Tie Pot (Part 2) - Fantastic Air Pruning Bonsai Pots !!!

In this part 2 video of Tie Pot, I explain extra benefits of the pot & also show two of my trees being planted into them. 

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Tie Pot is great not only for bonsai but also for growing orchids, cactus & succulents, since the pot has excellent drainage & aeration. It is a large-sized, lightweight & strong pot and can be used for various gardening needs. It can even be used as a hanging pot. Orchid pots (both terracotta & ceramic) of equivalent size, are heavy & expensive and hence, Tie Pot provides a nice alternate solution. 

Read : Tie Pot (Part 1) 

Tie Pot (Part 1) - Fantastic Air Pruning Pots For Bonsai !!!

My unboxing & review of Tie Pot, a fantastic air pruning bonsai training pot (plastic), from Austria, Europe. It is designed & sold in Europe, by my friend Jens Lindworsky, who is a potter, bonsai artist and now a businessman too. I am fortunate enough to get my hands on these pots & be one of the first people to review this pot.

 

 

Watch on YouTube

 

The 2 main benefits of this pot are : 

1) Knobs for tying down branches & 

2) Air pruning of roots, for obtaining dense radial roots, by preventing root circling, a common problem in the nursery industry.

 

What is air pruning & what are its benefits

 

Tie Pot website - TiePot.com 

 

Watch on YouTube

  

 

Using Colanders For Double Air-layering On Same Trunk

While this video shows how to make several bonsai from a nursery tree, what caught my eye was the double air-layering technique & the use of air pruning containers /colanders for air-layering. 

Tribu Bonsai, Spain

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Air pruning containers like this give superior root structure and density compared to that obtained using just a plastic wrap or a regular, smooth-walled nursery pot. 

My own experience with double air layering :

Double Air Layering - Ficus Racemosa / Cluster Fig Tree

Double Air Layering - White Lead Tree

For those who feel that air pruning is no big deal & that just about any container will do, I recommend watching this YouTube playlist & upgrading your knowledge : 

How Pot Design Affects Your Plant's Growth

and also read on this blog  :

How Pot Design Affects Your Air-layered Cuttings

Air Pruning Pots For Growing Pre-Bonsai Stock

I recently came across a video of a bonsai professional, Jason Schley, using air pruning pots & fabric pots at his bonsai nursery. He informed me that there are certain bonsai nurseries which are focused on quality rather than quantity and that they do use air pruning containers for their trees.

Jason Schley Bonsai

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2 more videos, showing Trident Maples in fabric pots :

Bonsai expert Graham Potter on air pruning pots for bonsai

While I have a covered a lot on the topic of air pruning and its relevance to bonsai, in this blog and on my YouTube channel, any acknowledgement from bonsai experts on this topic is surprisingly rare.

I recently came across a July 2017 article on air pruning pots written by bonsai expert Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai, UK and the links are given below :

Bonsai nursery in China using Air-Pots

In 2015, Swindon & District Bonsai Nursery of UK posted an article on their blog about their visit to a large bonsai nursery in China, where air-pots are widely used for trees in various stages of their development as bonsai, for all sizes and species, not just conifers.

Pics by Swindon & District Bonsai Nursery

More pics below & some write up on bonsai community's ignorance about air pruning :

Pomegranate Bonsai From Cuttings In Air Pruning Pots

Tree species :  Pomegranate tree

Collected on : Nov 21, 2015

UPDATE - March 19, 2017

 

 Watch On YouTube

Also check out the links given in the video description which show more examples of Pomegranate bonsai in air pruning pots.

Read Part 1 of this story

Air Pruned Roots Of Delonix Regia Seedling / Royal Poinciana / Gulmohar Tree For Bonsai

Tree species : Delonix Regia (Gulmohar / Royal Poinciana / Flame Tree / Flamboyant Tree)
Started on : Sept 14, 2016

Watch On YouTube Part 3 - Dec 11, 2016

Watch On YouTube Part 2 - Oct 25, 2016

Part 1 - Sept 22, 2016
Scarification & Germination Of Delonix Regia Seeds

How Pot Design Affects Your Air-layered Cuttings

Though the initial rooting happened in a plastic pouch, the pot was quickly changed, without cutting the trunk, to a new setup comprising of 2 nursery flats, with a mesh bottom having a finer plastic mesh screen to keep the soil inside. Such a container not only air-prunes the new roots, leading to a denser root system but also provides better drainage & root aeration. This could have been done right from the beginning, instead of using a plastic pouch.

Source : bonsaitonight.com / Jonas Dupuich

Trunk still has not been cut.  It goes further below.

How Pot Design Affects Your Plant's Growth

I feel every bonsai artist (beginner to expert) needs to watch the videos in this playlist.  

If you have not seen these videos before, hope you make it a priority. If you have already seen them , then I hope you are implementing the knowledge. Link given below :

Instant Bonsai + Air Pruning Pots

Watch On YouTube

Part 1 video - covers Instant Bonsai concept with tips on collecting good tree material from ground & explains my choice of colander pot for it & some potting tips too.

Watch On YouTube

Part 2 video - covers a partial self-watering setup for my colander, benefits of air pruning pots, drainage speed test between 1-2 holes vs. multiple holes, converting a bonsai pot to air pruning pot, net pots of multiples sizes & shapes, massive ignorance of air pruning concepts among people growing plants/trees in containers and existence of ceramic colanders & 3d printed air pruning pots.

Benefits Of Air Pruning

I am amazed at how many bonsai artists, experts & nurseries seem to be unaware of this basic horticultural science, judging by their blog / YouTube channel ! 

If they already knew the benefits of air-pruning then I wonder why they still use traditional non air-pruning pots for training / growing bonsai or use an air-tight plastic wrap for air-layering. It doesn't make sense at all !

3D Printed Air-Pruning Pots

Though this pot design is not that great, it is fun to watch a 3d printer in action ! For functionality, buy a net pot or colander or design your own like this.

Colander vs. Bonsai Pots - Part 1

Are many bonsai experts & artists ignorant about 

which one is better for training / growing bonsai ?

Bonsai Pots & Air Pruning Of Roots

Usually these 2 topics do not go together, though they very well should. The content that I have seen online for air pruning is either limited to growing vegetables or big trees. For some strange reason, many expert bonsai artists and hence, their followers, don't seem to have adopted this horticultural science. 

3d Printed Air Pruning Bonsai Pot

 Holes on side & base - helps in better aeration & air pruning of roots.
Source : shapeways.com

Air Layering With A Colander

The colander air-prunes the new roots, leading to a denser root system & hence, faster growth. If the plant you want to air-layer is in your possession, then use a colander type of pot. Avoid using an airtight plastic wrap or containers without holes on side and bottom. 

I feel people who do so, are ignorant of a basic concept shared here. Air-tight container makes sense only if the plant is not in your possession and hence cannot be watered often.

Air Layering Examples

Source : yenlingbonsai.com

(temporarily not available)

Air Pruning Roots Automatically - Videos

  
I adopted this quickly, despite NOT seeing it in most of the expert videos.

What stops people from adopting this horticultural science ? 

PLANTS : 

What Is Air Pruning? Can It Really Improve My Container Gardening ?

What is Root Air Pruning & How to Make a Cheap Air Pruning Container