Do banyan bonsai use deep or shallow pots?

Bonsai trees often have a strange and elegant shape, strong branches, and generally remain green all the year round, so they have high ornamental value, and banyan bonsai is one of the representative tree species. As we all know, the banyan bonsai is not only suitable for viewing leaves, but also very suitable for viewing roots, so its sturdy roots can often be carved into a variety of elegant shapes. According to the general thinking, such as the banyan tree, which has strong roots and developed distribution, it often needs to be equipped with a large and deep flowerpot to meet its growth needs. But is this really the case? So, do banyan bonsai use deep or shallow pots?

Although the sprouting power of the banyan tree is relatively strong, and its root system is often very strong, it is suitable for making open-rooted bonsai, but in fact, the flowerpots used in most of the banyan bonsai we see are not as deep as imagined, compared with the whole bonsai tree. Instead, it seems to be relatively shallow. In fact, the banyan bonsai needs to be equipped with a large and deep basin, which often needs to be decided according to its variety, plant size and shape. For ordinary ornamental banyan bonsai, it is generally possible to prepare a flowerpot with a depth of about 6-8 cm, and it is mainly a square pot with a length and width of about 20-30 cm.

However, for different banyan varieties and plant size, on the one hand, the size of the flowerpot needs to meet the needs of the distribution of bonsai roots in the basin, because the pot is too small, the roots will wind up and shrink into a ball, which is very disadvantageous to the growth of the plant. But on the other hand, if the flowerpot is too large, the more soil in the pot, the more nutrients are stored, but there is also a disadvantage that the distribution of water and fertilizer is relatively scattered, which is easy to cause nutrient waste or reduce the utilization rate. Therefore, the pot is too small or too much is not conducive to the growth of bonsai trees. And too large or too small flowerpots also affect the coordination with the trees, thus reducing the overall ornamental value of bonsai.

The strong germination and pruning resistance of banyan bonsai is precisely because its root system plays an important role. The original can be seen that its root distribution is also very developed, just look at the basin surface exposed strong rhizome, we can also determine that its root system is very strong. However, after all, this is the part of the surface of the basin soil, and the root system in the basin soil is often much weaker. And the banyan varieties suitable for making bonsai are often air-root banyan and ginseng banyan. The stout roots of the aerial root banyan are exposed on the soil surface and stand out in an elegant shape, becoming part of the ornamental bonsai.

For aerial root banyan, because its stout aerial root also needs to be used as an important part of ornamental banyan, it is often necessary to choose larger flowerpots to plant. Because the root system in the soil is much weaker than the exposed air root, but at the same time, the air root needs to be accommodated in the flowerpot, so it is generally planted in a relatively shallow flowerpot. However, according to the size of the plant shape of the banyan, the size of the flowerpot should also be matched and coordinated with the tree. Only in this way can we ensure its normal growth while maintaining the overall aesthetic effect. According to the size of the tree, it is also divided into large, medium and small pots, but no matter what kind of flowerpots, square pots are generally selected for shallow planting.

As far as ginseng banyan is concerned, it is mostly used in small bonsai, which is easier to put in the appropriate indoor position such as coffee table, windowsill and so on. However, ginseng banyan can also be planted as large and medium-sized bonsai and placed in some important places to beautify the environment. As its plant shape is usually relatively large, if the flowerpot is too small, it will be prone to dumping, generally using a large rectangular flowerpot for planting, often more stable. The root system of ginseng banyan is the same as that of air-root banyan, but after all, they have a common feature, that is, they have strong germination ability, so even if they are planted shallowly, they generally will not affect their growth. We just need to make sure that the depth of the pot is not shallow enough, and that the flowerpot is large enough to have enough space to maintain the free distribution of the root system, which is often enough to meet its growth needs.

However, whether it is air root banyan or ginseng banyan, after turning it into a bonsai, the viewing point is on the tree rather than on the flowerpot. If the flowerpot is too deep, it will often have a negative viewing effect. Therefore, as long as it does not affect the normal growth of the banyan tree, we should generally let its air root and tree body show as much as possible, and the selected flowerpot should not be too deep. Therefore, we come to the conclusion that the banyan bonsai is suitable to be planted in square shallow pots.

Time: 2019-06-02 Click: