Which pot for 'too little' ficus?

[AutumnWolf13]

I'm a noob. I got my 2nd tree for a bonsai, a 'too little' Ficus Benjamina.
I'm not good with aesthetics, I'm a utilitarian, ham fisted goon.
Help me understand the art in pot selection.
Which would you use, and why?

 

[namnhi]

Is that even a ficus? a little too small to see for certain but it doesn't look like one to my eyes.

 

[jeanluc83]

Neither. They are both too big.

I would repot into a cut down nursery pot while you develop it for a couple of years.

I don't think this is the right time to repot any trees, including ficus.

 

[JudyB]

As far as shape, I like the oval better, but I prefer glazed with non conifer trees. They are both too big as jeanluc83 said. Wait till next year to do this after the weather warms up in the summer a bit.

 

[Giga]

As far as shape, I like the oval better, but I prefer glazed with non conifer trees. They are both too big as jeanluc83 said. Wait till next year to do this after the weather warms up in the summer a bit.

this

 

[coh]

Looks like a brush cherry. Are you sure it's a ficus? Maybe post a close-up photo of the leaves/shoots.

 

[AutumnWolf13]

As far as shape, I like the oval better, but I prefer glazed with non conifer trees. They are both too big as jeanluc83 said. Wait till next year to do this after the weather warms up in the summer a bit.

Warms up? It was 90F here yesterday! LOL
Too big? how does one know the right pot size? is there a mathemagickal equasion one can employ to figure pot size?

Is that even a ficus? a little too small to see for certain but it doesn't look like one to my eyes.

The tag read Ficus 6" pot. Actually there wasn't even a tag, just a little sticker on the pot.

 

[_#1_]

You should have "none of the above" also.

Why would we say clowns wear over sized shoes? When are shoes considered too big for a person?

 

[JudyB]

Well you don't want to do root work and repot at the END of the warm season. You want to do that kind of work after the cold weather is over in the spring.
As far as size, google bonsai images, you'll see it when the size of the tree and the pot are a good fit if you look at enough images. It's a good way to train your eye.

 

[coh]

The tag read Ficus 6" pot. Actually there wasn't even a tag, just a little sticker on the pot.

Could be an old pot that had a ficus in it before, and they didn't remove the old sticker. Up to you whether you post a close up pic for a definite ID.

 

[AutumnWolf13]

Why would we say clowns wear over sized shoes? When are shoes considered too big for a person?

This will help me understand how exactly?

 

[_#1_]

This will help me understand how exactly?

Proportion my friend. Person-shoes, tree-pot

Your little guy looked like it's about to get swallowed up by them bigass pots. No?

 

[AutumnWolf13]

Close up...WDYT?

 

[coh]

brush cherry. see for example: http://www.budgetplants.com/trees/screening/australian-brush-cherry-eugenia-paniculata

 

[AutumnWolf13]

Yes, thank You. Better response. Ham fisted goons don't do well with metaphor.

 

[Zaratrusta]

The ficus feel better the glazed pots but in a color other than green to contrast the color of the foliage.
I would use the brown one but as jean said it is better that you use a large training pot to develop the tree faster

 

[sorce]

That piece of that pot looks about the right size.

Sorce

 

[ColinFraser]

When looking at quality bonsai for proportion, take particular notice of the depth of the pot relative to the thickness of the trunk.

 

[music~maker]

I wouldn't put these in bonsai pots yet. I'd try and thicken up the trunk, and that won't happen in any rational time frame in a bonsai pot. If it's root bound, I'd probably slip pot it up to a bigger pot, or at least a large training flat or something, and then let it grow out for a while.

fwiw, the way I work my trees, this would be at least five years away from a bonsai pot. But for the size trunk you have, if you were to put it in a bonsai pot and try to get the scale right, the pots you have are definitely too big. @sorce had it closer to the right size with his photoshopped estimate. But again, I wouldn't go there yet if it were mine.