Literally the Japanese term “Bonsai” refers to “tree in a container” or “plant in a pot”. That means bonsai is not only a tree but also a proper combination of a pot and a plant. For completing the overall image of a bonsai tree, the tree and the pot should be in harmony together and they should create a proper combination also.
From planting the seeds to repotting the tree, choosing the perfect and best bonsai pot for the tree is extremely crucial as well as difficult too. You should consider many things while choosing the best pot for your tree. So unfortunately this isn’t an easy task to be done.
So we have written this article to show you the rules or guidelines that you can follow while choosing the best bonsai pots for your bonsai trees. Hopefully, this article will be able to assist you to select and buy the best pot for your tree. And never forget to read and research enough about the task before going to buy that thing.
However, let’s get started reading the article and figure out the things you need to know.
Bonsai Pots For a Tree
When we talk about a bonsai plant, we should also talk about the pot used for the plant. Basically, bonsai pots aren’t anything special. You can use a container picked from your kitchen as a bonsai pot if it promotes different requirements to be used as a bonsai pot.
First of all, a bonsai pot should have enough drainage holes to remove excess water from the pot while watering the tree. Wiring holes are also very essential for an ideal bonsai pot. So make sure that your pot includes enough wiring holes in it.
Then try to figure out which material is used for making the pot. Because this material is responsible for creating positive or negative impacts on the health of your tree.
Basically, bonsai pots are created from ceramic, plastics, porcelain, concrete, and something like that. But the natural elements like porcelain or ceramic are more healthy than other elements for the health of bonsai trees.
However, there are other things to consider before choosing a bonsai pot such as the depth of the pot, the design of the pot, and the color of the pot.
How to Pick Bonsai Pots
There are various types of bonsai pots in the market with different sizes, styles, designs, and colors. But all of them can’t be suitable for your bonsai tree. So this is a very important duty to pick suitable bonsai pots while repotting the tree.
Picking up a suitable bonsai pot is as crucial as the design of the tree. But the task may not be easy for the newcomers in this field. A huge number of requirements are recommended to be considered before using a container as your bonsai pot.
Basically, there are three basic considerations when it comes to choosing a bonsai pot. They are the size and the style of the pot and another one is the gender of the tree.
Gender ( Masculine or Feminine)
This is the first and foremost thing to consider is which gender your tree actually belongs to masculine or feminine. Though trees are usually a combination of both sex, we should consider the dominant one.
The basic symptoms of a masculine tree are deadwood, thick trunk, mature bark, dense foliage, heavily thicker branches, etc.
On the contrary, immature bark, smooth trunk, light canopy, grace, slow taper, etc. are the most common symbols of being a feminine gender.
But in some cases, these features can fail to figure out the actual gender of a tree. Because there are also some tree species like Hawthorne which are actually masculine species but show all the feminine characteristics. Similarly, some other tree species such as the Japanese Maple should be considered as a feminine species although it has all masculine characteristics.
Bonsai Pots Size
When choosing a bonsai pot, the most important thing to consider is the size of the pot. Before repotting a tree make sure that the pot you are using has an accurate dimension according to the tree. The size of the pot will depend on the tree species and the style of the tree.
The general rule for choosing a perfect bonsai pot is that the pot should have the same length as the length of the trunk just above the root surface. Therefore, for more perfection, you can follow the following rules while buying a bonsai pot.
According to the style of the pot, you can consider the following guidelines to purchase a perfect bonsai pot.
- A pot that is rectangular or oval in its style, should be ⅔ of the height of the tree.
- A square or round pot should be ⅓ of the tree’s height.
According to the condition and species of trees, the following rules are recommended for you for buying an accurate bonsai pot.
- Trees that have thick trunks or dense foliage, will be in need of deeper but narrower pots.
- On the contrary, the trees with large and wide foliage prefer wider pots. Especially shallower pots (a special kind of pot with lower depths than the width of the pot) would be the better choice for those trees.
- The tree species which have fast-growing roots such as Trident Maple trees will need larger or deeper pots. Basically, fruit and flowering trees need deeper pots that have a large root system.
- Equally, the tree species with slow-growing roots will prefer smaller or shallower pots.
Bonsai Pots Design and Shape
The design and the shape of bonsai pots play a vital role in the overall perfection and beauty of trees. The design and shape of the pot you choose should be harmonious with the tree. The main fact to consider while choosing the accurate shape of a pot is to consider the gender of the tree.
You should have a look at your tree and make sure the type of gender of your tree. Because a famine tree can never look good on a masculine pot. As an equal, a masculine tree doesn’t look better on an oval or round-shaped pot. To figure out the gender of your tree, you can follow the guidelines we discussed above.
For choosing a pot with an accurate shape, the basic guidelines are the following:
Bonsai Rectangular Pots
Rectangular pots are basically used for the trees which are masculine. Moreover, this type of pot is very suitable and very good-looking for coniferous tree species. Experts also refer to rectangular pots for old deciduous plants.
– Bonsai Oval pots
Oval pots are used for planting feminine trees to reflect their femininity. Furthermore, oval pots are literally the most popular ones for clump-style trees to bring a vibe of forests or groves.
– Bonsai Shallow Round Pots
Shallow pots are suitable for reflecting the femininity of coniferous or deciduous feminine trees. Moreover, round pots are very suitable for fitting tall and straight feminine bonsai trees.
So as we have already discussed the shapes of pots, now it turns to talk about various designs of bonsai pots.
So let’s jump into the next part.
– Bonsai Pot with Feet
One of the best designs for bonsai pots is including different feet with it. They’re very effective because they are useful for drainage and airflow. The main purpose of having feet in a pot is to give enough strength to the pot and the tree.
– Bonsai Pot lip and rim
The main purpose of fitting a lip on the upper rim of a pot is to give additional strength to the pot and the tree (mostly for masculine trees).
A straight rim is more suitable for androgynous and feminine trees.
– Bonsai Pot corners
Intended corners are basically used in rectangular-shaped pots to bring a little bit of a feminine vibe into the pot.
Rounded corners are suitable for oval pots and tend to fit masculine deciduous trees.
– Bonsai Pot colors
Finally, now it’s time to consider the color of the pot. This is very crucial to choose a perfect color for the pot that really suits the tree. First of all, make sure that the pot color appears in the tree.
You can select the color as the color of the bark, the color of the fruits, the color of the leaves or the color of the flowers.
However, you can choose any of the unglazed colors like gray, brown or earth tones. Besides, blue and green colors are also very nice choices that provide much balance and refreshes to the pot and overall the tree.
Where to buy bonsai pots
When you’re in need of getting a bonsai pot, you can get your desired pot in many ways. Your local bonsai nurseries or shops will be the best way for buying a bonsai pot. But if there are no bonsai shops or nurseries, you can visit various bonsai festivals or fairs where bonsai potters come for trading.
Besides, you can also contact an experienced bonsai potter and make your desired bonsai pots. This is literally the best way of getting pot in your own design and shape you planned. Therefore, nowadays there are many online e-commerce business sites that provide various stylish bonsai pots. So you can also order your pot from there.
However, before going to buy a pot, take the necessary measurements and photos of your tree. These documents will help you to choose the best pot for your bonsai tree. Besides, you may have an effective discussion with the seller in the shop for choosing the perfect pot.
If you’re an experienced planter, these things may not be very necessary for you. But when you’re a newbie in this field, you should have enough knowledge before buying a bonsai pot. So you can discuss with seniors and can get help from various articles or websites like this for choosing the best bonsai pots.
Final Thought
So when you think about growing a bonsai tree, you should also think about the pot of your tree. Because bonsai pots lead a great impact on bonsai trees. There are many things like the beauty, the health, and the overall perfection of your artwork that will hardly depend on the harmony of the pot and the tree.
Though this is very difficult as well as crucial to choose a perfect pot for your bonsai tree, you should have the best bonsai pot in your collection before starting repotting your tree. So you can follow our guidelines on how to choose the best bonsai pot for ensuring that you have the best one. So before going to the market to buy a bonsai pot check out our full contents. Moreover, you can make a conversation with experts for buying suggestions and other necessary information.
FAQs
1. Do bonsai trees need special pots?
There is nothing special about a bonsai pot. Nevertheless, a pot made from clay that has enough drainage holes and required depth would be the best choice as a bonsai pot.
2. Why are bonsai pots so expensive?
Bonsai pots are usually handmade and require a lot of time, labor, and skill to make a quality pot. Moreover, they include special design and rarity. So we find bonsai trees so expensive.
3. Are plastic pots good for bonsai?
Plastic pots are very good for bonsai trees. Basically, they are very useful and effective when you are training a lot of bonsai trees at a time. You can also get them at a much cheaper rate. Moreover, plastic bonsai pots are very lightweight but strong enough. So they can be a very good substitute for ceramic bonsai pots.
4. How do you know when your bonsai needs repotting?
Early spring is the best time for repotting bonsai trees. So this is the time when you should repot your bonsai tree. But before repotting a tree, make sure that your tree is really in need of repotting. So in this case, check the roots of your tree. When you find the bonsai roots circling around the root system, then you should report your bonsai tree. Otherwise, you should leave it for the next early spring. But there are also other factors to be considered like the species, the pot size, and also the age of the tree.
5. Why are bonsai in shallow pots?
The main purpose of planting bonsai trees in shallow pots is to maintain the shape and the growth of the tree. Shallow pots also ensure limited watering and they look naturally right and gorgeous on a bonsai tree.
6. Is bonsai bad feng shui?
There are always different opinions about this topic. A group of people consider this plant as the lucky plant for peace and prosperity and welcome this plant into their home cordially. On the contrary, another group of people doesn’t love this plant and promotes this plant as a symbol of misfortune. They also don’t accept this plant as an indoor plant.
7. Do bonsai pots need drainage holes?
An ideal bonsai pot must have enough drainage holes. Drainage holes are useful for draining out excess water from the pot while watering the tree. If there is more water than required in the pot, this excess water can severely damage the root system of your tree. So bonsai pots need enough drainage holes to remove excess water in time.
8. How deep are Bonsai pots?
The actual depth of a bonsai pot will depend on the diameter of the trunk and the height of the tree. Basically, the depth of an ideal bonsai pot should be equal to the diameter of the trunk of the tree.