AusBonsai

Howdy!
Today im gonna go through all my plastic training pots and drill holes in the side to help combat the sydney rain. Anyone done this before? I hear good things about colanders and the increased air flow so it seems like a good call but dont ever hear about anyone doing it.
Would love to hear from anyone whos done this!
Cheers
Nic

We tried making extra holes in the sides of pots to strike cuttings. Could not see any difference in results. The key is the mix in the pot, not the pot itself.
I cannot see that holes in the sides of pots will help with drainage. Water runs out the bottom of pots. Air exchange is achieved when water runs through the soil pushing old air out and sucking fresh air in through the surface. If holes in the sides of pots was a good thing all nursery pots would be made that way.

I used some mesh crates for growing on which I guess is equivalent to something like a pond basket or colander. Used them for several years but results were not as good as expected. My guess is they dry out too fast here in hot summers. Definitely get much better growth rates and plant health using orchid pots or standard plastic nursery pots.
Colanders may work for some but I'm definitely not a fan.

I found my pines like holes in the sides.

It’s been a small sample size - 4 pots, but I’ve noted the mycelium thriving on them. I figure it’s because air flow is better.

Might be a coincidence but maybe not.

Colanders work really well for Pines, but not for some/most deciduous, in my experience.

I need to try it on Shimpaku and will soon, i have some to pot up in the next week.

Grant

+1 for pines. I have experimented with japanese maples and have kept them growing for several years in colanders in the same mix I would use in a nursery pot, watering once a day, even during summer. I also use colanders when I want to ground/large pot grow stock and keep the roots manageable and have successfully done this with eucalypts and Casuarina.

I've tried standard pots, and plastic collanders (reused ricotta baskets). No obvious difference with my Japanese maple seedlings ... the baskets tend to break down after a year or two in the sun.

If you want vigor, keep your pots on a garden bed, or the ground, roots will go down the drainage hole, and grow into the earth, you can tell this happens as it does much better than nearby similar trees/pots which don't have access ... they also grab hold and hard to pick up.

I've been concerned too of all this rain ... just woken up by the kids in the night, raining heavily, again!

Once moved my trees under cover, was then told it's not so necessary, there's a thread on here somewhere.

Any sign of stress? Can you test some with holes, some without? Keen to see pics, how big are the holes? What species?

I've sunk some pots of pre-bonsai trees into the ground. The bottoms of the pots were provided with extra / large holes in the bottom to enable the roots to easily access the soil underneath. They are all growing well and the bonus is that they need less watering once the roots have escaped the pot. And I agree that pots standing on the ground so the roots can access the soil do grow faster and stronger than trees in pots on the shelves.

Ive drilled some all over and left others. Will see which dries out better if we ever get a day without rain haha