Bonsai by definition; not really

[Patience is an Art]

Technically a “tree in a pot”, but…
Just sharing to show how slow growth is in a pot. I’ve had this ficus for 40 years (started Bonsai only a few years ago so don’t judge). It was allowed to grow as much as it wanted for many of those years, but as you can see not a very thick trunk. Just a FWIW for those starting seedlings in pots…

 

[ShadyStump]

Now to be fair, how often do you repot it and root prune?

 

[Patience is an Art]

Sorry to say not logistically possible. It has not been repotted in 15 years. I cut down around the edges occasionally, and scrape off the top couple of inches and put fresh soil yearly but I have not been able to repot or root prune. At this point I’m sure it is self-limited. Would it have grown thicker in a bigger pot? Possibly/probably but not feasible in the house.

 

[Patience is an Art]

I am going to experiment with a young ficus to out it in a basket and outside summer/inside winter and see if trunk growth will happen quicker.

 

[pandacular]

Would it have grown thicker in a bigger pot?

A bigger pot isn’t always as directly correlated to stronger growth as we might think. Counter-intuitively, regular pruning of foliage and roots is more effective for producing growth in a potted plant.

 

[Empty Mountain]

Tropical trees kept inside as houseplants can survive but won't thrive. I would bet a ficus in a pot kept outside in a tropical climate could get plenty thick.

 

[pandacular]

At the risk of veering into the pedantic “tree in a pot” may be a transliteration of bonsai, but that does not make it the defition.

As someone’s signature says, it’s gotta be a cool tree in a pot. And really there’s even more to it than that, but best not to overthink it and just stick to “know when I see it”.

 

[Cajunrider]

For me a bonsai is an encapsulation of a fully matured tree in nature inside a container. Where that tree in nature resides dictates the style of the bonsai and the shape/size of the container.