Plant Care Guide: Green Thumb Techniques : How to Properly Place a Bonsai Tree in a Pot

Tips for carefully and safely placing a bonsai tree in a pot are discussed in this free educational video series.

Expert: John Mueller
Contact: www.ParadisePalm.com
Bio: John Mueller has been the Manager of Paradise Palm in Salt Lake City, Utah for eleven years. He has worked in plant care services for close to two decades.
Filmmaker: joseph wilkins

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• plant
• care
• trimming
• cleaning
• bags
• orchids
• cats
• green
• thumb
• nursery
• bonsai

[sedwarg]

If you're repotting then you should trim the roots while you're at it. That looked 'root bound' (think thats the right term)

[SanRafaelSwell]

Agreed. What he says about positioning the pot in the vertical axis is a bit off. You should always have some of a mound. He then says something about wanting a lot of air in the soil....uh....sure if you want root rot. That is why you use a stick to "stir" the new soil in. to make sure that there is only a enough air for the roots to breathe at night. The soil should NOT be packed or fluffy. It should be settled.

[SanRafaelSwell]

The placement of a bonsai depends on a few different factors, two of the key factors being the style of tree and the ratios on the pot. Bonsai that are placed in the center are usually done so when planted in square, hexagonal, or round pots and even more so when the tree is a kengai or han kengai. Chokkon and moyogi trees tend to look best placed off center and slightly to the back edge of the pot (viewed from the trees front view).

[SanRafaelSwell]

I totally agree. Perhaps he wants rapid growth though because he states in the prior video of the same tree that it is "unfinished". Of course no bonsai is ever finished so I'm not really sure what he means. If he is saying what I think he is saying he should have the tree in a a growing pot for sure. His pot choice is wacked for sure. A nice earthy tone unglazed oval pot would set this tree off nicely in my opinion.

[SanRafaelSwell]

He seems to come from some sort of mallsai school.

[angelacatana]

shouldnt have packed it at all, should have use bamboo, or chopstick to poke and mesh the new soil with the old. what a doofus!

[angelacatana]

oh yeah he totally left all the original soil, and too much of the roots! grrr, poor tree :(

[angelacatana]

@jman811psp nope, and remember to take it one step at a time: dont repot and prune in the same day, so ur baby doesnt die of shock!

[Hvalborg1]

DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS GUY!

[mawehe63]

i have never once used screen (mostly becuase in middle tennessee im probably as far away from a bonsai nursery as one can be ) and secondly i have never had problems with soil coming out of the drainage holes