A few homemade unglazed Bonsai pots
There are quite a few factors to take into consideration
when growing bonsai trees (or “small tree in a container”).
There’s the type of tree you choose, it’s location in the
house or garden, watering, soil mix and the pot it sits in to think about
before you delve into how to keep the plants alive. But don’t let this scare
you off from having a go.
What type of tree is
suitable?
A bonsai tree has quite a hard life being trimmed and
trained so not every species will be appropriate.
One particularly beginner-friendly variety of bonsai tree is
the juniper. They respond well to pruning and training to shape and, because
they are evergreens, never lose their leaves. They are rather slow growing,
however.
Other conifers commonly cultivated as bonsai trees include
pines, spruces, and cedars of many varieties. Deciduous (leafy) trees are
another possibility - Japanese maples are especially beautiful, as are
magnolias, elms, and oaks. Finally, some non-woody tropical plants, like jade
are good choices for indoor environments in cool or temperate climates.
Indoor or Outdoor?
Decide whether you plan on having an indoor or outdoor tree.
The needs of indoor and outdoor bonsai trees can vary drastically. Generally,
indoor environments are drier and receive less light than outdoor environments,
so you'll want to choose trees with lower light and moisture requirements.
Indoor suggestion:
Ficus, Gardenia, Camellia, Boxwood.
Outdoor suggestion:
Juniper, Cypress, Cedar, Maple, Birch, Beech, Ginkgo, Larch, Elm.
Note that temperate species require winter dormancy or the
tree will eventually die. They cannot be grown indoors for long periods of
time.
Making a Start
To save on stress levels choose a young cheaper specimen. Bonsai
trees come in a wide variety of sizes. Full-grown trees can be as small as 6
inches (15.2 cm) tall to as large 3 feet (0.9 m) tall, depending on their
species. An even cheaper option is to grow your tree from a seedling. Larger
plants require more water, soil, and sunlight so if you do choose to grow your bonsai
tree from a seed you will have more control as well as needing more patience- it can take up to 5 years (depending
on the species of tree)
Select a pot.
The hallmark feature of bonsai trees is that they are
planted in pots that restrict their growth. I’ve been having a go at making
some stoneware pots myself this year and it’s made me realise there are as many
pots as there are bonsai trees. An important factor in deciding which pot to
use is to make sure it is large enough to allow enough soil to cover the roots
of the plant. When you water your tree, it absorbs moisture from the soil
through its roots. The pot will need drainage holes and smaller holes for
threading wire through to help support the tree if needed. I’m putting one
large hole in the centre and three or four small holes along the outside to
hold the wires.
Scale is an important factor as well. Overly-large pots can dwarf the tree itself,
giving a bizarre or mismatched appearance. A pot big enough for the tree's
roots, but not much bigger is ideal but you will need to keep a close eye on
the watering.
The idea is for the pot to complement the tree
aesthetically, but to be relatively unobtrusive visually.
Some prefer to grow their bonsai trees in plain, practical
containers, and then transfer them to prettier containers when they're
full-grown. This is an especially useful process if your species of bonsai tree
is a fragile one, as it allows you to put off the purchase of the more expensive
pot until your tree is healthy and beautiful.
The pots may be made out of ceramic, concrete, plastics, but
what is considered a classic bonsai pot is that it is made of ceramic or
porcelain, and that it is stoneware like the ones I am making, firing them up
to 1250 degrees in a kiln, which means that it absorbs and holds no water in
the material meaning less evaporation and drying out.
When it comes to choosing the glaze for a pot, I’m looking
to see that the colour appears in the tree. There are a lot of colours of bark,
leaves, fruit and flowers to match up a complimentary colour. I might go for
unglazed brown, grey and earth tones for now until I know what I’m doing with
the pots and what type of tree I’ll be growing.
The goal is to create harmony. – The pots should add to but not take away or
detract from the beauty of the tree.
