I would counter with the fact that not a single quality bonsai has yet been created in a typical hydroponic system.
The fact remains, that while some bonsaists use a complete inorganic mix, many do not. Most have some sort of organic in their mix, such as bark, some use peat, other sphagnum moss, etc.
As to burrowing ideas from other fields, the concept of well draining soil, drainage holes to allow such, strictly inorganic mixes (such as straight Japanese Akadama) have been in use long before hydroponics were even thought of.
Will
Though I was not referring to growing trees specifically for bonsai in hydroponics, I'm pretty sure the fact no quality bonsai has been grown from hydroponics has nothing to do with any shortcoming of hydroponics, but with other factors, such as adherence to traditional methods like yamadori and just growing in a field, it's also a lot cheaper in most instances. Growing with a colander, soil-less mix, frequent watering and fertilizing, is basically hydroponics. That's all there is to it.
Yes most don't, but more are starting to use inorganic mixes or increasing the amount of inorganics, which supports my statement.
Hydroponics also have organics mix into them, like peat, sphagnum moss, and coconut fiber.
I'm mostly referring to using colander/strainer/pond baskets. Aeration and watering is pretty established, and my main point is nobody should claim to have invented the use of them for faster growing of plants, and hopefully nobody has.
Maybe I phrased it wrongly, I should say hydroponics techniques have scientific backing to it, and it should be expected that using similar techniques in bonsai would produce faster growing trees.
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