

The choice of bonsai pot is often a matter of taste. We want to choose a bonsai pot that is in well balance with the mini bonsai tree. And while we should find a bonsai pot equally as small as our mini bonsai tree, another important feature we need to be aware of is drainage hole. Despite the small size of the bonsai pot, there should be a large drainage hole at the bottom of the bonsai pot.

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Bonsai How To Bonsai Pots

Choosing Your Bonsai Pots

Choosing the right bonsai pot for our bonsai tree is an art in itself. It must be the right shape, size, and color for it to bring out the full beauty of our bonsai tree. Bonsai pots have a huge impact on bonsai trees and can either compliment the trees or detract from them. There are many rules-of-thumb and different conventions for the choice of bonsai pot, but at the very end, it is the experienced eye of the bonsai artist that determines what the best is.

Drainage

All bonsai pots must have drainage holes, as well as a tray underneath the bonsai pot to allow for overflow.  For more details, check out this article – Bonsai Pot Drainage – A Must for All Bonsai Trees.

Airflow

All bonsai pots should have feet so that the base of the bonsai pot stands clear of the display stand. This allows for free airflow around the base of the bonsai pot, and will increase the chances of a healthy bonsai tree.

Bonsai-tree-pot

Unglazed Interior

Bonsai pots should be unglazed on the inside as this helps to keep the bonsai tree stable in the bonsai pot. This is especially important when the roots have grown sufficiently to come into contact with the sides of the bonsai pot.

Frost-proof

The bonsai pots must be frost-proof if the bonsai trees are to be placed outdoor in colder climate. Hence, the bonsai pots should be made from stoneware or porcelain. Bonsai pots made of other materials such as plastic is fine as well, yet, they are best suited for bonsai beginners as training pots for their bonsai trees. Eventually, most of us graduate to stoneware or porcelain bonsai pots, as they give our bonsai trees far superior appearances.
Bonsai-tree-pot

Size and Shape

The bonsai pots that we buy for our bonsai trees should be big and strong enough to hold our bonsai trees. It would be a waste of time and money if the bonsai pot we have prepared does not support the weight of our bonsai tree. For more details, check out this article –
Bonsai Pots of Different Shapes and Sizes.

Color

There are many colors of bonsai pots available. When we choose a bonsai pot for our bonsai tree, we want to pick a bonsai pot that complements the look of our bonsai tree. We should be aware that some species have foliage that change color in different seasons. Hence, we should take this into account with our specific type of bonsai tree.

Here are a few more articles on how to choose bonsai pots for our bonsai trees.
What Bonsai Pots for What Bonsai Trees?
Bonsai Pot – Get the Right Size for Our Tree
Bonsai Pots for Different Bonsai Styles
Bonsai Pots of Different Materials
Bonsai Pots of Different Shapes and Sizes
Is Your Bonsai Tree Ready for a Bonsai Pot?

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Bonsai Pots

Bonsai Pots & Humidity Trays

bonsai-humidity-tray

Bonsai humidity trays (or drip trays) are important to the health of our bonsai trees for the following reasons.

  • Since all bonsai pots have drainage holes in the bottom, the humidity tray (or drip tray) can hold the excess water and prevent water from dripping on the surface of our windowsill, table, or wherever we put our bonsai trees.
  • Humidity tray can help us create a humid environment for our bonsai trees.  We just have to leave some water in the humidity tray during the day, and let the water in the tray evaporates.  Water evaporating from the humidity tray helps to raise the humidity level around our bonsai trees.
  • With a humidity tray, we can water our bonsai trees at where they are placed instead of taking the bonsai trees to the sink for watering. When we water, we should pour on the top of the potting mix slowly until it penetrates the soil and excess water comes out from the drainage holes in the bottom of the bonsai pot.  This watering method is especially convenient for larger bonsai trees.

There are plastic and clay humidity trays (or drip trays) in multiple sizes and colors available in many online shops that sell bonsai supplies and tools.

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Bonsai Pots

Bonsai Pots – Made in China vs Made in Japan

Bonsai is tree in small pots, and these bonsai pots are mostly made in Japan or China. Japanese pottery is known for its high quality. They are elegant, natural, often unglazed, and fairly expensive. On the other hand, Chinese pottery is generally cheaper (while their quality is getting better and better) and often brightly glazed. Most of these bonsai pots are made of high-quality clay and are baked in high temperatures; hence these bonsai pots can tolerate very low and high temperatures.

However, what I just mentioned is only in the context of bonsai pots of low and medium quality. For the highest, world-class quality bonsai pots, the picture is different. Many of the top bonsai pots are made in China. In fact, today, many Japanese bonsai enthusiasts still prefer Chinese pots, especially kowatari containers.

Same as the art of bonsai, the origin of bonsai pottery is China. As early as the 12th century, without the knowledge we have in chemistry today, Chinese ceramists were able to make beautiful bonsai pots with amazing quality which modern technology cannot even match with today.

A major different between Chinese and Japanese bonsai pots lies in the production method. Although the Japanese bonsai pots are handmade, they are shaped in a mould. The clay is pressed into a pre-shaped mould and the interior of the pot is shaped manually. On the other hand, the Chinese use an inside mould that only serves as a framework for the clay. The exterior is shaped by hand, and this allows the ceramists to create countless shapes and designs.

The bonsai pot should enhance the bonsai tree and not be overpowering or a dominant feature. It should harmonize and complement the characteristics of the bonsai tree, showing the bonsai off to its best advantage.

bonsai-pot-china bonsai-pot-china bonsai-pot-china bonsai-pot-china

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Bonsai How To Bonsai Pots

What Bonsai Pots for What Bonsai Trees?

Bonsai-tree-potThe type of bonsai pot we should get is based on the species, as well as the bonsai style, of our bonsai tree. For example, conifers blend well with naturally colored, unglazed bonsai pots of browns and grays, whereas deciduous trees look great in either unglazed or glazed bonsai pots of just about any color.

Color

We should also consider how the bonsai pot will blend with the strong autumn colors, as well as how the bonsai pot will match with the flowering season of our bonsai tree. While some bonsai lovers like to plant their flowering bonsai trees in glazed pots of brighter colors, such as whites, creams, blues, and greens, I often prefer a dark, plain bonsai pot to stand out the beautiful, bright colors of my flowering bonsai tree.

If we are unsure what bonsai pot color we should choose, it is always save to select a shade that is similar to the trunk of the bonsai tree.

In addition, for heavily glazed pots, the color of the glaze will age and wear off slightly over its lifetime. Indeed, some people like to wipe the glaze with French polish, wood scratch remover or similar fine oil to speed up the process and give the glazed pot a slightly more natural look and aged feeling.

Shape

While less formal styled bonsai trees suit most shapes of bonsai pot, including rectangular with rounded corners, oval, round, hexagonal, and such, formally shaped bonsai trees look best in angular, straight edged pots with sharp corners. For literati bonsai trees, many bonsai artists like to pot them in round bonsai pots, which can be simple and beautiful indeed. And as for multi-trunk or forest bonsai, the bonsai trees should be potted in large shallow bonsai pots or slabs of rock for the image of a natural landscape. Check this post – Bonsai Pots for Different Bonsai Styles – for more details.

It often takes quite some time to find the right bonsai pots for our trees. Be patient. This is part of the whole bonsai experience, and we should just enjoy the bonsai pot shopping as well.

Here are a few more articles on how to choose bonsai pots for our bonsai trees.
Bonsai Pot – Get the Right Size for Our Tree
Bonsai Pots for Different Bonsai Styles
Bonsai Pots of Different Materials
Bonsai Pots of Different Shapes and Sizes
Is Your Bonsai Tree Ready for a Bonsai Pot?
Choosing Your Bonsai Pots

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Bonsai How To Bonsai Pots

Bonsai Pot – Get the Right Size for Our Tree

Bonsai-Tree-Pot
The size of the bonsai pot is very important for it can affect the overall presentation of the bonsai tree. Small bonsai trees can be potted in large bonsai pots to create a landscape image, and conversely, large bonsai trees can be effectively potted in smaller bonsai pots to appear more dominant and powerful.

If a bonsai tree is mistakenly potted in a bonsai pot too big, the tree may look weaker and less powerful than it potentially can be perceived. And if a bonsai tree is potted in a bonsai pot too small, the growth of the bonsai tree will be hindered, if not stopped. The roots of the bonsai tree will be bounded, leaving no space for the roots to grow and develop. This is especially bad for bonsai trees that are still in their growing period, when the bonsai trees need more branches and leaves for a fuller and more mature look and feel.

In addition, we need to consider how much room the root system of our particular bonsai tree will need. Special attention should be paid for cascade and semi-cascade bonsai trees. Besides for visual balance, these bonsai trees require deep pots with plenty of room for their roots to grow down and hold onto the potting soil for stability.

Some people suggest that the length of a bonsai pot should be approximately 2/3 the height of the bonsai tree, or if it is a wide spreading bonsai, then 2/3 the width of the bonsai tree. I won’t hold on to this as a strict rule, but only a guideline to help us at the beginning of our bonsai pot shopping. There are many exceptions to this 2/3-rule. For example, tall thin bonsai trees usually look better in smaller pot.

In addition, when selecting bonsai pot, we should never pick one that requires us to drastically trim the roots of the bonsai tree. If we do want to reduce the size of the bonsai pot or the roots of the bonsai tree, then we need to do this gradually, moving down a pot size at a time before eventually reaching the size we desire.

Here are a few more articles on how to choose bonsai pots for our bonsai trees.
What Bonsai Pots for What Bonsai Trees?
Bonsai Pots for Different Bonsai Styles
Bonsai Pots of Different Materials
Bonsai Pots of Different Shapes and Sizes
Is Your Bonsai Tree Ready for a Bonsai Pot?
Choosing Your Bonsai Pots

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Bonsai Pots Style

Bonsai Pots for Different Bonsai Styles

Here is a list of suggested bonsai pot shapes for different style of bonsai trees. These are not strict rules, but good guidelines when choosing a bonsai pot for our bonsai tree.

Bonsai Style – Formal Upright & Informal Upright
Bonsai Pot Shape – Square, rectangle, oval, round
bonsai-tree-formal-upright Bonsai-tree-Pyracantha
Bonsai Style – Slanting
Bonsai Pot Shape – Square, rectangle, oval, round, hexagonal, octagonal
Bonsai-Tree-Slanting Bonsai-tree-Pinus
Bonsai Style – Semi-cascade
Bonsai Pot Shape – Square, hexagonal, octagonal,deep square, deep hexagonal, deep octagonal
Bonsai-tree-Carmona bonsai-tree-semi-cascade
Bonsai Style – Cascade
Bonsai Pot Shape – Square, hexagonal, octagonal,deep square, deep hexagonal, deep octagonal
Bonsai-tree-Juniperus Bonsai-tree-Glycosmis
Bonsai Style – Twin or Multi-Trunk
Bonsai Pot Shape – Rectangle, oval, round
Bonsai-tree-Murraya Bonsai-tree-Ficus
Bonsai Style – Group or Forest
Bonsai Pot Shape – Shallow rectangle, shallow oval, shallow round
Bonsai Tree - Fir Bonsai-tree-Serissa

Here are a few more articles on how to choose bonsai pots for our bonsai trees.
What Bonsai Pots for What Bonsai Trees?
Bonsai Pot – Get the Right Size for Our Tree
Bonsai Pots of Different Materials
Bonsai Pots of Different Shapes and Sizes
Is Your Bonsai Tree Ready for a Bonsai Pot?
Choosing Your Bonsai Pots

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Bonsai Pots

Bonsai Pots of Different Shapes and Sizes

Bonsai-tree-potBonsai pots are available in many different shapes, sizes and colors to suit all styles and species of bonsai trees.

Bonsai Pot Size

If the bonsai pot is too small, the bonsai tree will look unbalanced, or even worse, your bonsai tree may be toppled easily. If the bonsai pot is too large, our bonsai tree will look small and insignificant.

Bonsai Pot Shape

There are bonsai pots of many shapes: square, rectangle, round, oval, long oval, octagonal, hexagonal, freehand shapes, shallow trays for forest bonsai, and tall pots for cascade style bonsai trees.

When we choose a bonsai pot for our bonsai tree, we should already have a good idea of the style of our bonsai tree. Is the bonsai tree gentle and flowing? Or is the bonsai tree thick and heavy? A black pine with a thick, strong trunk in the formal upright style would be best suited to a strong angular bonsai pot, such as a square or rectangle bonsai pot with the absolute minimum of decorations or fancy feet. Yet, on the other hand, a soft bonsai tree such as an azalea, would look best in a gentle curvy, glazed bonsai pot, with some fine engravings.

Bonsai-Pot-Clay Bonsai-Pot-Clay Bonsai-Pot-Clay

Here are a few more articles on how to choose bonsai pots for our bonsai trees.
What Bonsai Pots for What Bonsai Trees?
Bonsai Pot – Get the Right Size for Our Tree
Bonsai Pots for Different Bonsai Styles
Bonsai Pots of Different Materials
Is Your Bonsai Tree Ready for a Bonsai Pot?
Choosing Your Bonsai Pots