Chinese Elm pots

[ConorDash]

Hello,

I’m entirely new to the world of pots... I’d like to buy my first and potentially second for some Chinese Elms of mine. They are nice little trees, no masterpieces but I’m happy with them and they deserve pots.

I was thinking of something Chinese looking, little ornate, perhaps a rim and feet. The main tree is certainly masculine, rough good looking bark, proportionately thick trunk. Smooth transitions in branching, harder movements left and right.
My main question is, am I silly to think of playing on the fact this species is Chinese to want something that looks like it’s natural origin. Or is this a good idea? Seems a nice idea to me.

When I say Chinese, I mean pots like these, some kinda thing which makes them look oriental, give the viewer an impression of the country the species is from. (These are not necessarily pots I’d choose, just giving example of the “oriental


The trees in question, (they do not photograph well, it annoys me, they don’t drop leaves and I’ve yet to defoliate one):




Appreciate any thoughts on the usual way of picking a pot for a tree.. I’ve read a good bit online, in regards to masculine and feminine, oval, circle over rectangle. Feet or not, rim or not, glazed or not, straight walls or rounded... all that good stuff, but no hands on experience of choosing one for my trees yet.

 

[jonathanvperth]

Hello

To begin with those are two great little trees and very worthy of thoughtfully choosing a pot for

I personally like unglazed pots and have imported Yixing pots from China. I would recommend searching for Yixing pots directly from China.

Look mate, Bonsai is art and you are a Bonsai artist. Pot choice is up to you and you alone.

An issue I have seen (and been guilty of) is putting a tree in a shallow Bonsai pot too soon. let it run strong and flourish for a couple seasons. You’ll see much quicker development often

best of luck!! Keep posting

 

[ConorDash]

Hello

To begin with those are two great little trees and very worthy of thoughtfully choosing a pot for

I personally like unglazed pots and have imported Yixing pots from China. I would recommend searching for Yixing pots directly from China.

Look mate, Bonsai is art and you are a Bonsai artist. Pot choice is up to you and you alone.

An issue I have seen (and been guilty of) is putting a tree in a shallow Bonsai pot too soon. let it run strong and flourish for a couple seasons. You’ll see much quicker development often

best of luck!! Keep posting

Yeah for sure, about too early in the pot. I am comfortable that now is a good stage for the trees to go in a pot. They are ramifying by themselves, I can't stop them. So when I start focusing on ramification (this season) they should do well. These 2 are bullet proof, a shallower pot won't stop them .
With at least 1 of them being masculine, the pot won't too shallow any way.
Thanks, that screenshot above happened to be Yixing pottery. i will look that up.

 

[rockm]

Pots are waaaay to fussy for me. ;-) FWIW, something more subdued would emphasize the tree, not the pot. ALL of those pretty much scream "LOOK AT ME" and not the tree.

I think you should not think about trying to inject species origin into the pot+tree equation. It needlessly complicates things and doesn't really do the tree any good.

I'd think both of these trees (and they're pretty nice BTW) would do well with a subdued rough glazed oval or rectangle. Doesn't have to be Chinese. Erin Pottery has some pretty good stuff that would definitely work.

Oval Pots

Oval Pots -

erinbonsai.com

 

[Silentrunning]

Since I am a rank amateur and have little true knowledge of pot/ plant combinations. My first move is to measure the tree and then use the mathematical formula provided by my books to come up with an acceptable size. This usually reduces the number of pots drastically. From there it is like shuffling a deck of cards until I find something that catches my eye. Fortunately bonsai is a hobby that enjoys sharing education so each day is a learning experience. Having blabbered all that, I must say those first two pots are something I could really covet.

 

[rockm]

BTW, if I'm not mistaken, that top rectangle pot with the embossed birds and chrysanthemum blossoms is a pot made by German Potter Peter Krebs. Quote from just above the pot--"Pots like this unfortunately are not used very often anymore"
Scroll down here:

The Art of Bonsai Project - Feature Gallery: The Bonsai Pottery of Peter Krebs

About The Art of Bonsai Project. An effort to explore the aesthetic and artistic elements of bonsai, including technical composition, presentation, display and other ways in which bonsai impacts the human eye and soul.

www.artofbonsai.org

 

[eryk2kartman]

You could try simply Photoshop edit, take a photo of the whole tree with the whole pot and pot is clearly visible. By using Photoshop you could replace it with new intended pot, it will give you a bit of idea how the tree could look like in that pot.

 

[just.wing.it]

I am a fan of more plain looking pots, as to not take away and visual interest from the tree.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I am a fan of more plain looking pots, as to not take away and visual interest from the tree.

I don't disagree with this statement, but it is situational. You want the character of the pot to complement the character of the tree. A tree with a clean feminine design would probably look best in a pot that also has a clean look. If you have a craggy, masculine tree with a lot of powerful elements like jins and sharis, you can pair it with a pot that also has strong visual elements.

Generally, I think many people err on the side of having pots that are too busy for their trees... instead of pots that are too clean and simple. I think people may be attracted to pots that they like on their own (without a tree in them) and then after they get them home try to figure out what they are going to do with them Though I really like all three of the pots in this thread, I don't think they would work with a Chinese elm. They would require something stronger.

 

[just.wing.it]

I don't disagree with this statement, but it is situational. You want the character of the pot to complement the character of the tree. A tree with a clean feminine design would probably look best in a pot that also has a clean look. If you have a craggy, masculine tree with a lot of powerful elements like jins and sharis, you can pair it with a pot that also has strong visual elements.

Generally, I think many people err on the side of having pots that are too busy for their trees... instead of pots that are too clean and simple. I think people may be attracted to pots that they like on their own (without a tree in them) and then after they get them home try to figure out what they are going to do with them Though I really like all three of the pots in this thread, I don't think they would work with a Chinese elm. They would require something stronger.

Well said!
I concur!

 

[Anthony]

@ConorDash ,

if the pocket can afford, get one of those pots and a loud azalea.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[ConorDash]

Pots are waaaay to fussy for me. ;-) FWIW, something more subdued would emphasize the tree, not the pot. ALL of those pretty much scream "LOOK AT ME" and not the tree.

I think you should not think about trying to inject species origin into the pot+tree equation. It needlessly complicates things and doesn't really do the tree any good.

I'd think both of these trees (and they're pretty nice BTW) would do well with a subdued rough glazed oval or rectangle. Doesn't have to be Chinese. Erin Pottery has some pretty good stuff that would definitely work.

Oval Pots

Oval Pots -

erinbonsai.com

You actually make a great point. It’s very true. I don’t want to detract from the tree. I have to find balance. I do tend to prefer simplicity and smooth edges, easy colours.
That’s so odd... I knew of and looked up Erin but found myself on a site with like 5 pots in total! Lol.. weird. Yes I’ll look through that.

My thoughts are a rough looking surface, not smooth for the thicker trunk elm. This is to compliment the rough bark. It’d look wrong to have that flakey bark and in a dead smooth pot. And now I am thinking circular pot.. initially thought rectangle, masculine.. argh man this is gonna forever to choose!!

Since I am a rank amateur and have little true knowledge of pot/ plant combinations. My first move is to measure the tree and then use the mathematical formula provided by my books to come up with an acceptable size. This usually reduces the number of pots drastically. From there it is like shuffling a deck of cards until I find something that catches my eye. Fortunately bonsai is a hobby that enjoys sharing education so each day is a learning experience. Having blabbered all that, I must say those first two pots are something I could really covet.

See, I understand and get this. These are the rules and to an extent should be followed. Buying online, the measurements will help but this part in particular should be let abstract and down to art, in my opinion.
Following rules isn’t artistic ! Also the thicker elm has one big feature which I was told to remove, I think @rockm may have even been one of them.. I’ll have to look it up. Sorce and Bobby certainly were.
The lower branches are on the inside of the curved trunk and quite low. It’s all a no! But I liked it. I thought it natural looking and wild. So I can’t follow rules now!

You could try simply Photoshop edit, take a photo of the whole tree with the whole pot and pot is clearly visible. By using Photoshop you could replace it with new intended pot, it will give you a bit of idea how the tree could look like in that pot.

I will do, thank you

 

[sorce]

Hey @ConorDash do you have a link to a place where you can purchase pots?

Narrow it down to what you can actually aquire and you might could find the actual pot.

These trees are looking great.

Sorce

 

[ConorDash]

I don't disagree with this statement, but it is situational. You want the character of the pot to complement the character of the tree. A tree with a clean feminine design would probably look best in a pot that also has a clean look. If you have a craggy, masculine tree with a lot of powerful elements like jins and sharis, you can pair it with a pot that also has strong visual elements.

Generally, I think many people err on the side of having pots that are too busy for their trees... instead of pots that are too clean and simple. I think people may be attracted to pots that they like on their own (without a tree in them) and then after they get them home try to figure out what they are going to do with them Though I really like all three of the pots in this thread, I don't think they would work with a Chinese elm. They would require something stronger.

I don’t want to fall in to this trap. Most pots I see in show pics are very clean.. the usual brown/clay coloured, no fancy bits at all. Absolutely nothing. I am more on that side.
Beat in mind the pots I showed were just to show what meant by chinese, they were not my recommendations for my trees. I agree, very strong pots, need a much larger and ornate, busier tree.

 

[ConorDash]

Hey @ConorDash do you have a link to a place where you can purchase pots?

Narrow it down to what you can actually aquire and you might could find the actual pot.

These trees are looking great.

Sorce

Ah I just mentioned you in my reply above.. didn’t do the @ though. My main place is Erin website at the moment, as Rockm suggested. I’ll be looking through. Good prices too! Just wondering if they’ve a good returns policy.. so difficult to tell without trying the tree in the pot! I’ll do the photoshop bit to help.
Thanks. These pics are terrible, they’ve been trimmed. New pics should be good. I’m happy with these guys, I have a real soft spot for them.

So many pots though!! Gonna be a nightmare. A luxury problem.

 

[sorce]

Can you get pots from that EU collective?

I'm fer shallow Rectangle.

Sorce

 

[rockm]

You actually make a great point. It’s very true. I don’t want to detract from the tree. I have to find balance. I do tend to prefer simplicity and smooth edges, easy colours.
That’s so odd... I knew of and looked up Erin but found myself on a site with like 5 pots in total! Lol.. weird. Yes I’ll look through that.

My thoughts are a rough looking surface, not smooth for the thicker trunk elm. This is to compliment the rough bark. It’d look wrong to have that flakey bark and in a dead smooth pot. And now I am thinking circular pot.. initially thought rectangle, masculine.. argh man this is gonna forever to choose!!




See, I understand and get this. These are the rules and to an extent should be followed. Buying online, the measurements will help but this part in particular should be let abstract and down to art, in my opinion.
Following rules isn’t artistic ! Also the thicker elm has one big feature which I was told to remove, I think @rockm may have even been one of them.. I’ll have to look it up. Sorce and Bobby certainly were.
The lower branches are on the inside of the curved trunk and quite low. It’s all a no! But I liked it. I thought it natural looking and wild. So I can’t follow rules now!




I will do, thank you

"It’d look wrong to have that flakey bark and in a dead smooth pot"

Actually it's the opposite. A smooth plain finish emphasizes rough bark and doesn't compete with it.

 

[ConorDash]

"It’d look wrong to have that flakey bark and in a dead smooth pot"

Actually it's the opposite. A smooth plain finish emphasizes rough bark and doesn't compete with it.

Hm damn.. so I really got nothing here at all! No clue lol. And the funny thing is, when I read you saying that, it makes sense! I can’t win lol.
This really is going to take a while to find...

A few better pics.

 

[rockm]

Hm damn.. so I really got nothing here at all! No clue lol. And the funny thing is, when I read you saying that, it makes sense! I can’t win lol.
This really is going to take a while to find...

A few better pics.
View attachment 279969

Finding a "right" pot for an individual tree is extremely subjective. There are many "answers" There really are no wrong answers.

Choosing a good pot is not a science, it's taste. It's very much like finding a tie that "goes" with a suit. You can make thousands of choices that look OK, a handful that are terrible, an only a few that are superior. Sometimes you know it when you see it--until you see it differently as you get better at choosing.

FWIW, plain, unglazed shallow-ish rectangles in various sizes are always useful to have around even when you've been doing this for years.

I tend to stay away from deeply decorated, incised, or overly dramatic pots--unless I want them for display only.

It's hard to make a choice based on "I gotta get this tree a pot NOW." That's forcing the issue. Take your time and look at pots (preferably IN PERSON not online). Look at ALOT of GOOD pots--good bonsai nurseries, local bonsai potters, shows, etc. Learn what good ones bring to the table. Buy a few you really like, even if you can't use them immediately...

 

[Tiki]

Generally, I think many people err on the side of having pots that are too busy for their trees... instead of pots that are too clean and simple. I think people may be attracted to pots that they like on their own (without a tree in them) and then after they get them home try to figure out what they are going to do with them

Im very guilty of this myself, I even have a term for it, I call them "lookin pots" they are not for planting trees in, just looking at. For what some of the very showy ones sell for I think they look very nice...in my glass display case.

My advice to the OP,
Is similar to what other have said, pot YOUR trees in what YOU like because your going to wake up every day and see it and water it, so you better like what you pot it in. If a an old car tire is your thing than so be it only you got to look at it.

Displaying for a show however is a bit different.