My idea for fixing mesh across the holes in Bonsai dishes and pots,

Mitty

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Well, I have used plastic mesh for ages on the bottom of my Bonsai pots. Now, however, I am trying a new method. Please don`t shout at me all at once.!! I have purchased the ready-made plastic rounds for my pots and am using them this way.:: In the evening I bring in a few clean pots. The first thing I do is drill wire holes in the bottom of the pots, using a portable 18v Drill and small glass cutting drill bits (10 in a set at Amazon ) quite cheap as they are Tungsten Carbide. I use one drill per 10 pots ; and it is a fast as you can use the vibration setting on the drill if you dare ( no brakes yet ), then I turn the pot over and using a glue gun and 3 dabs of hot glue set the mesh circles where I want them. But I cannot seem to get water-proof glue so I use a dribble of UHU glue around the circles, this is water-proof. So,. I am now fixing the mesh circles under the pot, giving me more room in the pots. The Kyodama or fine flints have plenty of room and this allows for a slightly thicker layer of loose base strata. Then I start poking the wires through the new holes, and tying down the root ball , (I don`t remove all the soil on the roots as I feel the old bacteria is good for settling down the newly potted tree.) So, no more fiddling with poking wires through the mesh. I have found that with so much wire (1.5mm) that the mesh often gets blocked and fails to let water drain quickly, or not at all in some cases, ugh !!. Much less of a problem now, with new wire holes. I have tried a few plastic training pots for small trees and they are square and made with plenty of drill holes for wire. Not attractive but usable. I add my Bonsai mix : Akadama ,crushed Pumice, Crushed lava and Kyodama, and sometimes some rotted leaves if the roots are a bit bare. The I use my Aquarium fine pebbles as a mulch and bird annoyer. I am trying the dried fungus for root improvement , (not sure if it is worth it, we will see.).
I don`t know what you think, but it works for me. The UHU is not toxic , I am told , and as the drainage mesh is under the pot, I can`t see any problems. The mesh discs are holding very well. !! I shall await someone shouting at me. Moss worries me . PS. two small little cutting lost to root rot that way. My MS is always playing up so, I have to sit down mostly and go indoors if I get bad pain. I shill believe that growing Bonsai trees is very suitable for disabled people. It might be a good topic for future discussion ??
 

Deep Sea Diver

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G,ad to see your post and hear what you have been up to. A couple observation. . Thats a lot all at once to take in... and photos of your efforts would really help next time You post.

If the mesh stays on you are good. Yet if it doesn’t things may not be an issue depending if you have lots of roots or not. If not, your experiment can cause loss of media, but can be repaired by slipping a slightly larger flexible mesh into the bottom of the pot And positioning it over the hole again.

In my neck of the woods quite a few people drill extra drain holes on the edges of their pots and chock up one side during rain events. These are often used for wires, including guy wires. So drilling holes in pots is nothing unique. ( Enclosed is a photo showing one way to do that. There are wood blocks firmly pressed on the opposite side to prevent blow out.). Most decent bonsai pots built nowadays have big, and or multiple, drain holes and may have wire holes besides.

As far as your media goes I have only one thing to say. Keep it simple, uniform in size, consistent throughout and ensure your media drains really well.

cheers
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