Clarification on Pots

[Graeshadowe]

I've been doing this for about 2 years, trial and error (no shortage of errors)
And was wondering about containers like TRAINING POTS.....why would they be necessary, if you have a regular pot?

Baskets/collanders: do they actually serve a purpose?

Grow boxes: fun to make, and very cheap. But to what end?

I'm trying to enrich what little I know, thanks in advance.

 

[ABCarve]

If you're trying to trunk up a tree you want vigorous growth and that requires a bigger root system......and that requires a bigger pot i.e. grow box, colander and like. Smaller (regular pot) or bonsai pot is when you're trying to slow growth and refine branching.

 

[HankDio]

There is some clear benefit to growing certain conifers in colanders. Jonas Dupuich has a nice write-up:

In praise of colanders - Bonsai Tonight

I've been growing black pines in colanders for years. Thanks to Bonsai Today issue #20 and Boon Manakitivipart, many enthusiasts have been doing the same.

bonsaitonight.com

The idea is that you get more drainage as well as more access to aeration. You also have the added benefit of "self-pruning" roots once they make contact with the air outside of the colander.

I don't use grow boxes, but the appeal seems to be that you can make it as large as necessary to accommodate the tree or to allow it to grow a thick trunk without planting in the ground.

I just began an experiment with a JBP seedling cutting I got last year, and it is doing wonderfully in the colander. This was maybe a week after I had repotted it, at the end of fall no less.

 

[Shibui]

Grow pots are generally a little to a lot oversized. That allows for more roots, more water, more nutrient so the trees grow more. That can give extra trunk thickness or just faster branch development - both thickening and ramification as we get more growth and can trim more often to promote more side shoots on branches and apex.

I don't use colanders. They seem to dry way too quick in my climate so I seem to get slower growth rather than faster. Air pruning of roots does have a place in growing plants, especially for landscape trees, but in my experience air pruning only affects the tips at the wall of the pot so does very little for root ramification where it is needed closer to the trunk. Others obviously have different opinion and are welcome to those.

I do use grow boxes. They are useful for trees that are larger than conventional pots. Also useful where you want a specific size and shape that is harder to find in mass produced plastic such as wide and shallow. Depending on availability of materials grow boxes may be more economic than purchased plastic pots, especially given current shipping costs.

 

[Graeshadowe]

Thanks all for clarification.
.
So you're saying that the "training pots" are basically an unnecessary step?

 

[Graeshadowe]

There is some clear benefit to growing certain conifers in colanders. Jonas Dupuich has a nice write-up:

In praise of colanders - Bonsai Tonight

I've been growing black pines in colanders for years. Thanks to Bonsai Today issue #20 and Boon Manakitivipart, many enthusiasts have been doing the same.

bonsaitonight.com

The idea is that you get more drainage as well as more access to aeration. You also have the added benefit of "self-pruning" roots once they make contact with the air outside of the colander.

I don't use grow boxes, but the appeal seems to be that you can make it as large as necessary to accommodate the tree or to allow it to grow a thick trunk without planting in the ground.

I just began an experiment with a JBP seedling cutting I got last year, and it is doing wonderfully in the colander. This was maybe a week after I had repotted it, at the end of fall no less.

I've dug 6 Virginia Junipers, and still have 3. I got the most growth (trunk and height) out of using and old flower pot with the root ball encased in Fuller's Earth (baked clay). And moved it to a grow box after the first year.
This year I used baskets for the 3 others for a year now; lost one, and the other 2, while healthy, haven't grown very much at all. Trunk thickness or height.
So i made grow boxes for the youngest 2 growth next year, and probably move the oldest one to an actual pot.

 

[Shibui]

So you're saying that the "training pots" are basically an unnecessary step?

I think the take home message is it depends what you want to achieve.
There is no rule that says you must use a training pot but lots of good reasons to do so. If your tree is ready for a bonsai pot it is ready whether it has had a training pot or not.

 

[MattyG]

So you're saying that the "training pots" are basically an unnecessary step?

While your tree is in the refinement stage, you might not need or want it to be in an expensive ceramic pot. If you wanted to protect your bonsai pot from theft or damage, you might refine your tree in a training pot of the same size, so that you could then slip-pot the tree into its final pot for display.

 

[Graeshadowe]

So mikeuy and MattyG, that does make sense. Basically anything is a training pot; until a tree is refined.