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Bonsai planters

3 months ago

I am starting to educate myself in the art of bonsai plants and following you. I have been seeing online and on Instagram some bigger jade plants in very shallow planters that seem to me surprisingly shallow and at times disproportionate in comparison to the actual plant. Have to say the shallow one look definitely nicer and neater. Is there any negative in issuing very shallow planters as opposed to taller ones with room for way more volume of soil? The first two pics are my plants. The third one is an online example of a shallow planter.

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Comments (3)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
3 months ago
last modified: 3 months ago
3 of the plants Evve shows are Portulacaria, which have the same growth habit as Crassula.

Is there any negative in issuing very shallow planters as opposed to taller ones with room for way more volume of soil? "Negative" is subjective in that the pot typically looks better, but shallow pots are more difficult to grow in because they typically have a much higher % of saturated soil after a thorough watering. This makes it essential to either choose plants very forgiving of being over-watered, or ensuring you're using a grow medium that holds so little excess water it makes it difficult to over-water. As you learn more about bonsai, you'll find practiced growers are very particular about their choice of grow medium, and alter the structure and components to suit individual plants.
Most grow media based on fine ingredients (peat, coir, compost, composted forest products) are not good choices for shallow pots because they hold excessive amounts of water. For example, if you use a medium that supports 3" of excess (perched) water at the pot's bottom, using that soil in a 3" deep pot would find you growing in a soil that is 100% saturated after a thorough watering. It would be challenging for even skilled growers to maintain a jade or mini-jade (portulacaria) healthy in a situation like that. Notice how pot depth affects the amount of well-aerated soil a pot can hold after a thorough watering:

The pots are completely filled with soil. The shaded area represents excess (perched) water.

Note - if you shift your focus to using the upright form of portulacaria for your bonsai endeavors (or other trees with naturally small leaves), you'll be able to produce a much better likeness of a tree you might find in nature. This is due to portulacaria's leaf size which is more proportionate to the scale of a smaller plant.

Al
Rumanavc Kyll
18 days ago
I've messed around with shallow and deep pots myself. Shallow ones can look really sleek, but they dry out faster, so keep an eye on watering. Deeper pots give the roots more room to spread out, which can be great for the plant's health. Just remember, whatever you choose, make sure the pot has good drainage.
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You're correct that "bonsai" is a method of growing and training a plant, and not the name of any particular species of plant. While the most common ones are made with various conifers like pines and so forth, there are many made with deciduous plants.....maple, apple, cherry and even lilac. And shrubs too, azaleas, camellias, etc. Almost any woody plant can be given the bonsai treatment. Cacti and succulents would do fine in small, shallow pots. You might also be able to make miniature cactus gardens in them. Small desert "landscapes" since small cacti and succulents will do fine in a small amount of soil. Use rocks (scaled to size) to add interest, with the idea being to mimic natural scenes, like rock outcroppings or miniature "cliffs". If you can control the humidity, miniatures of many kinds will also do fine. There are miniature orchids, african violets and many others. Good luck!
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Nicholas, A pot that small can be unmolded in 24 hours. If you want to get rid of the imprint from the plastic bag now's the time to do it with a wire brush. After wire brushing, wash it off then place it in a bucket of water for a couple of days to rinse out the lime. You can plant it up after a couple of days in the water bath. Did you get a chance to make anything else? You can use reinforced (couple of bands of duct tape) cardboard boxes lined with plastic bags for a form/mold. If you want a uniform top edge on your planter: You need a rigid form/mold for the flat one. To get a flat top use a 2 X 4 that's wider than the mold. Fill the mold with hypertufa slightly over the top of the mold, Place the 2 X 4 on top of the mold and shimmy it back and forth to flatten the top edge. To get a rounded top, when you get to the top of the form, shape the hypertufa into hotdog shapes and blend them into the rest of the mix. Curl your fingers over the top of the hotdogs to help keep the rounded shape.
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Rumanavc Kyll
11 days ago
And for more tips and tricks on bonsai, you should definitely check out https://bonsaiforbeginners.com/. They've got loads of helpful info to get you started.

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