Is a deep pot or a shallow pot more suitable for a banyan bonsai?

  Tree bonsai often have peculiar and elegant shapes, with powerful and vigorous branches, and generally remain evergreen throughout the four seasons, so they have extremely high ornamental value, and banyan bonsai is one of the quite representative tree species among them. As everyone knows, in addition to foliage viewing, banyan bonsai is also very suitable for root viewing, so its thick root system can often be carved into various elegant shapes. According to general thinking, for a tree species like the banyan with thick, powerful and well-developed roots, it often needs a large and deep flower pot to meet its growth needs. But is this really the case? So, should a banyan bonsai use a deep pot or a shallow pot?

  Although the banyan has relatively strong sprouting ability, and its root system often grows very thick, making it suitable for making exposed-root bonsai, in fact the pots used for most banyan bonsai we see are not as deep as imagined. Compared with the entire bonsai tree, they actually seem rather shallow. This is indeed the case. How large and how deep a pot a banyan bonsai needs often depends on its variety, plant size and shape. For an ordinary small ornamental banyan bonsai, it is generally enough to prepare a flower pot with a depth of about 6-8 cm; moreover, square pots are mostly used, and a length and width of about 20-30 cm is more suitable.

  But for different banyan varieties and plant sizes, the size of the flower pot needs, on the one hand, to meet the distribution needs of the bonsai tree's roots inside the pot, because if the pot is too small, its root system will become tangled and shrink into a ball, which is very unfavorable for the plant's growth. On the other hand, if the flower pot is too large, the amount of soil in the pot is often greater, and relatively speaking the nutrients stored are also greater, but there is likewise a disadvantage, which is that water and fertilizer are distributed in a more scattered way, easily causing nutrient waste or reducing the utilization rate. Therefore, a pot that is too small or too large is not conducive to the growth of the bonsai tree. Moreover, a flower pot that is too large or too small also affects the coordinated effect with the tree body, thereby reducing the overall ornamental value of the bonsai.

  The banyan bonsai has strong sprouting ability and tolerance to pruning, and this is precisely because its root system plays an important role. It can be seen that its root distribution is also very developed. Just by looking at the thick exposed roots on the surface of the pot, one can also determine that its root system is very powerful. However, this is, after all, only the part on the surface of the potting soil, while the roots inside the potting soil are often much weaker. Moreover, the banyan varieties suitable for making bonsai are often the aerial-root banyan and the ginseng banyan. The thick roots of the aerial-root banyan are mostly exposed above the soil surface and stand out in elegant shapes, becoming part of the ornamental bonsai.

  For the aerial-root banyan, because its thick aerial roots also need to serve as an important part of the ornamental banyan, it is often necessary to choose a relatively large flower pot for planting. Since its roots in the soil are much weaker than the exposed aerial roots, but at the same time its aerial roots need to be accommodated inside the flower pot, a relatively shallow large flower pot is generally used for planting. However, according to the size of the aerial-root banyan's plant shape, the size of the flower pot must also match and coordinate with the tree body. Only in this way can normal growth be ensured while also maintaining the overall aesthetic effect. According to the size of the tree shape, it is likewise divided into large, medium and small pots, but no matter which kind of flower pot is used, square pots are generally chosen for shallow planting.

  For the ginseng banyan, it is mostly used in small bonsai, making it easier to place on tea tables, windowsills and other suitable indoor locations. However, the ginseng banyan can also be grown and maintained as a medium or large bonsai, mostly placed in some important places to beautify the environment. Because its plant shape is usually relatively broad and full, if the flower pot is too small, it will easily tip over, so a large rectangular flower pot is generally used for planting, which is often more stable. The root system of the ginseng banyan, like that of the aerial-root banyan, is relatively developed, but after all they share one common feature, which is strong sprouting ability, so even shallow planting generally will not affect its growth. We only need to ensure that the depth of the pot is not too shallow, and that the flower pot is large enough, with enough space to maintain the free distribution of the root system, and it can often meet its growth needs.

  However, whether it is the aerial-root banyan or the ginseng banyan, after being made into a bonsai, the ornamental focus is on the tree body rather than the flower pot. If the flower pot is too deep, it often produces the negative ornamental effect of the secondary overshadowing the primary. Therefore, as long as it does not affect the normal growth of the banyan, we should generally let its aerial roots and tree body be displayed as much as possible, and the flower pot chosen should not be too deep. Therefore we draw this conclusion: banyan bonsai is suitable for planting in square shallow pots.