One of the most frequently asked questions at the Bonsai by the Monastery Greenhouse and the Bonsai by the Monastery Mail Order/e-catalog is how to select a pot for a given tree.

Selecting a pot can be a daunting experience, Containers are available in hundreds of variations of size, material, shape, and color and range in price from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. John Naka's book "Bonsai Techniques I," available from our Mail Order/catalog, is an excellent resource for beginners.

Guidelines for selecting the size of a container for bonsai are governed by the tree's height, width of branch spread, and trunk diameter. If a bonsai is taller than it is wide, the pot length should be a little more that two-thirds it height. If a bonsai's branch spread is wider than its height, the pot should be a little more than two-thirds its width. The depth of the pot should match the diameter of the tree's trunk at its base.

Suppose one has an informal upright trident maple with a curved trunk that is two inches thick at the base and the overall height is twenty-four inches and the branch spread at the widest point is seventeen inches. Since the tree is taller than wide, the height should be used to select a pot. Using the above-mentioned guidelines, a suitable pot would be from seventeen to eighteen inches in length. The two-inch trunk suggests a pot that is two inches deep.

Whatever their size, pots are made of various materials which come in a variety of shapes and finishes.

Materials used to make bonsai containers include: wood, plastic, mica, terra cotta, stoneware, and porcelain. Suffice it to say that plastic and mica pots are normally used as training pots. Terra cotta containers are low fired which makes them prone to freezing. This brings us to stoneware, which is considered by most experts to be the ideal ceramic container for bonsai. It is fired higher than terra cotta and is therefore stronger against freezing.

When selecting a pot for an individual tree, the unique features of the individual tree are helpful in determining the style and color of the container. For our example we will select a pot for the trident's summer feature which is its leaf color.

The color could be unglazed brown, which harmonizes with most any bonsai, or it could be a glazed off-white or pale yellow container to contrast the foliage. So now the selection has been narrowed down to a pot that is seventeen to eighteen inches in length, two inches deep, with a pale yellow glaze.

The next consideration is cost. If you are unable to locate a glazed container that fits your purse, look for an unglazed one that costs less. Another alternative would be a mica pot, which is an economical substitute.

As for shape selection, the curved trunk of our trident maple suggests a pot with curves, therefore an oval would be a good choice.

General guidelines can be suggested for container selection, but there are no unbendable rules. For any given tree, there are several containers that would serve the tree well. Most artists suggest unglazed earth-tone containers for pine, but as with most rules in life, there is usually an exception. John Naka has a black pine in a white marble pot that looks elegant.

Bonsai container fashion is not static. It has evolved during the past hundred years just as artistic refinement has increased. Common sense should prevail when choosing a pot for a "finished" tree. When viewing a bonsai for the first time, if one notices the pot before the tree is seen, there is a lack of harmony. One does not have to be an expert to recognize disharmony, incongruity, or ugly when one sees it.