What Kind of Pot Is Best for Bonsai Tree?

A pot is only a pot, and a tree is a tree. But once you bring the two together, it becomes a bonsai tree forming harmony. A considerable part of Bonsai art is the tree becoming detached from the ground residing in a pot.

Repotting your tree is a rewarding step in the art of Bonsai and similar to frame a painting. The bonsai pot completes your tree, and today we will help you find a perfect home for your bonsai tree.

Guidelines on How to Pick a Pot

When choosing bonsai pots, any container can be a home for your trees. Still, the pot needs to meet specific requirements when planted.

Firstly, the pot needs drainage holes for the water to flow freely and wiring holes to fix your tree to the medium. But what makes a superior bonsai pot, and how do you choose the right one?

The general rule is to think about the health of your trees. Your finished Bonsai you have trained to fit its roots into smaller pots when repotting.

The practice of Bonsai is patience and perseverance, and the same applies to choosing pots. Hence, the important thing is the depth of the container selecting the correct measurement.

While advanced bonsai growers go with their gut feeling, this is difficult for beginners. Here are some basic guidelines that you can follow.

Is Your Tree Feminine or Masculine

For the most part, a tree is both, but which sex is the dominant one. Hence, it is a crucial step when choosing a place to grow your tree.

Some indicators are whether the tree has curves to smooth bar, is graceful, and has sparse branches? If this applies to your tree, it is feminine.

The opposite is a tree with old bark, thick trunk, displays strength, has dense branches, and deadwood.

The Design and Size of the Pot

When choosing a home for your indoor plant, the pot’s design needs to match the feminity or masculinity of the tree. The style you choose will give you a unified experience with your tree.

Then you can decide if the pot needs to be angular, concave, round, rectangular, convex, or oval. Next, you can take it a step further to determine if it needs to be glazed and fit in with your decor.

A deep angular design and wide feet with clean lines work well for a masculine potting medium. While feminine tree potting mediums with soft lines that are sleek and low work well. Like drum or round pots are considered great options.

Another general rule is to choose the same height as the trunk’s width above the root surface. You’ll find oval and rectangular pots have a 2/3 height of the tree while round/square ones are 1/3 height of your tree.

If your tree has large foliage, the pot needs to be wider. Your trident maple bonsai, fruit, and flower tree need a deeper pot with rapidly growing roots.

How to Choose a Bonsai Pot

You have two basic pots for bonsai trees that include training and display bonsai pots. If you have a tree in the training phase, using the correct container is practical and functional. For display, you can find many varieties available.

When choosing a potting medium to train your bonsai tree, it needs to have enough space to accommodate the roots to get the expected trunk thickness. In addition, the pots have huge drainage holes to prevent waterlogging that can be fatal to your tree.

As your tree develops, you can repot it in a display potting medium to fit with the tree and decor.

Choosing a Bonsai Pot Shape for Flowering Trees

You can use six different pot types, each of them distinct in the top edges and feet.

• Lotus-shaped: the potting medium works well with a bonsai that has populated or round foliage.
• Round bonsai pot: your tree will look taller than it is.
• Rectangular: these work well with trees that do not have a lot of curves and work well with flowering trees for depth.
• Squared: if you love flat shapes, this is the bonsai pot to have.
• Wide and shallow: the pot works with most bonsais to create a miniature garden.
• Corner-rounded rectangular and ovalled: the pot works well with curved trunks.

What is the Bonsai Pot Made of?

You find the bonsai pot made with a wide selection of materials. The material includes clay, plastic, stoneware to porcelain. But the rule of thumb applies, and that is to consider your tree’s health.

You can buy a plastic pot, but many cheaply made ones release toxins at high temperatures. Yet, plastic also loses its shape and retains water, risking root rot. Then you have porcelain and handcrafted ceramics that will make your tree look stunning.

Still, when choosing clay to ceramics, you can expect to pay a higher price and need to balance your budget when selecting one.

Bonsai Pot Colors

For a harmonic equation choosing the final element, you can find the bonsai pot at different prices based on the material, colors, and tones.

For example, if you want the potting medium to compliment your bonsais features, a brownish or greyish color will work well with a tree without flowers or fruits.

But if you have a flowering or fruit bonsai going with a glazed red or blue one instead will be a good match.

Consider tones like a light green in ceramic or even one that is unglazed for a natural look.

Bonsai Pot Textures

Why not add that extra touch to customize your bonsai pot with patterns? In clay, you can add a carving to the walls, and you can find some fantastic designs at Yamasyou’s with mythical creatures to dragons.

Or give your Bonsai a fantastic look with butterflies to flowers if you have a bonsai with blooms and fruits. The important thing is to choose a vibe that fits in with the aura of your tree.

Where to buy Pots for Bonsai Trees?

Buying the right bonsai pot is easy online from various sites. Or, you can get one from your local garden center to get the feel and sense of how a real pot looks.

Other options are bonsai experts who can help you repot your Bonsai if you are uncertain how to do it.

Still, you need not look far as Plantly has a selection of Bonsai potting mediums available for you.

Conclusion

We hope this article helps you choose the right bonsai pot for your tree. By taking special care with attention, your tree will flourish to look pleasing to the eye, and you will be happy.