Potting for Growth

[Robsterios]

Hi....I've been reading a fair bit about growth pots for development. I've also been purchasing lots of pots in readiness to pot up my rapidly expanding collection. Despite having a number of nice fully developed older tree's, the majority of my collection is in the "development" stage...eg; young Juni's..(some pre-bonsia, some nursery stock), some young deciduous trees such as maples, larch, beech etc... So I understand with regards to getting maximum growth to grow them in the ground, or in grow boxes untill one would be satisfied with the trunk thickness. Personally, having given them some initial styling, my preferance would be to pot them up into bonsai pots for the sake of having them in amongst my display. My thinking is that if they are potted into slightly larger pots than what they could actually be potted into, they have room to grow and develop..I do understand with regards to going oversized and issues with excessive wetness but am I right in my thinking that the tree will continue to thicken, grow on and develop if given the "right" amount of room to do so. Other than the moisture issue with oversized pots, are there any other detrimental effects of going just a bit larger than what would be considered "the right size" for a finished bonsai..?
thanks for any advice.
Rob..

[Daluke]

Are you into Bonsai for the short term or long term?

Don't be in a rush (now i need to follow my own advice) to pot.

Potting into larger pots does not promote root growth. I'm not sure of all ins and outs. But I think in essence, fine hair roots (ideal for health, growth, etc) which are desired in, and required for Bonsai survival grow (push out) as they look for water. By overpotting, there is excess soil (and excess water). Too much for the roots to take in. The result is rot.

[Elmar]

G'Day Robsterios,

Welcome to the forum. The usual convention is to put trees into a Bonsai pot when they have reached their desired hight/weight/etc and you are looking to refine them. approve small things like Ramification (small branch structures) and tweaking the design of your tree. It is seldom that they are used for building trunk size or girth.

While I personally can understand your desire to put everything into a Bonsai pot (especially if you have been collecting some and are desperate to use them - I know!!), it is not going to get you where you want to go as quick as you would in a bog-ordinary nursery pot. Over potting (using a larger pot than necessary) can cause you a lot of issues as well - root rot being one. More solid means more water means wetter conditions etc.

Check the posts on the trees you have and you'll see most of the Long-termers are still in black plastic pots (cut down or Orchid pots to simulate Bonsai conditions and force the roots to flatten out). Only when their trees are considered almost done, are they placed into said Bonsai pots.

Doing it now, you will have small trees (sometimes harshly called "stick-in-a-pot) for a long time ... Choice is yours of corse, just be prepared

Good luck and hope you stick with it! Perhaps try one out of 2 and see the difference!

[shibui]

Growth seems to be in direct relationship to the available root space. Trees planted in the ground grow fastest. Trees in large containers grow fast. Trees in small pots grow slow. Potting into oversized pots will give you some increase in growth rates but not as much as a larger container or in the ground. In all cases, the care you give to the tree will also determine the growth rate. The more often they get dry the slower the growth. The more available nutrients the faster growth will be. Larger pots allows more moisture availability and a little more nutrients but you will need to allow for nutrient leaching - Feed your developing trees often for best results.
Use a good, open potting mix and you should have no problem with root rot. This old wives tale is a relic from when growers used clay as the base for potting mix

While most of us aspire to quick bonsai there is much to recommend slower development if you can muster the patience. Some of my best trees are the ones that have always lived in pots. They have better taper, better ramification and fewer pruning scars. Took longer but the results are worth the wait.