Air pruning in colanders?

[eferguson1974]

I thought the top of this tree was dead. Maybe the highest 6", but its backbudding pretty fast. Anyway, I think I have a plan for a literati bougie. It just depends on where it buds.. Im sure I will need guidance on what to cut off in a month. Or less..

 

[Bonsai Hunter]

Hi eferguson1974, air pruning in colander works, although ficus plants sometimes do need some additional manual pruning also, below the pot area. I don't question the air for failing to kill the rebel roots. I just reach for my scissors I would avoid colander for newly collected specimens and cuttings. Just ease them into a colanders after the roots are established. Till then, an Anderson flat tray or something similar is better. alternately, you could just cover up the colander sides with a plastic strip and remove it later for full functionality.

I recommend reading this article about Colander vs Bonsai Pots - http://instantbonsaiforeveryone.blogspot.in/2016/08/colander-vs-bonsai-pots-1-quick.html

 

[fredman]

Nice blog.

 

[Anthony]

Welcome Vinny, [ @Bonsai Hunter ]

might we see some of your finished trees ?
Hope you stick around.

You do realise that for trunk and root work / thickening,6 branches, one uses ground growing. and that the trainer
Bonsai pots are for refining branchlets ?

Our Tamarinds, use compost as the organic, and get a little denser of leaf than the one you showed, which
is why we never went the Hydroponics way. At the same height and pot size.

You can also use a porous bonsai pot, instead of many holes for drainage. Glazed on the outside, but not
underneath.
Agreed with explanation on the use of peat moss for more water retention.

Hello from Trinidad, West Indies / Caribbean.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Bonsai Hunter]

Thanks Fredman & Anthony. I am aware that ground is best for thickening trunk / roots and that there is a stage between ground and the final display bonsai pot.

For me personally, the container in that stage has to be a colander / air-pruning pot. Porous clay pots do not air-prune and are not the same as a colander. In a scoop test (scoop out water from a bucket with the pot / container), nothing beats a colander type of container in drainage and root aeration !

Good drainage and aeration begins with the pot, not soil. That is the whole point of my article. I do not understand why bonsai nurseries grow pre-bonsai stock in traditional plastic pots instead of net-pots of similar size. Frequent watering cannot be an excuse. Its their job. I do not understand why people choose between watering and air-pruning, when both are required. Its like asking should i breathe in or out. They just need to find a suitable solution that is simple and cheap.

Besides, if you look beyond bonsai and specifically at the much bigger container gardening category, I would expect air-pruning pots to be the standard pot used but the exact opposite is happening ! For some strange reason, the world (including horticulture universities), seems to love low density circling roots and pots with poor drainage & poor aeration ! (sorry, i got a bit dramatic )

Branch refinement can be done anywhere. I am getting good results with it on a ground specimen and on another specimen (the tip of a branch on a big tree), which has been repeatedly pruned for a future air-layer. I will wire it soon, while it is on the tree still. My plants in colander too are being ramified. A colander does thicken the trunk a bit and i look at it as a positive side effect. For apartment dwellers like me, it is the main effect too. However, I understand clearly that a colander is more of an air-pruning container than a trunk thickening machine.

And I have already read 2 big interesting debates of the past, on colanders on this forum. So, I do not want to start it all over again. My lips are sealed on this topic for now. I will post some of my work soon in another thread.