'Paper' Training Pots for Bonsai
by Luka Musich
This is a story of how I discovered out how to make cheap training-pots for bonsai.
Therefore, bonsai training pots need not to be beautiful works of art. All they need to be is sturdy and light in weight.
Grow Boxes and Training Pots
Common procedures for developing a bonsai from seedlings or young stock involve first ground or grow box growth during which the plant undergoes many trunk chops and cut backs of branching to encourage back budding ...
Fundamentally, there are two kinds of bonsai pots: training pots and
display pots. If your bonsai is in the training stage, then the pot you need to
use is a functional training pot. Training pots are available made of plastic, ...
All bonsai begin their development in training pots, where they stay until they have a good, fibrous root system and relatively full foliage development which make them look like bonsai rather than just a shrub or tree in a pot.
For smaller pieces, in one gallon training pots, I let them grow wild for 2 or 3 years until the roots completely fill the pot and there is a noticeable decline in vigor. The internodes shorten and the leaves get smaller.
The beginning containers are called training pots. Just about anything will do that will hold the heavy roots, but it is a good idea to choose something similar to the sort of pot the plant will be placed in once the roots are small and fibrous.
They grow very fast in training pots, and require pruning only weeks after being potted up. As soon as the roots fill the little plastic pots, I cut back the leader to about three inches, leaving a section of close internodes if possible.
Plant your cuttings into four inch (ten cm.) plastic training pots for a summer of growth in a bright sunny window. They were tip pinched occasionally to promote bushiness and watered well (they need good drainage but cannot be allowed to become dry).
Take the cutting, dip it into some root hormone, being careful not to coat it too much and plant it into the training pot filled with sand. Now place it in a sunny position and water regularly.
When it was transferred from the original pot to a training pot one extended root was cut off and the cut off end, with roots, was planted to make a smaller bonsai. The myrtle has been in training for 2 years and has developed very well in that time.
Suffice it to say that plastic and mica pots are normally used as training pots. Terra cotta containers are low fired which makes them prone to freezing.
For further reading:
John Biel wrote an article on "Training Potentilla Bonsai" in International Bonsai 1997, number 2.
"Care and Maintenance of Potentilla", prepared for BCI 1997 by the Toronto Bonsai Society.
Often, a developing bonsai tree may spend many years in a variety of training pots before being planted in its final container.
The following are basic guidelines to consider when selecting a bonsai pot: ...
Virtual of Mahalo in a large training pot, 2007. Black star shows heavier, lower left counter-balance branch.
Young/undeveloped bonsai deserve time in a growing bed or large training pot. Putting in a display pot prematurely will greatly slow their initial development.
The next few years will be devoted to growing the tree, firstly in containers, then in open ground before transferring to a training pot and eventually to a bonsai pot.
By far the largest number of my own trees are in training pots, generally washing up bowls, when the time comes to show them they're potted up.
3) A bonsai pot should not have any indentations or hollows on the inside of the pot. Water accumulating in the hollow will cause roots to rot. For training pots or trees requiring large amounts of water it will be fine, ...
Many hobbyists use mica and plastic bonsai pots while their trees are in training. (Training pots do not have to be expensive.) ...
We also carry over 900 different Japanese ceramic containers from thimble size to 36" sizes in various colors along with plastic training pots at extremely attractive prices.
In this case remove as much of the root ball as safely possible and repot to a smaller, shallower training pot. After a year or two it should be safe to further root prune and shift to the final bonsai pot.
Look for a potting soil without fertiliser. Another thing you may want to be buying is some bonsai training pots. These mica pots are not expensive.
And now GET started! AND most of all have fun! ...
Plastic bonsai pots are also referred to as "humidity trays". When the plant is watered the plastic pot holds the water to create a humidity around your plant. These are very cheap to buy and are sometime called "training pots".
Mica Bonsai Pots ...
Now we must allow the tree to grow back and keep re-shaping until the desired form is reached. The third picture (and the large tree pictured) was taken 2 years after the tree was first taken out of its training pot.
 See also: Bonsai, Tree, Plant, Pot, Trunk
  
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