Colander vs Terra Cotta?

[hemmy]

I think the one you have is the "plastic" one that have the bigger holes? Or the fabric one?

I was using the white fabric folded bottom ones for the concrete blocks. But I might I have left them for a season too long. If I used them here in the Midwest, I’d mulch the blocks to keep them out of the direct sun. I do think the root air pruning is also beneficial for some species to get complex branched roots which seems to lead to more branching on top.

I also have the black plastic molded in most all sizes and a few of the white “skirts” to keep the sun off of them.

 

[Maiden69]

I also have the black plastic molded

I have some of the 18 seedling starters tray with separate cubes that I am trying this year for the first time, and 2 of the 1 gal size. I also bought a 15 gal one to try on my big cypress but I'm still undecided if I'm going to use it. I have a few tridents, 3 gingko, and around 12 BCs seedlings started on the cubes, but with a stainless washer right in the middle of the cube to strangle the tap root as soon as possible.

Depending on the outcome I think I'm going to move into the black pint size Root Pouch seedling starters that @cmeg1 use. I still think that the Root Pouch entrapment design is far superior to air pruning pots or bags.

 

[tanlu]

My understanding is that a colander can be used for pine trees in an effort to make the roots compact and fiberous enough for placement in a bonsai pot. Any roots that are near the surface of the colander will dry out and die back creating a dense root ball.

Doesn't terra cotta do a very similar thing? As long as the pot isn't soaking in a drip tray, the outside roots are generally dissuaded from growing too long due to the drying nature of terra cotta. I am under the assumption that the sun and wind on any given day would remove a significant amount of water from the sides of the pot, keeping the roots in a more compact fashion. Is this correct?

I am asking because the colander concept while valid, seems quite volitile. Even slowing the process slightly and working to capture similar results would likely allow for a less intense and more forgiving maintenance schedule. Is the trade off worth It?

I read most of the responses here and, as someone else may have said, the answer to the question about the tradeoff between more and less maintenance isn’t so simple. It will depend on your microclimate, the species you’re growing, and your watering preferences which tend to be determined by your lifestyle/schedule.

3 years after your post, I still have the same question since I have many competing priorities and live in a climate with somewhat mild (sometimes wet) winters and long, hot summers. I liked how generic terra cotta pots retained moisture when my spruce needed it but also kept the root system cool during hot days. Cool roots is something the JWP on their own roots also need, so I’m trying it this year on my JWP that seems to be responding okay. If anything I probably need to water more frequently than I thought on hotter days.

Also, as others have stated, overly wet medium isn’t a concern of mine because I use largely inorganics and my trees are in an exposed location so I’d assume the wind and sun dry out the pots well enough. So, now I’m wondering how well terra cotta performs with my winter conditions, as someone made the important point that generic terra cotta pots hold on to water for too long, which can be an issue for dormant JWP. I’ll be doing several repottings this spring. If I see healthy roots, I’ll know that terra cotta in fact does not stay too wet during the mid-Atlantic winter.

 

[pandacular]

I have some of the 18 seedling starters tray with separate cubes that I am trying this year for the first time, and 2 of the 1 gal size. I also bought a 15 gal one to try on my big cypress but I'm still undecided if I'm going to use it. I have a few tridents, 3 gingko, and around 12 BCs seedlings started on the cubes, but with a stainless washer right in the middle of the cube to strangle the tap root as soon as possible.

I also got a few of these trays. A member of my growing study group has had fantastic results growing maples in them. There are things I like about the root pouches, but I’m curious to try out other options as well.

 

[Maiden69]

I also got a few of these trays. A member of my growing study group has had fantastic results growing maples in them. There are things I like about the root pouches, but I’m curious to try out other options as well.

Here is my take after using them for 2 seasons. The growth on the cubes vs rootpouch is not the best. I feel like I get better results in the pouches. Second, you need bigger size substrate, as almost every inorganic particle will wash out through the holes. I ended up using orchiata with coarse size perlite, didn't feel right to be honest. I think probably large strand sphagnum moss would be a better option.

I will be moving all of the trees I have in them into pouches this spring.