bonsai pots with 1 drain hole

Fri Aug 03, 2007 2:06 am

Hi there, I'm new to the site, and newer to bonsai - I'm wondering if anyone can help me. I have picked up a couple of new small plants (a fig, and a juniper), and some small sized bonsai pots. The pots are small enough that they have only 1 drainage hole. Can someone please tell (or show with pics) the method for tying the plant's roots to the pot. I am familiar with making 'butterfly' clips and wiring the plant to the pot using 2 drainage holes, but not sure how to tackle the situation with only 1 hole in the bottom of the pot.

Thanks for your time and help.

GROW ON !!!

Fri Aug 03, 2007 3:27 am

Steve,

There are a couple of options that I can think of, please refer to the photo below.

You can thread your wires through the holes in the screen and up each side of the trunk. If you don't feel that this option gives you enough width perhaps you can modify the clip making the loops further apart than necessary and use them to secure two wires.

I believe that in a back issue of Bonsai Today I saw chopsticks or a skewer of some type that was cut to the appropriate length and then "sprung" into place thus supplying downward pressure on the root ball.

Norm

Fri Aug 03, 2007 3:39 am

Norm, thanks for the tips.

Yeah, I think modifying the clip should be enough at this stage as the plants are not that big. I'm hoping to put the plants in the small pots for the next couple of years, and repot to a larger pot in the future.

Well, here's to 'learning by doing'.........

Steve

Fri Aug 03, 2007 4:05 am

Steve,

You're welcome, here's a quick example of what I had in mind. I hope this helps you, and stop back.

I just re-read your initial post and thought I might mention that using small pots early on will slow growth. It is often said that small bonsai don't become large bonsai. If you want larger material you should forgo the bonsai pots for now and use a larger nursery container. If you just want a small plant in a bonsai pot OK. Just something to be aware of.

Norm

Fri Aug 03, 2007 5:42 am

Norm,

Yeah, I think I'm getting too far ahead of myself. After writing my last post I realised that I do in fact need to plant into a larger pot to grow the trees to a larger size.

But, thanks again. That last pic you posted was similar to what I envisioned doing with the smaller pots - I'll just have to find something else to put in them......

Steve.