Kintsugi: UPS Smashed My Brand New Pot

[Gabler]

 

[Gabler]

 

[Gabler]

 

[Gabler]

I'm thinking the pot would be well suited to a Cornus florida flowering dogwood. It's 19 inches across, so I could keep a large specimen and mitigate the impact of the long branch internodes on the overall appearance of the tree.

Any other thoughts?

 

[Gabler]

Spring is fast approaching, and I'm still figuring out what I want to put in this pot. With the gold accents, it's a little too flashy now for the C. caroliniana that I originally purchased the pot for. I'm thinking the pot needs a tree with more character, so the pot doesn't overshadow the tree. I may decide to train up a tree to suit the pot. Peter Chan's split trunk maple comes to mind. A broken and healed tree for a broken and healed pot. As much as I like the pot, I don't like how difficult it is to pair a tree with it. What would you guys do if you were in the same position? What would you put in there?

 

[Gabler]

I'm leaning toward Carpinus or Fagus. There are some pretty big specimens at my parents' place, and if I borrow my dad's tractor, I should be able to lift a good one with the bucket. I don't have as much experience with beech, but I can take off every single feeder root from an ironwood, cut the trunk back to a stump, and completely ignore it for a few years in full sun, and it'll completely regrow.

Some trees I may try to collect in a few weeks:

This ironwood is about seven inches in diameter.



This one is closer to four inches. The surface roots are more even from all sides of the tree, but there's less movement at the base of the trunk.



This one is a five-inch beech with good root flare just under the soil.



This beech is only about three inches, but the roots are superb when I brush away a little surface soil.



Then there's also this massive, ten-inch ironwood with a secondary trunk. I could chop the main trunk for a huge head start on taper, and then it might only take ten years or so to finish the development phase of the tree.



And the same tree from the back.

 

[Gabler]

Keep in mind, I'll be 26 on the 8th, so I've got a few decades left for development and refinement. My primary concern is collecting older trees and actually having them survive. I have a pretty good success rate with collecting younger trees from the woods, but I've never done something huge. Also, do you think a species with darker bark and brighter leaves would be better for the pot? I know I need something big and bold so the pot doesn't distract from the tree, but would I be better off with Acer rubrum or Quercus rubra?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

The pot is blue, now with gold accents. I would go 2 routes. Bold gaudy flowers, or bold gaudy autumn fruit or leaf colors.

So for this pot, my first choice would be some sort of azalea. Satsuki, Kurume or "Florist's Azalea" which are usually Belgian hybrids. Some of the Satsuki, most of the Kurume will be winter hardy in zone 7a. In general, about half of the Satsuki and none of the Belgium hybrids (florists azalea) will be reliably hardy in 7a. But if you have a frost free area to winter them, they all could work. The photo attached is a Belgium type florist's azalea, 'Haru no Hibiki'.

Another option would be Crab Apple or Pyracantha with bright orange or red fruit. The white or pink flowers in spring and the brightly colored fruit in autumn would work well against the blue. Similarly Princess Persimmon would work well, as would American persimmon.

Then finally, a maple with very bright, bold autumn color could work well .

Hornbeam and beech have fairly muted autumn color, I would not use a blue pot for them.

Just my tastes, but that is my opinion. The pot looks great with the gold accents from the kintsugi.

 

[Gabler]

The pot is blue, now with gold accents. I would go 2 routes. Bold gaudy flowers, or bold gaudy autumn fruit or leaf colors.

So for this pot, my first choice would be some sort of azalea. Satsuki, Kurume or "Florist's Azalea" which are usually Belgian hybrids. Some of the Satsuki, most of the Kurume will be winter hardy in zone 7a. In general, about half of the Satsuki and none of the Belgium hybrids (florists azalea) will be reliably hardy in 7a. But if you have a frost free area to winter them, they all could work. The photo attached is a Belgium type florist's azalea, 'Haru no Hibiki'.

Another option would be Crab Apple or Pyracantha with bright orange or red fruit. The white or pink flowers in spring and the brightly colored fruit in autumn would work well against the blue. Similarly Princess Persimmon would work well, as would American persimmon.

Then finally, a maple with very bright, bold autumn color could work well .

Hornbeam and beech have fairly muted autumn color, I would not use a blue pot for them.

Just my tastes, but that is my opinion. The pot looks great with the gold accents from the kintsugi.

View attachment 354129

Thanks for your compliments on the kintsugi. It's far from perfect (clearly an amateur job), but it looks nice enough for my own garden, and imperfection is supposedly part of the value of kintsugi. It's something about accepting loss and enjoying the positives that can come with change. Plus, it was a fun project, and it gave me something to do in the fall as I began to prepare to re-enter the realm of bonsai now that I'm finishing grad school.

Originally, I purchased the plain blue pot for an individual Carpinus caroliniana with unusually bright golden-yellow fall foliage. When the pot arrived broken, I thought that maybe I could match the gold foliage to the gold accents in the kintsugi, but I'm still thinking the huge, colorful pot would distract from the tree. I actually overestimated the size pot I would need for the tree, so it's a bit much even without the kintsugi accents. I then thought a larger tree might be able to balance the bold pot, so I searched for some C.caroliniana (and also some F. grandifolia) that could outshine the huge, shiny pot.

Reading your recommendations, though, I think you're right about flowers, fruit, and fall foliage. While I'm fond of your recommendation for a persimmon, I don't know that I'll be able to find one the right size for collection. There aren't many in the woods, and those that I'm aware of are too large for yamadori. They're fully-grown forest trees, as big around as I am (and I'm a big fat guy). I also don't have access to pyracantha, and crab apples invariably succumb to the apple-cedar rust, which is doubly a risk with all the experimental J. virginiana in my collection.

I do have a fairly large number of naturally-occurring Acer x freemanii seedlings that I'm growing out, all of which are volunteers at my parents' house from last year. They have brilliant and long-lasting yellow fall foliage. For most of the year, though, the pot will still overpower the plain green tree. I'm trying to think of a tree with spring flowers, summer fruit, and brilliant autumn leaves. Although the flowers stink, I could probably find a good Pyrus calleryana to check all three boxes. They're aggressively invasive around here, so I'd be doing the environment a favor by digging it out by the roots, and if I remove the fruit each summer, then it won't spread seeds. I'm also fond of the Kalmia latifolia in the area, though I hear it's difficult to transplant the mature mountain laurel shrubs. Another similar option would be blueberry. I'm aware of a handful of fairly large Vaccinium corymbosum growing amongst some Pinus virginiana and taeda mycelium, and as @Leo in N E Illinois has shown, they're trainable as bonsai. A larger specimen might suit the pot, since the berries would match the pot, and the bright red winter buds would offer a brilliant contrast. For that matter, I guess I could break some rules and find a good female Ilex opaca, though I worry that the red, green, blue, and yellow together would be too noisy for a single composition.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I think that if 'Tater lovers knew what the price is going to be for an appropriate pot when they get them critters to show-worthy status, they would opt for smaller trees. Just maybe, that's why we see so many started and so few finished. Hmmmmmm?

 

[Gabler]

I think that if 'Tater lovers knew what the price is going to be for an appropriate pot when they get them critters to show-worthy status, they would opt for smaller trees. Just maybe, that's why we see so many started and so few finished. Hmmmmmm?

Yeah. I'm doing it backwards. I bought a pot I liked, and now I'm searching for a good tree.

 

[Carol 83]

Yeah. I'm doing it backwards. I bought a pot I liked, and now I'm searching for a good tree.

I'm quite guilty of that as well. Going to have to get a bunch of trees the spring, been on quite the pot buying spree this winter.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Don't forget Ginkgo - the brilliant yellow leaves of ginkgo in autumn would be excellent against that pot.

Your original plan of putting a Carpinus or a Beech in the pot is actually just fine. As the pot is used, the glossy glaze will dull, as it picks up patina. If the pot is close to the right size for a tree you have, use the pot, even if it is not a perfect match. The pot in use is much better than the pot sitting on a shelf. Even if the matching is not textbook ideal. There is such a thing as "good enough".

 

[Gabler]

Don't forget Ginkgo - the brilliant yellow leaves of ginkgo in autumn would be excellent against that pot.

Your original plan of putting a Carpinus or a Beech in the pot is actually just fine. As the pot is used, the glossy glaze will dull, as it picks up patina. If the pot is close to the right size for a tree you have, use the pot, even if it is not a perfect match. The pot in use is much better than the pot sitting on a shelf. Even if the matching is not textbook ideal. There is such a thing as "good enough".

Thanks. That's a good point. I'll go ahead and use it this spring to pot up the C. caroliniana I collected three years ago. It's a little big for the tree, but it'll be close enough. Also, I like your ginkgo idea. I have a number of seeds in stratification that I plan to sow this spring, so a decade down the road, I might have the right ginkgo tree for the pot. Maybe I'll do something unusual and use a female tree. At bonsai size, it won't be hard to dispose of the fruit before it rots and stinks, and I'll have a supply for more seeds.

 

[Forsoothe!]

One does not buy pretty pots to have them patinaed into oblivion. An overnight soak in 15-20% cheap white vinegar removes calcium accumulation and another overnight in 5/10% household bleach removes mold stains, and then the pot is like new. You can't combine bleach and vinegar because if generates chlorine gas just like WWI in the trenches, so you do these on two separate soaks.

 

[Marlborough Handcraft]

I'm quite guilty of that as well. Going to have to get a bunch of trees the spring, been on quite the pot buying spree this winter.

I'm glad I'm not the only one in this predicament!

 

[Adair M]

One does not buy pretty pots to have them patinaed into oblivion. An overnight soak in 15-20% cheap white vinegar removes calcium accumulation and another overnight in 5/10% household bleach removes mold stains, and then the pot is like new. You can't combine bleach and vinegar because if generates chlorine gas just like WWI in the trenches, so you do these on two separate soaks.

You really are clueless. Oh, I agree with not mixing bleach and vinegar...

But I do buy heavily patinaed pots! Which I do NOT want to look like new!

 

[Gabler]

Carpinus caroliniana that I collected and chopped in 2017. The response to the chop wasn't amazing, but that new leader is in a good spot, so I can't really complain, either. In hindsight, I should have removed those suckers at the base right away, rather than allowing them to divert energy from the main trunk for three years. You'll notice the orange spots where I sealed the cuts.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Looking good
I like the dog too.

 

[Gabler]

Looking good
I like the dog too.

Thanks