HI there, I just bought some air pots to use as training pots for pre bonsai trees. haven't started using them yet but I am excited to see how they work.
what kind of soil are you using?

Rob.

My "air layered" meyer's are currently in the 5-1-1 mix which they seem to like a lot. I will probably continue to use this mix.

I just transplanted a green island ficus into a ,3 gal. AP today in 5-1-1.
good luck!

Rob.

I have found that pot with many drain holes in the bottom and sides will do just fine.

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300+ drain hole + 500+ drain holes in the side not drilled yet.

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This shows the trees on top of vacuum bucket. The trees are in buckets with holes along the sides as well as the bottoms. These trees are put on top of the buckets with the vacuum hole in the sides. A vacuum cleaner is used to draw air through the soil and the sides to aerate the roots. 10 seconds per pot for all 6 pots morning and evening. This works real well and you don't have to worry about roots drying out in the summer by placing the roots and bucket inside a sister bucket with no holes.

The sweetlee tangerine tree below is 2 years old from seed with this setup.

Poncirusguy-
Very interesting setup. Using a mix like the 5-1-1 mix, would vacuuming air through the pot still be required? Wouldn't the mix allow enough air to move through the roots?

You would not need to vacuum fresh air with the 5-1-1 mix. The air pot would be of harm to your trees with this mix. When you go to transplant you may have a lot of fun getting the tree out. Products NEVER work out as they do in the sellers video. Up size your pot as your tree grows with light root pruning and soil exchange is the best way to go. The soil I use is 50% garden dirt from the back yard and 50% potting soil equivalent. This mix is to heavy to not suck out the excess water and then aerate 2 times a day. The growth rates were outstanding. If you pull air through a 5-1-1 mix for a second or 2 your tree will benefit.

Steve sezzz don't waste your money

poncirusguy,
you say the 5-1-1 mix would harm my tree's in the air pot. why is this?

The soil is very porous and drains and dries quickly. The air pot probably drys very quickly and the combination of the 2 I think would hurt the tree if you are not very careful. It would be much hardet to slip this inside a mating hole-less pot for hotter days. The 5-1-1 mix is so good that a sophisticated pot is not needed. I work on a proffesional organic farm and my job is to setup what works and reject the gimmick. There is no room $$$$$$$$$$$$$ for trial and error. My first guess has to be correct or we are out of business $$$$$$$$$$$$$$. My hunch is that this is not going to be good with citrus.

Steve

Hey Steve)

Stick, actually there is no harm potting your trees into a smart pot with the 5.1.1 mix coming fom experience and in fact you will notice very fast growth...

The only down side is that you have to committ to watering more often once the roots fill that pot, on hot days, or when your tree is so active that it drinks the moisture out of the day which Steve was referring too..You might find your mix drying out much to fast for your taste and there is no need to use them since the 5.1.1 mix is very porous to begin with..

I have yet to take one of my trees out of a smart pot because if I miss one day watering it, it will dry out to fast and croak....If you are iwlling to water more frequently, then it's perfectly fine.

Mike

Thank you for all of your help. so if I were to decide to use the air pots, I could expect to water on a daily basis...
correct?

Although I would benefit from more growth

You would have to water more often than I would, but not necessarily every day. Depending on wind temperature size of container to tree, you may water one a week or 2 times a day. You just have to be careful to avoid underwater damage. You also can't just stick a 1 gallon tree in a 5 gallon air pot. It won't work. You will have to step those pots up in size gradually. If you have several trees try some one way and other the other way.

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When using the 5.1.1 mix you can repot into any size container you want....The bigger the better so your mix won't dry out so quickly in an air pot..

The thing is that once the roots fill the pot, which in a bigger pot would take a lot longer, your mix will dry out to fast...It's how much the roots fill a pot that concern me more than heat or temps...If you are using an air pot, go much bigger and you won't have to worry about watering as often..

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the time taken to answer my questions.
Poncirusguy, I deff see where your coming from and why as much of my learnings tend to match your advice. Although all of my "newly acquired" knowledge with the 5-1-1 seems to match more of what meyermike has been saying. I am very new to 5-1-1 mix so still very clueless and much appreciative to all that have pitched in their thoughts and knowledge.

Meyer mike,
If up sizing the pot "much bigger", will I still benifit from the "air pruning", and increasing fiberous roots? My goal here (and why I am considering these pots) is to keep these two tree's that I've worked so hard to keep alive after removing them from their parent tree inside pots for the next 2-3 years (buying our first house), and then will be planting them Into the ground. I would like to maximize growth, tree strength, and health as much as possible during its time above ground so it's not just "wasted time". From what I keep reading and watching in regards to these air pots, they help maximize growth, and allow roots to grow "straight" increasing the success and health of the tree once planted into the ground.

By the way, meyermike, I owe you just about every lemon these tree's ever produce for helping and walking me through every pro and con experience I dealt with after cutting these new tree's off their mother plant. Again, thank you very much.

You have to up size your pot slowly to get the fibrous roots you want by the time your tree in in its final pot regardless of your soil mix. The 5-1-1 mix Is the best mix for tree root health regardless of how big the pot is for any size tree. It is also the citrus trees best friend. You can't go wrong. My tree are all going in ground outside so I don't want a fibrous root structure . I want a spreading root structure. That is why I went from a 1 gallon container to a 5 gallon and to a 30 gallon and into the ground.

By up-potting in small jumps you will have a fibrous root system that will let you lift the tree out of its pot and clip any root/roots that are wrapping up until you need to up-size to a larger pot. Let Mike add more. He has 10 years more experience than I.

My goal was to make my trees grow like a weed from very small to too big to handle in one year instead of 3 years as most do. I used bucket lights and a hot/light box to achieve this. Most citrus'er find it's to much hassle. It did jump me from seed sprouts to 9-12 feet of linear twig growth per tree in the first year.

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1 year old Sweetlee tangerine tree from seed sprout in bucket lights then grow box over winter.

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Inside the buckets with a bucket light over head.

The grow box came next
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What I did wrong for potted citrus.
1) I up sized the containers way to fast with to big of jump in pot size regardless of mix.
2) My soil mix is very very heavy that requires vacuuming excess water and aerating often.
3) Grew trees from seed when I should have bought grafted trees I was wanting.

What I did different was the strange lighting systems that jumped me forward 3 years of growth in one year.

Click the link below for picture of my lighting set ups to see if any thing would apply to you situation.

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/wreristhechimney/library/sunshine2013

Phil can you post the link to Facebook? Thanks )

Phil

Nice looking trees.

Here's some pics of my Green Island Ficus which I started off in a 1 liter Air-Pot, then cut back hard; and transplanted into a larger size.

1/21/2016

9/22/2016

Rob

Phil....??

Rob, nice job)

I use the 5 gls Rootmaker pots,bought on E/B, they are used but still nice for $2.00 a piece. I bought 2 orders 12 each. They were mark at $3.00.

They are very good for starters at 2 years they show very good growth. Here is a picture of a pom,Wonderful from a 4" starter to this.

I don't use Rootbuilder pots so i do not know how easy it is to re pot. With My root maker pots the rootballs comes right out, no damaged roots.