Grow Boxes and Training Pots

**Tachigi** · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 4:18 pm Post subject: Grow Boxes and Training Pots

This thread is for sharing views on the article Grow Boxes and Training Pots by Will Heath
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Tom Brown
www.shadysidebonsai.com
www.4MAAT.org

bonsapien · Joined: 07 Feb 2008 Posts: 19 Location: Seaville, Nj

Will,

Thanks for the great article. It really clarified the theory and practice of grow boxes. I have had many misconceptions cleared up. Guess I couldn't see the forest for the trees. Laughing

Thanks again,

Tom
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Tom Kruegl

jhill · Joined: 19 Feb 2008 Posts: 2 Location: zone 5b

Nice article Will as I would expect from you.
I just have one question to ask of you. I could be thinking the wrong way but would it be better to grow the tree in pond basket or Vance's nice looking training pots to get as many feeder roots as possible and then transfer into a shallow grow box to work on the nebari and get the roots more horizontal to be placed into a bonsai pot? I tend to get confused at times and maybe I am missing the point here but to me this is how I do it. Grow pot then to shallow grow box.

Thanks Will for the great article. Just wish I could write as well as you. You ought to see my keyboard the backspace button is worn out Smile

A Friend in bonsai
John
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John Hill

Rick moquin · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 39 Location: Dartmouth, NS

John,

Not to take Will's thunder away, you are on the right track with your conclusions. The exact same conversation occurred last week on another thread but got lost in the computer cosmos when a new thread was being developed, IOT maintain the integrity of the original thread.
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Bonsai is the journey, not the destination
BonsaiWonders

fwhou · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 12 Location: Eastern Pa. USA

Will...I used home-built grow boxes for many years. One thing noticed which is NOT in the best interests of any resident tree is the leaching of nutrients by rotting wood on the inside walls of the box.
The problem is that the rotting process pulls some of the nutrients in the soil away from the roots, effectively "starving" the tree. In my case a very old collected azalea showed clear discoloration in it's leaves, indicating stress of some sort. When the plant was lifted from the box to examine the roots, the problem was revealed.
Funny thing though...I also grew a "shore pine" in the same sort of grow box...it seemed fine. My only explanation was that somehow the mychorriza had something to do with "buffering" the root system from the rotting box leaching effect.

Have you heard of this from other folks?
Flex / 4MAAT

**Chris Johnston** · Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:50 pm Post subject: Re: Longevity of Grow Boxes

fwhou · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 12 Location: Eastern Pa. USA

Chris & Will...The plastic pond basket "grow box" has a lot of appeal. There was a good article in the Stone Lantern "Pines" book, about a pine grower (Kusido Matsuo), who grows some very impressive pines in colanders, which are just round pond baskets.
This container allows maximum air to the roots, and provides very good drainage, resulting in excellent root development.
FYI.
Flex / 4MAAT

**Ash Barns** · Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 5:10 am Post subject:

Will, Chris et al you may have noticed that we in Australia have access to styrene boxes obtained free from our supermarkets, courtesy of the produce departments. They come complete with drainage slots and all we have to do is add insect screen to cover the holes. We also can obtain styrene boxes (rectangular as well, which Broccoli comes in) and have lids without drainage slots which are used to contain bonsai mixes. These boxes last indefinitely which is a great blessing for us and we are re-cycling responsibly. This takes nothing away from what you do but shows what is obtainable in other countries. The downside is that what we use may not be bio-degradable in the long term as timber is but we delay it going to our landfill a bit more in a small way.

Ash Cool

Rick moquin · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 39 Location: Dartmouth, NS

Ash,

I have seen the Styrofoam boxes you folks from down under use, but I don't think (correct me if I am wrong) we are talking or practicing the same principle here.

I applaud the ingenuity and the recycling you folks have practiced for quite some time, not to mention the added protection of keeping the roots cool in your climate, but I believe these boxes are used more as grow boxes rather than "pond baskets". There is quite a bit of difference with the outcome.
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Bonsai is the journey, not the destination
BonsaiWonders

**Ash Barns** · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:02 am Post subject:

Hi Rick, Will covered all aspects of growing on hardware, which were, grow boxes, training boxes and pond baskets. The reason I brought up styrene boxes was from a grow box perspective and of course forgot to mention that they are lightweight as well.

Someone from another region of the world may have some other apparatus pertinent to their locality that they find really useful too.

Ash Very Happy