Rethink Repot

So I came up with over thirty plants that need new training pots. More than likely half of them will be getting colanders or pond baskets because that's too many to come up with good pots for; I am not a nursery owner. Neither am I independently wealthy. I don't plan to show any of these plants for a few years, so...I'll opt to save my marraige and go with the abovementioned pond baskets.

Pond baskets are the best thing since buttered bread. This is because roots planted in them self-ramify. You can't get better drainage. By the time your plant is ready to be put into its first bonsai pot, its root system is much better developed than something coming out of the ground or other type of pot.

I know that there are more attractive options available to more aesthetically minded bonsaiists, but they are beyond my very limited budget. I prefer to spend my miniscule budget on trees rather than training pots. I usually do not fill the pot to the top with soil, either, forcing roots to form in a shallow manner.

Sooo, gotta keep my eyes peeled for these boogers since they aren't commonly on the shelves this time of year.

Also this year nearer to spring, I plan to try lining a few half crates with mesh screen and using these as planting boxes for my larger material. Same results as the pond baskets, and easier to move...