Bonsai pot myth?

Alasdair

http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/showthread.php?t=18648
It is real important to wire your trees into your pots. learning the hard way sucks.

Al

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I can feel another "I wish that was my tree" moment coming on...
Currently studying BSc Plant Biology at the Universty of Wales, Aberystwyth

mapheoo

has any one heard of using plastic pots? i beleive they are called mica, or something like that. i was just wondering cuase i found a pretty good deal on a few of these pots and i really like the way they look. but i didnt know if they were suitable for bonsai or not.

Alasdair

Mica pots are made from minerals mined from the earth. From what i've heard they are prety hard wearing (you can drop them without them smashing) and are suitable as a training pot. Anything is suitable for treining your bonsai it. I think the advantage of mica is that it is typically shaped in the same sizes and styles as a bonsai pot, making it easier to transplant into the final pot. That said, you can get black plastic ones aswell which are cheaper and lighter than mica or clay.

Al

__________________
I can feel another "I wish that was my tree" moment coming on...
Currently studying BSc Plant Biology at the Universty of Wales, Aberystwyth

rockm

Mica pots are made with mica--http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/mica/

and plastic. Mica bonsai pots are fine for training or even for display, if you like them.

However, actual, honest-to-God clay bonsai pots are much much much more versatile and infinitely more attractive than mica pots. There are perhaps two dozen (probably less) mica pot designs--and only one color. "Real" bonsai pots come in thousands of designs and as many colors/glazes and textures. If you have a tree that is particularly nice, it deserves a nice pot...

Good clay pots can be found for as much--or even less--than what a mica one costs.

Plastic-only pots are simply crap. They will wrack when you pick them up. They're flimsy and can wreck roots when they bend suddenly. They can shatter in cold weather. They also break down if left exposed to sunlight for a couple of years. Don't use them.

RonMartin(deceased)

Actually there are 51 separate designs of Mica pots and 3 colors.

For the most part only the cheapest ones are carried by most stores. Pity because there are some pretty nice ones available.

mapheoo

thanks for info guys

rockm

Actually there are 51 separate designs of Mica pots and 3 colors.


Interesting. Didn't know they came in that kind of selection. What colors are available?

RonMartin(deceased)

There is the dark brown that just about everyone has seen. A grey color (more like a slate color) and a sand color. ( more like the color of something that one would find in a baby’s diaper)

The last 2 colors proved not to be all that popular so I dumped them from my line a couple of years ago. No sense importing what doesn’t sell.

agraham

I've used a bunch of mica pots over the years.I like them.I don't think that one can tell that they are not clay unless observed up close.The problem is that the styles that are available are well known by most people now,which makes them recognisable and frowned upon by the purists.

Ron,

I have one of the grey and one of the "sand" colored ones.......but only one of each for a reason.I think they are sort of ugly .

Rockm is right about relatively good quality clay pots of comparable sizes being available now that are just as cheap....or expensive.

andy

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