What would happen if you were to take something similar to an Air-pot seed tray lay chicken wire (or smaller) on the bottom and have it hoisted above an aeroponics system/reservoir. Does anybody have any experience with this type of thing?

My objective is to someday have a year round christmas tree whether it be small or not.

I'm thinking the aeroponic setup would be implemented after it has become mature / established.

Would this just result in a larger plant in the same amount of space?

Welcome to the empire!

Bonsai is quite traditional and most of us do what has proven successfull for hundreds of years. I do think it is best to learn the proved methods before experiment on new aproaches.

I reacted on the christmas tree idea. It suggests you want to grow indoors. That is a terrible idea. Trees die indoors, that has been tested and failed so many times that there are no reason to experiment more on that.

So I've been looking into HPA (High Pressure Aeroponics) aeroponicsdiy.com/make-your-own-high-pre...e-aeroponics-system/ the source I found.

This is the vision I'm having (quick 4 min sketch, scale/size not important, for illustration) but upon further research on HPA the equipment required to achieve high pressure cannot be easily concealed in the pedestal / reservoir / base.

It's a saucer that separates into two halves, the upper has a hole with a receded inner ridge for chicken wire and cheese cloth to be inserted to create a shallow bed for the medium to start the bonsai in until the roots eventually find themselves on the other side of the wire; in the lower portion of the saucer where the nute misting nozzles are.

I think the benefit of having it clasped together is that you can easily remove it and prune the roots, thus delaying having to re-pot, no?
Or is it becoming root bound a crucial part of Bonsai?

A giant unknown (to me at least) is, how consistently root moistening is required.

I mean giant overhead assembling everything and then to be able to lose your plant simply over your power going out would be pretty lame. IK buy a generator you'll say lol.

Since I'm such a noob, with nothing but time I have to ask, is a 0.3Gal / 1L container too large to start a seed in?! How long can you keep a seedling in say an egg carton compartment?! How harmful is it for the taproot to become damaged?

The best for most bonsais is to go between wet and moist but not dry in cycles. Most bonsai artists aim for one day cycle in summer via balancing substrate, placement and growth. Constand wet is not good and leads to root rot that will eventually kill the tree.

Tap roots needs to be cut off in order to fit the tree in a shallow pot. If grown from seed, that is normally done within the first two years.

I still think the best is to go for well known and functional methods first. When one has basic bonsai skills and managed to grow trees successfully for a decade or so, one can start trying new approaches if one still wants that.

No reason to go advanced before learning the basics.

What is your idea about winter care in this setup? How do you approach water freezing?

I still do not understand what you are trying to do here. Why not have the tree in a pot with substrate?

That being said.. Ensure the roots stay evenly moist. Do not let the roots try out ever.
Getting roots in a confined space is part of growing and developing bonsai. But then again, you are not doing bonsai here.