What pots can I use

remist17

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I am strarting out and have limited funds. Is it ok to have starter pots that are plastic? IS there a suggested size for a starter pot? what is the reason for not having galzing on the inside of the pots?

Is there any place that sells cheaper clay pots?
 

mcpesq817

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Nothing wrong with plastic pots. You can get them in the shape of bonsai type pots or buy regular nursery pots. I try to look for "squat pots", which are wider than they are tall.

If you have trees on the larger side, try buying Anderson Flats. I've been very happy using the TFLAT model:

http://www.stuewe.com/products/anderson.php
 

remist17

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The flats... seems they are 15x15x5. Can you tell me how large the bottom mesh is?
I would assume these should be used for large trees?
 

Alex DeRuiter

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You could always use Smart Pots -- and there are several off-brands which apparently achieve the same results and are extremely cheap.

http://www.aurorainnovations.org/rootpots.html

You can find tons of them on ebay. They're foldable and light, thus cheap to ship. They have many benefits you won't find in plastic pots...but they also have a few disadvantages. They drain very well, they "air prune" roots (meaning when the root hits the bag, instead of wrapping around, it will shoot out tons of feeder roots), etc. One (and only?) disadvantage is that the "soil" will dry out faster.
 

mcpesq817

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The flats... seems they are 15x15x5. Can you tell me how large the bottom mesh is?
I would assume these should be used for large trees?

The mesh is on the larger side, so you need some kind of screen in it. For screening material, I use the needlepoint screen you can get at a crafts store like Michael's. The sheets fit perfectly length-wise, so I end up using one full screen and then a second screen cut down to about 1/3 the original width.

And yes, at that size, you're probably looking at putting in larger trees in it.
 

remist17

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I am leaning to the plastic pots just for the shear cost. Is there a site that is better and trusted than others to get bonsai plastic pots?

I know many will say the clay are the only thing to use but I am strating out and would like to learn before I put a investment to one pot of 20 dollars.
 

treebeard55

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When starting out, go for the least expensive pots you can find, that will do the job. Plastic is fine for your own enjoyment, and you probably won't enter anything in a show for a few years yet. You might also check out "mica" pots; a bit more expensive, but look much nicer and hold up for years. (Just Google "mica+bonsai+pots." You'll get a number of sources.)

Sooner or later, you'll want good ceramic pots for your trees' permanent homes. But I think you've got a while before you need concern yourself about that.

(Sooner or later, spell-checkers will accept "google" without the capital G. ;))
 
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