Have you seen any bonsai pot without drainage holes, and have you wondered about doing so with your bonsai plants? I tried it.
Do bonsai pots need drainage holes? Of course, bonsai pots do need drainage holes. Drainage facility, aeration, root growth, and root health mainly depend on the drainage holes. The soil moisture is a significant factor that affects bonsai health, and it also depends on the drainage holes.
But I have some bonsai plants in some containers without drainage holes. It’s hard to do, but if you can follow the way I did, you can plant bonsai trees in pots without drainage holes.
Do bonsai trees need pots with drainage holes?
As you already know, selecting a bonsai pot for a bonsai plant is difficult, like growing up a bonsai. Bonsai pots are in various styles these days. Some have a beautiful ornamental look, while some have an antique look.
But there are more things to consider when buying a bonsai pot than the outer look because an inappropriate bonsai pot is able to kill your bonsai tree.
Bonsai pot is able to decide the lifespan of a bonsai tree and the value of a bonsai tree. So you Must have a good understanding of bonsai pots and the nature of them.
There are many types of bonsai pots, but all of them come under narrow bonsai pots or shallow bonsai pots.
But there is one thing that common to both types. It is the drainage facility that maintains root health and growth. It depends on the drainage holes of a bonsai pot. That is why bonsai pots do need drainage holes.
But if you have more time to care for your bonsai trees, you can grow bonsai trees in containers without drainage holes, and in my collection, there are some.
As in the question, bonsai trees need drainage holes, but it is not a must factor for the bonsai plants. Even so, if you grow a bonsai plant in a pot without drainage holes, you should keep great attention to the plant.
Why is these drainage holes are an essential factor?
You already know drainage holes are such an essential factor when selecting a bonsai pot. But why these drainage holes arere important?.
When growing a bonsai tree, there are some primary requirements to fulfill for a healthy bonsai tree. Among them, aeration and drainage facility are so considerable.
In a bonsai pot, there must be drainage holes to fulfill the above two factors. Many types of bonsai soils are used to grow bonsai trees, But all of those bonsai soil is developed ideally to retains moisture and release exes water.
When soil wants to release exes amount, there must be some drainage holes to remove unwanted water from the pot. If the pot unable to do so, plant roots start to rot.
So drainage holes are considerable in the side of plant health, and drainage holes are significant for aeration in a pot.
Drainage holes on a bonsai pot are significant because they can decide your bonsai tree’s lifespan.
The number of drainage holes in a bonsai pot also depends on the type of tree you use to grow in the pot, so always keep attention to drainage holes when you buy bonsai pots.
Advantages of drainage holes of a bonsai pot.
First of all, drainage holes are given a chance to bonsai soil to remove the exes amount of water in the soil.
But even so, drainage holes do have many other duties to do for a healthy tree. As you know, bonsai trees have a week root system after the root pruning, so bonsai soil must keep those roots healthy.
At that moment, drainage holes are the supporter of bonsai soil, Roots need to absorb air from the soil, and they want some amount of nitrogen to grow up, so the aeration for bottom roots is done by the drainage holes.
Bonsai soil, on the other hand, has a remarkable ability to retain some moisture in the soil, but sometimes that moisture can damage new roots, so drainage holes are needed to dry the moisture in the bonsai pots.
Drainage holes are essential when repotting bonsai trees. After pruning roots, the bonsai tree must tight by wires to the pot. Because if the tree shakes after prune, it can’t grow roots. So it would help if you had drainage holes to tight the bonsai tree to the pot.
Disadvantages of drainage holes of bonsai pots
There are such considerable disadvantages of drainage holes to the bonsai plants. Mainly these drainage holes allow Soil to go out through them.
It is a vast disadvantage, and also nutrients use to go out through these drainage holes. On the other hand, if you did not cover the drainage holes as required, Soil will dry up quickly.
Some pests and ants also try to go inside through drainage holes, and they eat new baby roots of the bonsai tree, it is a massive problem to bonsai trees. But you can control it by using some pesticides.
How many drainage holes should be in a bonsai pot?
As you think, how many drainage holes should be in a bonsai pot?. According to my experience with bonsai trees and bonsai pots, the Number of drainage holes depends on the type of bonsai tree you use to grow in the pot.
Various bonsai plants are from multiple countries and climates; all of them have Preferred conditions to grow up, such as Humidity of the Soil, Nutrition in the Soil, and Aeration in the Soil.
So you have to buy or make your bonsai pot depending on the bonsai plant you want to sit on.
Usually, every bonsai pot has at least two drainage holes, and some have 4 drainage holes, and there are bonsai pots with two and one drainage holes also.
★ After the very first root and branch prune, I recommend you to use a bonsai pot with 3 or more drainage holes because new roots will start to rot if they feel more moisture
.
★ In the second prune, you can use a bonsai pot with two drainage holes. And use bonsai soil with a remarkable ability to remove exes water.
★ At last, you can use a pot with any amount of drainage holes for your mature bonsai tree. You can change the hole size according to the plant requirements.
Factors that vary with the number of drainage holes in the pot.
As you know, the main purpose of drainage holes is to give the soil access to remove unwanted water from it. But some factors vary with the number of drainage holes in bonsai pots.
Bonsai trees are miniature structures of huge trees, and these bonsai trees also have the requirements of parent trees. So the medium in which the bonsai tree is planted should provide all of them.
Even so, drainage holes can change the factors of Soil and Influence the health of your bonsai tree also. How does it happen?
When the number of drainage holes increased, the amount of water going out through those holes is increases. The Soil starts to dehydrate, and it mainly affects the plant’s health because.
The nutrients in the Soil are also dissolved with the water when you are watering the plant. And if there are drainage holes more than the required number, nutrients start to go out through them. It is the main factor that affects plant health.
How to make drainage holes on bonsai pots
There are various ways to make drainage holes on bonsai pots, and it is not a matter whether it is clay or cement. But you have to be very careful when making drainage holes because bonsai pots are very Delicate.
So use a hand drill to make holes on bonsai pots. And always drill from inside to the outside of the pot. And use a hand drill with a pin with a pinky finger size.
Always make at least two drainage holes on a bonsai pot, but I recommend you to buy bonsai pots with drainage holes. It is better than making drainage holes.
As well as do not make bug drainage holes on bonsai pots. Usually, drainage holes should not be larger than the middle finger of your hand. If the drainage holes are huge, the nutrients and Soil start to flow out.
How to prevent Soil from going out through drainage holes
This Soil erosion through holes of the bonsai pots is a huge problem faced by bonsai gardeners, and there are several ways to prevent it.
Many bonsai growers use a plastic net to cover the drainage holes before adding Soil to the pot. It is such an excellent way to prevent soil erosion. And bonsai roots try to grow their roots through drainage holes to the ground, But you can limit it by using a plastic net.
Conclusion
Bonsai pots need drainage holes, and lack of drainage holes can influence your bonsai tree’s health. But if you have more time to pay attention to your bonsai tree, you can grow bonsai trees in pots without drainage holes. It is hard to do and not so bad. Finally, keep in mind to buy bonsai pots with drainage holes until you are a pro of bonsai art.
