Modern Concrete Pots—Design and Build

[chuckwc1]

Really interesting and creative! Would love to see more about your mold designs. Any recommendations for someone thinking about trying this?

 

[John P.]

Really interesting and creative! Would love to see more about your mold designs. Any recommendations for someone thinking about trying this?

Thanks! I just drew them out first, and then gave them a try. As you might imagine, it would be a lot easier to use something like Tupperware to nest two sizes of the same container together, along with drain and tie-down holes between them to establish the thickness of the bottom. I wasn’t able to find anything that would get me to where I wanted to go, though.

If you’d rather just use concrete like clay (without a mold), the polymer-reinforced Quikrete that I used is super shapable. Just add enough water while kneading until it has the consistency of clay. You could try a slab-sided pot this way.

 

[chuckwc1]

I'll have to give it a shot once things warm up enough here to work outside. I've been thinking of some sort of penjing/jungle/forest 'bonsai thing' for a while, and a sloped pot could work great for that idea. Kimura's cypress forest is great inspiration.

 

[PA_Penjing]

absolutely gnarly. I love how they tie in with your unique home. Could get a theme going real fast if you stuck to using only your own handmade pots and trees from your "backyard"

 

[Gustavo Martins]

Do you have any concerns that concrete may affect pH?

You’re pushing some cool stuff with those pots.

I was also an avid aquascaper once. In fact, I won first prize on a national competition. But I got tired of all the daily work it entailed. Last year I set up a low-tech planted tank with a Betta for the kid. But he quickly lost interest and I took it down during Christmas break. Don’t tell anyone but I’ve used the rest of my ADA soil in bonsai and it works great.

 

[Yosemite Goat]

Really nice! I'd like to see them with a tree.

 

[John P.]

absolutely gnarly. I love how they tie in with your unique home. Could get a theme going real fast if you stuck to using only your own handmade pots and trees from your "backyard"

I appreciate it! I’m trying!

Do you have any concerns that concrete may affect pH?

You’re pushing some cool stuff with those pots.

I was also an avid aquascaper once. In fact, I won first prize on a national competition. But I got tired of all the daily work it entailed. Last year I set up a low-tech planted tank with a Betta for the kid. But he quickly lost interest and I took it down during Christmas break. Don’t tell anyone but I’ve used the rest of my ADA soil in bonsai and it works great.

Thanks so much. Each of the pots spent a month soaking in a tub of water after initial setting, which from what I’ve read fights cracks, hardens the concrete well and also leaches some of the alkalinity away. After that, they were dried for a couple days and sealed all around with several coats of concrete sealer.

I tried to use my Amazonia Aquasoil for bonsai, too! Didn’t work too well for me at the time, though.

Really nice! I'd like to see them with a tree.

I recently planted an oak in the first one, but I think I want to relocate the oak to a grow box instead. It doesn’t look right because I need to reduce the roots some more so it sits deeper.

I planted one of my two Adams’ Rough Bark “Arakawa” Trident Maples in the third pot. It’s trunk is too thin right now, so I may place the pot on another container filled with pumice to let the roots run through the drainage holes a bit. I have more developed material that I should’ve used, but wanted to see what a feminine-shaped trunk would look like.




Too early for a pot, but I got hasty.

 

[John P.]

My other one got the grow box:

 

[Arizona bonsai]

Very nice work, I have dabbled in concrete pots with mixed results. I love the Popsicle stick form idea!

 

[Crazy Diamond]

I appreciate it! I’m trying!


Thanks so much. Each of the pots spent a month soaking in a tub of water after initial setting, which from what I’ve read fights cracks, hardens the concrete well and also leaches some of the alkalinity away. After that, they were dried for a couple days and sealed all around with several coats of concrete sealer.

I tried to use my Amazonia Aquasoil for bonsai, too! Didn’t work too well for me at the time, though.


I recently planted an oak in the first one, but I think I want to relocate the oak to a grow box instead. It doesn’t look right because I need to reduce the roots some more so it sits deeper.

I planted one of my two Adams’ Rough Bark “Arakawa” Trident Maples in the third pot. It’s trunk is too thin right now, so I may place the pot on another container filled with pumice to let the roots run through the drainage holes a bit. I have more developed material that I should’ve used, but wanted to see what a feminine-shaped trunk would look like.

View attachment 417563

View attachment 417564
Too early for a pot, but I got hasty.

Its cool but watering must be a pain xD

 

[John P.]

Based on what people say about disturbing rosemary roots (don’t do it), and given I wouldn’t have to remove more than about 20% of its roots, was thinking about putting this one:

In here:

It could probably spend its life in this pot.

Thoughts? If “no,” what would you want to see in this pot?

 

[Kodama]

Thank you for this inspiring thread. Well done! I just did my first concrete pot and after that experience I can truly appreciate what you are doing here. Very innovative! Did you find a tree for the triangle pot?

 

[A. Gorilla]

This is not ok.

 

[penumbra]

I just did my first concrete pot

Pictures?

 

[John P.]

Thank you for this inspiring thread. Well done! I just did my first concrete pot and after that experience I can truly appreciate what you are doing here. Very innovative! Did you find a tree for the triangle pot?

Thanks! I attempted to plant the rosemary in there, but didn’t want to hit the roots that hard in my first go. I’ll wait until next year and will try again.

This is not ok.

Huh?

 

[Kodama]

Pictures?

Yeah but I'll start a thread for it so not to hijack this post

 

[Kodama]

Thanks! I attempted to plant the rosemary in there, but didn’t want to hit the roots that hard in my first go. I’ll wait until next year and will try again.

Looking forward to seeing that and what else you come up! I think it would be cool to see a little mini spruce forest in that.

 

[John P.]

Looking forward to seeing that and what else you come up! I think it would be cool to see a little mini spruce forest in that.

I hadn’t thought about that, but agree it would look great with a forest planting. I took some bald cypress cuttings yesterday that I halfheartedly put in water. If they make it, they could be interesting, too.