When is a shohin no longer a shohin by Rob Kempinski
Publicado: 07 Mar 2012 18:52
This Willow Leaf Fig (Ficus nerifolia) has been growing in this pot for the past 5 or 6 years. The roots are starting to conform to the pot so it's time for a big decision = put it in a larger pot and let the roots continue to expand beyond shohin size or find another suitable shohin pot and trim the roots trying to keep it a shohin.
The trunk has fattened nicely and now takes up a larger portion of the front to rear distance in the pot. (BTW I made this pot).
If I place this in a larger pot then the tree will capitalize on the extra space and soon outgrow its shohin dimensions.
Roots are definitely crowded.
Out of the pot.
Close up of the roots
Bottom of root pad.
First try, trying to squeeze it into a shohin silver slipper (made by John Ptt). Looks very tight.
The root pad is resting on the top edge of the back of the pot. Why do I see one of Cinderella's sisters trying to wedge a fat foot into the glass slipper?
How about this blue pot by Bellota Pottery (Paul Katich) of Jacksonville. Fits no problem. The tree would like this pot and probably really grow.
Maybe this brown pot from a European potter that uses a beetle as a chop (can't recall the name of the potter)
Plenty of room in this pot for the roots to grow.
How about this Chinese magma and lava rectangle pot. Similar dimensions to the brown pot.
Here's a shallow Sara Rayner, USA, square pot. Plenty of room for the root pad.
View from above the Sara Rayner pot.
BTW, can anyone recognize this chop and distinctive pot hole? I know I should have paid more attention when I bought the pot - I think I got it at the Czech show in Prague.
For this tree, I decided to try to keep the tree a shohin (at least for a few more years) and to constrain the size by trimming the roots and by using the smallest pot that still had some room for the roots to spread. In a year or two, hopefully the roots will adopt a more oval shape. Therefore, I chose the John Pitt shallow oval. Ficus nerifolia can readily handle very shallow pots, heck they could probably live without soil.
Final image with soil and fertilizer
_________________
Regards,
Rob aka Bonsai Golfer
Check out my blog http://robert-kempinski.ofbonsai.org/
The trunk has fattened nicely and now takes up a larger portion of the front to rear distance in the pot. (BTW I made this pot).
If I place this in a larger pot then the tree will capitalize on the extra space and soon outgrow its shohin dimensions.
Roots are definitely crowded.
Out of the pot.
Close up of the roots
Bottom of root pad.
First try, trying to squeeze it into a shohin silver slipper (made by John Ptt). Looks very tight.
The root pad is resting on the top edge of the back of the pot. Why do I see one of Cinderella's sisters trying to wedge a fat foot into the glass slipper?
How about this blue pot by Bellota Pottery (Paul Katich) of Jacksonville. Fits no problem. The tree would like this pot and probably really grow.
Maybe this brown pot from a European potter that uses a beetle as a chop (can't recall the name of the potter)
Plenty of room in this pot for the roots to grow.
How about this Chinese magma and lava rectangle pot. Similar dimensions to the brown pot.
Here's a shallow Sara Rayner, USA, square pot. Plenty of room for the root pad.
View from above the Sara Rayner pot.
BTW, can anyone recognize this chop and distinctive pot hole? I know I should have paid more attention when I bought the pot - I think I got it at the Czech show in Prague.
For this tree, I decided to try to keep the tree a shohin (at least for a few more years) and to constrain the size by trimming the roots and by using the smallest pot that still had some room for the roots to spread. In a year or two, hopefully the roots will adopt a more oval shape. Therefore, I chose the John Pitt shallow oval. Ficus nerifolia can readily handle very shallow pots, heck they could probably live without soil.
Final image with soil and fertilizer
_________________
Regards,
Rob aka Bonsai Golfer
Check out my blog http://robert-kempinski.ofbonsai.org/
