Back to nursery pot 4 more size. Help

[blainsai]

Wife got me my 2nd tree from the same old lady and her van on a St. corner. It’s a healthy little tree but I want more tree. Can I just use a cheap black plastic pot that all my other gardening plants come in. Like a 1 gallon? Or do I need something fancy like I see on AmericanBonsai.com?
Also can I use regular potting mix while in the nursery pot?
I just know it’s not going to thicken up much or develop very fast in the bonsai pot. Attaching a pic of how it looked when I got it. Since then I have wired and shaped it lightly. It’s been wired for a month now.

 

[0soyoung]

Can I just use a cheap black plastic pot that all my other gardening plants come in. Like a 1 gallon?

Yes, of course. You just have a possible problem of securing the tree to the pot until the roots have populated the growing medium (dirt, garden soil bonsai substrate) of your choice.

can I use regular potting mix while in the nursery pot

Yes, of course. Growth probably won't be as good as you might get using a bonsai substrate instead, but life will be simpler if you are already experienced keeping potted plants this way.

 

[Potawatomi13]

What he said about Bonsai substrate. Either lighting is bad or tree looks unhealthy as in drying up? Wide shallower than nursery pot is better for growing. Grow box or Bulb pot.

 

[Shibui]

A normal plastic plant pot is suitable for growing trees. That's why commercial growers use them. Deeper pots allow for less watering while giving the tree room for roots to grow.
Going too large can be a mistake. If roots cannot fill the soil quickly the soil can go sour and occasionally trees even die. Just increase sizes a few sizes at a time rather than straight into a huge container.
Soil becomes more critical as containers get smaller so we can use a wider variety of soils in larger, deeper containers. Bonsai soil does not necessarily give more growth than ordinary potting soil in larger, deeper pots. If it did all commercial growers would use bonsai soil.
The only consideration with using other soils is that non bonsai soil may need to be removed when potting back down to a smaller bonsai container again. Depends how comfortable you are with removing much soil from roots when repotting.

 

[mapleX]

Bonsai soil does not necessarily give more growth than ordinary potting soil in larger, deeper pots. If it did all commercial growers would use bonsai soil.

Commercial growers do not use bonsai substrate for a number of reasons, one of which is cost but none of which is because it does not offer better growing results.

In the gardens they prioritize the cost/maintenance ratio, growth is not a variable since the plants do not stay long time in their establishments.

 

[blainsai]

Yes, of course. You just have a possible problem of securing the tree to the pot until the roots have populated the growing medium (dirt, garden soil bonsai substrate) of your choice.


Yes, of course. Growth probably won't be as good as you might get using a bonsai substrate instead, but life will be simpler if you are already experienced keeping potted plants this way.

I bet I can rig up a way to secure it. Should I remove the training wire while it’s back in the nursery pot?

 

[blainsai]

Yes, of course. You just have a possible problem of securing the tree to the pot until the roots have populated the growing medium (dirt, garden soil bonsai substrate) of your choice.


Yes, of course. Growth probably won't be as good as you might get using a bonsai substrate instead, but life will be simpler if you are already experienced keeping potted plants this way.

I bet I can rig up a way to secure it. Should I remove the training wire while it’s back in the nursery pot?

 

[blainsai]

E

What he said about Bonsai substrate. Either lighting is bad or tree looks unhealthy as in drying up? Wide shallower than nursery pot is better for growing. Grow box or Bulb pot.

So what is a bulb pot?

 

[Eckhoffw]

A shallower pot made to pot up bulbs.

 

[Paradox]

If you are trying to keep this tree inside your house, you should know its a juniper procumbens nana and it is not an inside the house species.
I would say you can enjoy it for a few days inside but it needs to be kept outside most of the time.
It will definitely die if kept inside the house. It needs to be outside and it needs to experience winter dormancy during which you will need to be able to protect it from drying winds (buried in mulch against the house, preferably north side if possible).

 

[blainsai]

If you are trying to keep this tree inside your house, you should know its a juniper procumbens nana and it is not an inside the house species.
I would say you can enjoy it for a few days inside but it needs to be kept outside most of the time.
It will definitely die if kept inside the house. It needs to be outside and it needs to experience winter dormancy during which you will need to be able to protect it from drying winds (buried in mulch against the house, preferably north side if possible).

No I keep it outdoors. I learned that early on. But thank you.

 

[0soyoung]

Commercial growers do not use bonsai substrate for a number of reasons, one of which is cost but none of which is because it does not offer better growing results

Cost is the overwhelming reason why not. Second is that more watering is required, which = more labor = more cost.

It does indeed offer better results, just not enough for Joe Schmoe to part with any extra cash. Joe is really just an impulse buyer. This is the reality of the market.

 

[penumbra]

E

So what is a bulb pot?

A bulb pot is shallow and wide. It is not as deep as a mum pot which is not as deep as an azalea pot which is not as deep as a nursery pot.
As an example, a 5 inch bulb pot is about 2-1/4 - 2-1/2 inches deep.

 

[Paradox]

E

So what is a bulb pot?

They are often called bulb pans. Also Mum pots tend to be a bit shallower than the standard nursery pots