Hello,

I am having trouble finding the right shaped pots in my area to start some of my trees and i was wondering if wooden pots would be fine? (I dont really want to go online for them) I was going to paint the wood then seal it with polythylene.

I intend to build a kiln eventually and do some clay pottery, but im still waiting for the temps to warm up. (I'm in Northern MI)

What are the advantages and disadvantages to wooden pots for Bonsai and Shonin?

Have a great day!

Jostal wrote: I am having trouble finding the right shaped pots in my area to start some of my trees and i was wondering if wooden pots would be fine? (I dont really want to go online for them) I was going to paint the wood then seal it with polythylene.

Sure, why not? People often make wooden boxes for bonsai. This is done for trees that are in training. The advantage is that you can make such a box any size, suitable for the needs of the tree in development.

I'd be careful with paint though. Maybe first Google for some samples of others that have done this before. I haven't, I use plastic or clay training pots. Anything that can contain soil and drains would work, like for example a colander.

I intend to build a kiln eventually and do some clay pottery, but im still waiting for the temps to warm up. (I'm in Northern MI)

Cool.... I wonder if I could do that - I don't have a kiln but a field smithy. Nah... probably not a good idea

What are the advantages and disadvantages to wooden pots for Bonsai and Shonin?

They'll rot. They won't look as good as real bonsai pots. Both I don't see as a real issue for trees in training.

I often check if what I write even makes any sense, so I just Googled that. You may find this interesting:
ofbonsai.org/techniques/propagation/grow...es-and-training-pots

I have a friend that makes wooden pots for training trees, but he won't accept a simple box. He does a compound miter at the corners to give it a taper (similar to the first pic in Auk's post, and even adds feet - he does an awesome job. Uses cedar or cypress, as they resist rot for longer periods of time, and they eventually take on a lovely patina. If done right, it gains wabi sabi. Reclaimed redwood is another good one if you can get a hold of it. Just don't use treated wood.

I have a few wooden boxes, though I haven't had need of them for a while. They work just fine.

Advantages:
Build to any size you could ever need.
For a training pot, they look better than plastic (imho), but it's not for display anyway.
You can drill any hole you need for retaining and guy-wires.

Disadvantages:
They eventually rot.
Not necessarily cheaper if you account costs for the wood, power usage, and your labor.
Not for display (though my friend's has been displayed with a nice tree in an expo before - won a ribbon, too!)

Here's another post with some more images:
ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t6096-large-training-bonsai-pots

Thanks for the tips guys!

Yeah, ill definitely do some training boxes.