Bonsai Ceramic
One of the most beautiful and traditional ways of hosting your bonsai is by placing it in a ceramic bowl. What many bonsai owners don’t realise is that the pot or bowl chosen has a massive effect on the composition and look of the tree. If you’re displaying or competing in a competition then it’s absolutely necessary to spend time choosing a high quality bowl that matches the style of your bonsai.
A mistake new owners make when growing their trees is for them to place the bonsai in a small plastic container or pot. This is ok when you’re just starting out however as soon as you can you should start using something ceramic or a bowl made of a more quality material – the results will speak for themselves.
When you do decide to buy your pot there’s a few things you need to keep in mind. You don’t want the pot or bowl to be too brightly colored or flashy. This is because it will draw away too much attention from your tree and it’s the tree that we want people looking at the most. That’s not to say that a glazed or flashy finish should not be used with a bonsai tree. I’ve seen glazed ceramic finishes work particularly well, however they worked well because they complemented the overall design of the tree and didn’t distract of take away from the look. Keep this in mind when deciding your bowl.
Is your tree going to be kept indoors or outdoors? Because if it’s an outdoor tree then you’ll want your pot to be frost proof. Some delicate ceramic bowls will break and crack when it freezes so ask the seller about this before purchase.
You also need to think about ultimately how large your bonsai tree is going to be. There’s no point spending hundreds on a high quality designer pot if in the next year or so you plan on upgrading your tree to an even bigger size. I’d recommend only doing this if you’re growing several trees all at once. This way newer trees can be placed in the pots of previous bonsai’s which have grown onto even larger bowls. Also you need to keep in mind that bonsai trees should be kept in SMALL sized bowls with shallow depths. The aim is to restrict the growth of your tree and not to encourage it.
You need to think about the amount of holes on the bottom of your ceramic pot. A common mistake new gardeners make is that they’ll think any old bowl will be suitable for a plant to grow in. What they don’t realise is that holes are needed at the bottom to allow drainage of the water. Without this a tree will become too wet and its roots are likely to start rotting. So at the very least there should be a single draining hole at the bottom of your ceramic pot. If there are more and you find the water is draining away too quickly from your plant then consider placing the bowl on a tray so that the water can still be absorbed.
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