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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 How To Featured Articles Wiring

Can Bonsai Wire Be Reused?

Bonsai Wire
As our bonsai trees grow, the branches slowly increase in size. Any wire on the branches of our bonsai trees can become tight, and as it does, mark the bark. In severe cases, the wires may have dug deep into the branches and cause permanent scars. While light markings will grow out in a year or two, heavy markings can be permanent. In order to avoid these ugly wire marks on our bonsai trees, we should check the wires wound on our bonsai trees regularly and remove them before they have a chance to dig into the bark.

While most of the bonsai websites I have visited so far say “no” to reusing bonsai wire and recommend that the wire be removed by cutting each turn with some wire cutters, I don’t hold my ground strongly against the reusing of bonsai wire. I unwind and reuse my bonsai wire, but I only do so when it is safe for my bonsai trees. This means that the wire must not have bitten into the bark, and the branch must be strong and healthy. In addition, it is much easier to unwind wires safely on thick branches than thin ones. Do not try to unwind the wire if the wire has already bitten deep into the branch. In this case, we should use our wire cutters.

Moreover, above suggestions only apply to aluminum bonsai wire. Do not bother to unwind copper wire as it is impossible to remove kinks from it once it is bent and becomes hard. Always remove copper wires with wire cutters.

Either we reuse our bonsai wire or not, checking the bonsai wires wound on our bonsai trees regularly is the best thing we can do for our trees. Like unwinding bonsai wire, using a wire cutter to remove bonsai wire can be dangerous too if the wire has dug very deep into the bark or if we are just not being careful enough.

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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

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Bonsai Pots

Bonsai Pots of Different Materials

Mica and Plastic Bonsai Pot

Mica bonsai pots are made of 80% mica, 15% polyethylene, and 5% graphite. Mica is a material with a natural ability to stabilize the temperature of the potting soil in the pot. This protects the roots of our bonsai trees from damages caused by cold temperature, as well as promotes healthy root activity during growing season. Because the polyethylene bonds the raw materials together and makes the bonsai pots tough and durable, the bonsai pots made of mica seldom break. And with 5% graphite, mica pots have the appearance of high quality unglazed ceramic potsBonsai-Pot-Clay.

Due to their lightweight and durable nature, bonsai pots made of both mica and plastic are great for bonsai training, as a step towards a smaller pot.

Clay Bonsai Pot

Clay bonsai pots are good for our bonsai trees because of their ability to retain temperatures and release moisture at a constant rate. Clay bonsai pot also allows oxygen to get to the roots of the bonsai tree which is vital for healthy growth.

Here is an article about Yixing zisha bonsai pot.

Porcelain Bonsai Pot

Porcelain pots are not used very often as they are usually fairly expensive. In addition, porcelain pot holds water as they are nonporous. Hence, bonsai artists pot their bonsai trees in porcelain pots more for show than for grow.

bonsai-pot-porcelain

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 Shapes and Sizes
Is Your Bonsai Tree Ready for a Bonsai Pot?
Choosing Your Bonsai Pots

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Bonsai Pots

Bonsai Pot Drainage – A Must for All Bonsai Trees

bonsai-pot-drainage-hole

No matter what type of bonsai pot we choose, we should make sure that our bonsai pots have adequate drainage holes.  Bonsai pots made in China and Japan usually have large drainage holes, so that excess water can drain away.  Cover each drainage hole inside the bonsai pot with a piece of plastic drainage mesh to prevent any soil falling through the holes.

Some bonsai pots may have small holes around the side of the base.  There holes can be very handy sometimes.  We can use these holes to tie the bonsai tree into the pot, or tie a branch of the bonsai tree to a downward position for training.  I also use these holes on my bonsai pots to tie and secure the pots on my bonsai rack.

Pots and containers are often available from garden centers that are massively produced, yet not necessarily for bonsai.  Usually these pots and containers only have one small drainage hole, or sometimes, none at all.  Do not try to use a pot with only one drainage hole, as drainage hole is a major factor in growing healthy bonsai trees, and one small drainage hole is definitely not enough.

In addition, we should also check if the base of the bonsai pot is flat so to make sure there is no area where water can become trapped and cause root rot.

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Bonsai Pots

Bonsai Pots and Containers – Just as Essential as Our Bonsai Trees

Bonsai-tree-Carmona

A bonsai is a tree in pot. Hence, the bonsai pot that we choose for our bonsai tree is an integral and vital part of the entire bonsai composition. Without a well-matching bonsai pot, the bonsai is incomplete. The bonsai pot is not just a container in which we grow our bonsai tree. It is also the most important element that must match well with our bonsai tree so that the final composition integrates well as a complementary unit.

Most bonsai pots are made of stoneware, ceramic, terracotta, mica, or plastic. Some bonsai pots are collector items in themselves, being hundreds of years old and worth thousands of dollars. But even put aside these antiques, bonsai pots are still fairly expensive.

Having all these said, we should keep in mind that the bonsai pot is no more and no less than an essential complementary unit of our bonsai tree. Our bonsai tree is always the lead character, while its bonsai pot is the number one sidekick who can brighten up and emphasize the beauty of the 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?
Choosing Your Bonsai Pots

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Bonsai Pots Featured Articles

Is Your Bonsai Tree Ready for a Bonsai Pot?

Bonsai-tree-potBefore a bonsai tree is potted into its final bonsai pot, it first should be potted in a training pot, where there are more space and resources for the bonsai tree to grow and develop its root system and new branches.  During this period, ramification and final branch placement will begin.

When we get a new bonsai tree, if it is a juvenile bonsai tree that is still growing quite rapidly, we should use bonsai training pots before we decide on a final show pot to exhibit our bonsai tree.   While old bonsai trees, which do not need to be trained anymore and have been repotted and root-pruned many times already, are adapted to living in small bonsai pots, young bonsai trees need much more room to grow.  Young bonsai trees need to be trained step-by-step to adept to living in smaller pots, by pruning their roots every time they are being repotted.  These young bonsai trees can be potted in less expensive bonsai pots or in plastic containers which are widely available at many online bonsai supply shops.

When we repot our bonsai tree from the bonsai training pot to its final bonsai pot, the shape of the bonsai tree should already been decided and formed.  Most of the shaping and forming should have been done by this time.  During the training phase, a lot of work is going on.  The bonsai training pots are like a workhouse of the bonsai pot.  Most of the shaping and pruning, as well as wiring and rewiring, are done when the bonsai tree is potted in the training pot.

Therefore, bonsai training pots need not to be beautiful works of art.  All they need to be is sturdy and light in weight.  When the bonsai tree is ready to be repotted from the bonsai training pot, we can start looking at aesthetics, and search for the perfect bonsai pot to showcase our beautiful bonsai tree.  And this is when colors and designs of bonsai pots become important.

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
Choosing Your Bonsai Pots

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Bonsai How To

Watering Our Mini Bonsai Trees

Mame-Shohin-Bonsai

Watering bonsai trees as small as shohin bonsai or mame bonsai can be a challenging task. We can easily overwater our bonsai trees, as well as underwater them. Because the bonsai pot sizes are so small, it often becomes difficult to gauge the exact amount of water required by these bonsai trees. In places of dry climate, mini bonsai trees should be watered as much as three times daily, if not more on some hot summer days, since the two or three tablespoons of soil can dry out very quickly. Just like our normal-size bonsai trees, the water requirement depends on the temperature, humidity, and air current.

To create a moist atmosphere for our mini bonsai trees, we can keep the bonsai pot buried in damp sand. This will help our bonsai trees from completely lacking of water. Another easy way to water our mini bonsai trees is to immerse our bonsai trees in water until no more air bubble rises to the top.

In addition, all foliage of our min bonsai trees should be sprayed daily. When we first have our mini bonsai tree potted, we should place our mini bonsai tree somewhere in the shade for about a week. After that, we can introduce our mini bonsai tree to the sun. Mini bonsai can be placed both indoors as well as outdoors. But we should never keep these mini bonsai trees in a confined and shaded location. Mame bonsai and shohin bonsai needs sunlight to grow properly just like normal bonsai do.

The location we choose for our mini bonsai tree is the same as for normal bonsai tree and the instructions regarding the care and cultivation are no different as well.

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Bonsai How To

Finding Trees for Mini Bonsai

Mame-Shohin-Bonsai

We can obtain mini bonsai by collecting trees from the wild, by growing them from off-shoots, by cultivating them from seeds and cuttings, or by buying them from bonsai nurseries.

Mame bonsai trees and shohin bonsai trees need to be grown for between three and five years to shape the tree sufficiently to be called as bonsai. We can start with seedlings of 3-5 cm tall. These seedlings can be found in woods and parks at the foot of some large trees, and many of these little off-shoots are already in an interesting shape at this early stage. Nevertheless, mini bonsai should be miniature versions of the original tree in the nature, but not some weird looking, deformed trees.

When we go to the mountainous areas to collect trees for our mini bonsai, we should take shovels, picks, newspaper to wrap our collection in and rope to secure the soil until we get home. We want to make sure the tree that we bring home is kept fresh in the best condition it can be.Mame-Shohin-Bonsai

Our local nursery is another place where we can find good shohin potentials. We do not need to start off with anything expensive or fancy. What we are looking for is a tree that has potential for shohin bonsai. It must be well balanced a miniature in size, or at least, capable of being trained miniature. We may not find what we want right away, but take several trips to different nurseries. With some patience and luck, we may find some excellent potential of mini bonsai tree at our nursery.

As for starting time, spring is the best time of the year to go looking for suitable bonsai tree material. We should dig the little tree out carefully without damaging the roots. We then remove the taproot, leave some earth on the roots, and wrap the plant in damp moss or moistened newspaper to avoid the mini bonsai tree from drying out.