How To Select A Bonsai Pot For Your Tree

When you are looking at your bonsai tree and thinking about selecting a pot for it, you will need to consider a few things, which I will go through below.

This could be a pot you already own, or one you are thinking about buying, the thought process should really be the same.

Ultimately you will be asking if the tree can be healthy in the pot and if it will look good. If you can check these two things off then the pot you have selected will be a good match with your tree.   

The Health Of The Tree Always Comes Before Aesthetics When Choosing A Pot

When it comes to selecting a pot the first thing you must always consider is the trees health. The root ball is extremely important for the tree and if you can’t keep this healthy then the tree will die.

The pot needs to be able to hold the root ball and actually have some space so that the tree can grow and continue to stay healthy over the growing season.

Keeping the tree healthily in the pot is the most important thing, after this you can then start thinking about the aesthetics.

What Size Post Should You Select?

When it comes to the size of pot, you can start by asking yourself what you are trying to achieve with the tree, if you are still trying to develop it then you may want to use a larger pot, or a training pot, which should give it the space it needs to grow and develop.

However, if you are refining the tree then you may be looking to use a smaller, shallower pot.

You need to take all this into consideration and always ask yourself if the tree can actually fit in the pot you are considering and then if it can actually sustain its health while in there. 

There are some calculations you can make trying to measure the height and width of your tree compared to you pot. I think this is all over the top and is more something you should do by eye. You can look at the pot and see if it is the right size or not.

A lot of this varies depending of the species, style and size of the tree, so it really makes more sense to try and evaluate it yourself rather than getting a measuring tap out. 

The Depth Of The Pot

You want your pot to be deep enough that it will hold the root ball, but of course you also want it to look right with the tree. You need to take a step back and see if the depth of the pot makes sense with the overall height of the tree.

If it is too deep it is going to make the pot look heavy and outweigh the tree, and then if the pot is too shallow then the tree will look like it may just tip over and not be very balanced. 

Width Of The Pot

The width of the pot is similar to the depth where it can easily make the tree look bad if you get it wrong.

As a general rule of thumb you want the width to be about the same width as the widest part of the trees canopy. It doesn’t need to be perfect and will of course depend on the style and species, but this guideline will usually work well.

If your pot is too narrow it can make the tree look like it is going to topple over and if it is too wide, then the tree can kind of look lost in the middle of the pot.

Trunk Thickness

For both the width and depth of the pot you want to look at how these interact with the trunk. The trunk is going to be rising out of the pot so you want everything to be in balance and look like they are working together as one.  

The general rule is that height of your pot should be about the same as the thickest part of the trunk, which is usually going to be where the trunk and roots meet and flare out at the base of the tree. This area of the tree is often called the Nebari.

(You can read more about – Should You Use A Smaller Or Larger Pot When Repotting A Bonsai?)

Is There Available Space For The Pot?

You need to also consider the space you have. Hopefully you have plenty of space and this is something you can ignore, but for some of us, we need are a little tight on space.

You need to check that you can accommodate the pot that you want to use, especially if you are going to use a large pot.

I have a number of trees that I want to use larger pots for, but I just do not have the space for them. This is quite frustrating, but it is a reality and if you have small garden then this could certainly affect you and your trees plans.

(You can read more about – What Is The Right Size Pot For Your Bonsai?)

Aesthetics Should Be Considered When Selecting A Pot

While the health of the tree is important, so is how it looks. Bonsai is an art, so you do want your pots to look good and you want them to visually work with the tree.

This will also depend on what stage your tree is at and if you can’t get things perfectly right now, then that is fine.

It is totally okay to use an ugly pot, or even something that isn’t really a pot. If you have watched any of my videos you will know a lot of my trees are in random plastic containers, such as ice cream pots and washing up bowls. These are horrible looking, but they are the perfect size so I don’t mind.

While I do show my trees on youtube, they are certainly not “show trees” so I can live with the ugly pots.

Once your tree starts getting more refined and show ready, then you should start caring more about what pot you are using.

What Shape Pot Should You Pick?

When you look at pots you will see they generally fall into two categories, round or square.

Of course there can be different types of round, such as circular or oval, and the same goes for the square shaped pot, where you can have squares or rectangles.

However, what you really need to do is look at the pot in general, is the shape more round, or more square. A more round pot is going to be more feminine and a squared pot is going to be more masculine.

You want to match this style of pot with the tree you have. Each tree will be more of one or the other depending on its species, style and general feel.

Matching a masculine tree with a masculine pot is just going to look better, and of course the opposite will also be a true, a feminine tree will work better in a feminine pot.

(You can read more about – What Shape Bonsai Pots Can You Get?)

Colour

Bonsai pots come is all sorts of different colours, this can be from the type of clay used, or due to the glaze.

You will want the colour of the pot to work with the tree, which really means it should compliment a colour within the tree, such as its flowers or bark colour, or you want the pot to just be kind of natural and not distract you from the tree.

There can be a lot of personal preferences here, so just because I say a colour works really well, doesn’t mean you need to agree. 

Material Of The Pot

The two main materials you will find will be clay or plastic. These are going to also affect the colour, texture and even the design of the pot.

Generally the material is not really going to effect the health of the tree, although you could argue that some clay pots are porous, so they will wick water way, which wouldn’t happen in a plastic pot.   

However, I’ve not really noticed a significant difference in the materials and it is more an aesthetic (and price) difference. 

The Overall Design/Style

When you are looking at a pot you should take all the above factors into consideration when deciding if it suits a tree or not.

Bonsai is often about taking a step back and looking at everything as a whole, rather than focusing on the minute details.

The Price Of The Pot Is A Factor

If you currently do not own the pot and are looking to buy it, then the price is a factor. I can find you some epic pots that will make your tree look amazing …but when you see the price you might not agree with me.

You can usually find decent pots no matter what your budget is, so even if you are not interesting in spending crazy amounts of money, there should still be a pot that will work with your tree. 

Check For Damage

Part of your selection process should involve just quickly checking the pot over for damage. It doesn’t matter if it is a pot you have just bought, or one you have owned for years, you need to check it.

You don’t want to put a tree in a pot, only to discover there is a huge crack and it falls apart within a week of repotting it.

You Should Check It Has Adequate Drainage

Another simple check you should do before selecting a pot is check it has adequate drainage holes.

However, if it’s an actual bonsai pot, it should have adequate drainage, so you do not need really to really think about this, but it is worth double checking it has everything you need.

(You can read more about – Why Do Bonsai Pots Have Drainage Holes?)

What About A Drip Tray?

When it comes to a drip tray, this is really personal choice. If you are growing the tree indoors, then you will need one, otherwise it just depends if you like the look of them or not.

If you are buying a new pot it can be sensible to buy a matching drip pot if one is available. You might not want to use it right now, but you never know in the future, so it can be good to have.  

(You can read more about – Do You Need A Drip Tray For Your Bonsai?)

How Does It Fit In With Your Other Pots?

It can also be a good idea to look at your bonsai collection as a whole when picking pot for a tree. Although, I think most people don’t really care about this, I know I don’t.

I am more focused on the individual tree and how the pot works with it, but maybe you want a certain style across your whole garden and you might want to ask how this particular pot is going to fit in with the rest of your trees.

How To Decide If The Pot Looks Right With The Tree?

Once you have considered everything and selected a certain pot, you can do a few things to make a final decision to see if it is actually right for the tree. 

Hold The Pot Near The Tree

The easiest thing you can do is just hold the pot up in front of the tree. This isn’t going to be perfect but it is going to show you roughly if it is the right size and roughly if it will look alright.

This works well if you have a number of pots and want to get a quick idea of what they will look like and it can help you narrow down your choices.

Digital Mock Ups

Digital mock ups can take a bit more effort, but you usually get a better result than just holding the pot next to the tree.

To do this you need a camera and some editing software. You just need to take a picture of your tree in front of a plain background and then take a picture of the pot.

You then just use the editing software to edit the pot over the tree, basically covering the current pot.

Now you have a rough photo of what the tree and pot would look like together.

I don’t really like doing this. I think it takes too much effort, but I know plenty of people really enjoy doing this and it really helps them make their final choices.

This can also work for pots you don’t own yet, although, getting the scale right can be difficult as you are using a picture from a website, rather than something you have taken yourself.

Decide When Repotting

The easiest way to decide is to do it when repotting. Get the tree out of the old pot and remove the soil, then literally place it in the new pot you have selected and see what it looks like.

The tree will actually be in the pot and you can see how it looks and more importantly how it fits.

I normally hold some pots up in front of the tree to get a rough idea, then when I am repotting, I actually try them out, which is where I make my final decision.

Conclusion

As you can see there is a lot of thought that goes into selecting a pot, but it is all pretty logically.

I went into a lot of detail, but really you just need to make sure that the tree can fit in the pot and stay healthy in there, and then you need to decide if it looks good or not.

If you can do that, you will end up selecting a pot that works well with your tree.