Selection tips

Bonsai pots for sale

Put simply, a bonsai is a tree in a pot. This means that both the bonsai tree and the pot contribute significantly to the overall composition and the selection of the bonsai pot has an extremely important influence on the effect of a bonsai.

A suitable pot significantly enhances a bonsai but without the right pot a bonsai will not be able to exploit its potential. An unsuitable bonsai pot can downright spoil the visual impression of a good bonsai.

The selection of the bonsai pot is an often neglected aspect of the bonsai styling. Admittedly, finding the right bonsai pot is not easy. But - choosing the wrong one is expensive, as the right pot has to be bought again later.

It is very difficult to establish universal rules for choosing a bonsai pot. Many elements play a role. We would like to try to give at least a few basic pointers here.

Selection criteria in detail:

The information given here is based primarily on aesthetic considerations. For plant-physiological reasons, it may be the case that some bonsai tree species have to deviate from the "ideal". E.g. bonsai with strongly growing roots (elm bonsai, maple bonsai) or also flowering bonsai (azalea bonsai) and fruit-bearing tree species (apple bonsai) often need deeper bonsai pots.

Development status

A bonsai should not be potted into a final bonsai pot until the tree has essentially finished the developing to a bonsai. The development of a good trunk approach, a corresponding trunk thickness and the formation of the main branches should be largely completed. Often a bonsai is taken out of the field or the large container and potted far too early. The further development of the bonsai proceeds slowly after potting. Results that can be achieved in the field or in a large plastic growing pot in a year will often not be achieved in a bonsai pot in 4-5 years. The attempt to shape the unfinished tree to fit a pot usually fails or takes much longer than in a nursery pot or field.

Size of the root ball

The size of the bonsai pot depends on the size of the bonsai - not on the size of the root ball. If the root ball is too big, it should and must be reduced. If the bonsai is repotted regularly with root pruning, the size of the root ball is no problem when choosing the right bonsai pot.

Bonsai have to be repotted every 3-5 years, depending on the tree species. With a healthy deciduous tree, repotting the bonsai with a root cut is easy at the right time.

And the root cut is important. If this is not done, the root ball of rapidly growing tree species (e.g. elm bonsai, maple bonsai) will soon no longer fit into the correct pot and the proportion of fine roots will decrease constantly. At some point the bonsai will have problems. It will get weaker.

In addition, the bonsai will eventually look strange in larger and larger pots. The proportions of tree and pot soon no longer match.

White pine bonsai - bonsai pot is too large

Dimensions

When customers buy a pot, we are often asked how much a new pot needs to be larger. Our answer is usually astonishing: If the bonsai has not grown significantly larger since the last potting, you don't need a larger pot.

How big should an optimal bonsai pot be ?

For bonsai that are significantly higher than wide, the length of the bonsai pots (oval and rectangular) should be about 2/3 the height of the tree. In the case of very wide trees, the starting point for estimating the length of the pot is the width of the bonsai instead of the height. The value of 2/3 corresponds to the "golden ratio". The golden ratio is found very often in nature and has a harmonious effect on the observer (who has got used to these proportions all his life).

In most bonsai pots, the width of the bonsai pot is related to the length of the pot. The pot width for the oval and rectangular pots is approx. 70-85% of the pot length. This means that you only need to look for a particularly wide bonsai pot if the tree has a very wide root ball. Normally, since it is given, it is of no importance for the selection.

Apple bonsai with matching bonsai pots

The harmonizes particularly well with the tree if the height of the pot corresponds to the thickness of the trunk just above the roots.

It becomes difficult with young trees with a slender trunk. Often you cannot pot them in a matching, flat pot. There are only two long-term solutions. The root ball can be made flatter over the years by repotting with root pruning or the trunk has to be thicker (e.g. by thickening with sacrificial branches or sacrificial branches) so that it harmonizes with a suitable pot.

Bonsai in the semi-cascade shape and especially trees designed in the cascade style are potted in significantly higher pots.

Color

Before a bonsai tree is potted, it must be considered which (especially color) changes the bonsai undergoes during a growing season. It is mostly potted before budding. When choosing the pot, the leaf color during the growing season or the flower color, for example, cannot be seen at this point.

Color wheel

Japanese maple with a dominant bonsai pot

In any case, the color should not be too dominant so that the charisma of the bonsai does not fade into the background.

In the case of bonsai with conspicuous colors, the color of the bonsai pot should not be identical to the tree. In many cases, pots in the complementary color of the color wheel shown work best. That means orange fruits (e.g. from firethorn bonsai) go well with a blue bonsai pot or green pots are well suited for the red leaves of some varieties of Japanese maple bonsai.

The color wheel is a good basic guide, but should not be used too strictly. If the complementary color is too conspicuous, the adjacent color, for example, can also be selected.

If the color of a glazed bonsai pot is too intense, you can also look for an unglazed pot in the desired clay color. The colors of unglazed bonsai pots are mostly closer to the earth, more subtle.

The choice of pot color can also influence the energy that a bonsai design emits. Warm colors (in the color wheel from yellow to red to violet) give the bonsai warmth and balance, cold colors (remaining colors in the color wheel) convey robustness and freshness.

Structure of bonsai pots coarse vs. smooth

Structure

The structure of the pot surface should be selected to match the structure of the bark of the bonsai tree. I.e. the coarser the bark, the coarser the structure of the surface of the bonsai pot should be so that the pot underlines the "wildness" of the bonsai.

The overall appearance of the bonsai also plays a role here. A tree marked by life with a lot of dead wood is best potted in a coarsely structured bonsai pot. A smooth surface would weaken the character of such a bonsai.

Glaze

Basically, glazed bonsai pots are particularly suitable for deciduous trees and unglazed pots for conifers. Conifers don't look good in conspicuously glazed pots. Likewise, an azalea bonsai with its splendor of flowers in an inconspicuous, unglazed pot would not come into its own.

This does not mean that an unglazed bonsai pot is not suitable for a deciduous tree. If, for example, no suitable, pale glazed pot can be found, a good, hand-made pot in a suitable clay color can significantly enhance a deciduous tree bonsai.

Conifer bonsai in glazed pots are less common. If a glazed pot is available here, the glaze should be pale.

Shape

The shape of the bonsai pot largely determines the overall composition. Before you decide on a pot shape you should think about the character of the bonsai tree or the overall composition.

Usually the appearance of a bonsai is divided into female and male. You could also call it softer and more angular.

Since many bonsai trees combine both sides, this decision is often very difficult. For some bonsai enthusiasts a tree is more feminine, for others the same bonsai is more masculine. In the end, you as the designer have to make the decision. It is important here: A rather female tree will not really come into its own in an angular, rectangular pot and a male bonsai with a lot of dead wood does not really fit into a lovely bonsai pot with soft curves.

Which characteristics point towards "male" or "female" ?

Male:

• Massive, strongly tapering trunk
• Coarse, highly structured bark
• Larger areas of dead wood (Jin = dead branches, Shari = dead trunk section), thorns on the trunk and branches
• Very dense crown with straighter branches

Female:

• Lovely, delicate appearance with a slightly curved trunk and only slight tapering
• Smooth bark
• No or only very inconspicuous areas of dead wood, preferably no thorns
• Lighter crown with slightly curved branches

The character traits "male" and "female" are also attributed to the bonsai pots.

Male:
Bonsai pots for trees in literary style

• Rectangular and square bonsai pots
• Deep pots
• Solid, stable pot feet
• Thick-walled bonsai pots

Female:

• Oval, round and lotus-shaped bonsai pots
• Flat pots
• Playful, delicate pot feet
• Thin-walled pots

When choosing the shape of the pot, one tries to bring these fundamental characteristics of the bonsai and pot together. Since the division into "male" and "female" is very fluid for both the tree and the pot, choosing the right pairing is not easy.

But here, too, there are a few guidelines that provide a basic orientation:

• Conifer species, especially those with a strong and strongly tapering trunk, fit well in rectangular, deep and unglazed bonsai pots. These underline the strength of the tree
• Many deciduous tree species are well kept in oval, thin-walled, glazed bonsai pots, which emphasize the tenderness
• Flat, oval bonsai pots are well suited for forest designs, especially when the individual trees are not slightly tapered
• Bonsai in literary style are perfect candidates for flat, round, often matt glazed pots due to the barely tapering trunk
• "Male" deciduous trees tend to look good in rectangular pots with rounded corners
• Cascade style bonsai are potted in very tall bonsai pots. The pot is often twice to three times as high as it is wide. The cascade pots are round, square, hexagonal or octagonal, rarely shaped differently
• Half-cascade-style designs are potted in round, square, hexagonal or octagonal bonsai pots. Usually the height and width of the pots are comparable

Bonsai pots for cascade style bonsai

Pots for bonsai in semi-cascade style

Bonsai pots for forest style

Feet

The main purpose of the feet of bonsai pots is to enable good drainage (the excess water can run out through the drainage holes in the bottom of the pots). They also allow air to circulate. The pot can dry off after watering and roots growing out of the drainage hole dry up outside the pot.

The feet of a bonsai pot also influence its appearance. The feet of bonsai pots can be fine, decorative or subtle and barely visible, but they can also be robust, solid, even really clunky.

The appearance of the feet should be taken into account and can also be used to influence the overall impression. Large, massive pot feet convey stability and strength, whereas the appearance of delicate feet has the opposite effect. It conveys lightness.

Frost resistance

Outdoor bonsai are hardy. They are usually overwintered in an unheated greenhouse. There, the temperatures in winter can drop well below 0°C and the bonsai soil in the pot can freeze.

For such conditions, a frost-resistant bonsai pot must be selected. This is not necessary for indoor bonsai that are overwintered frost-free.

The frost resistance of a bonsai pot is primarily influenced by how much water the ceramic can absorb. If it is burned very densely, it absorbs little water and survives periods of frost well.

How can you recognize the frost resistance of a bonsai pot ?

You can't see them for sure before you use them. Only when a pot has survived 1-2 winters can it be described as frost-resistant.

But - this is the good news: According to our own tests (see pictures) and experience, most handmade bonsai pots are frost-resistant. About 99%. This means that 1 of 100 pots breaks in the first winter due to the effects of frost. All pots that survive the first winter usually last forever. That is why we also guarantee these pots for their frost resistance for 1 year. This means that if the potl shows frost damage in the first winter after ordering, we will replace it.

Even the inexpensive pots for indoor bonsai are about 97% frost-proof. But here the frost resistance varies greatly from supplier to supplier and from delivery to delivery. We do not guarantee the frost resistance of these pots. These pots are not made for outdoor bonsai.

Finally

The information given above can only provide a basic orientation. If you take the selection tips into account, you avoid bad purchases.

But - rule or not - the important thing is that you have to like the design as a whole. Choosing the right bonsai pot is very subjective. If you stand in front of your tree with a smile and everything fits you - then you have made a good choice.