Poor Mans Pot (Casserole dish)

[spunog]

Hi Bonsai people.

Some of you may be horrified by my post but I wanted to share. In Ireland Bonsai pots are very expensive especially when you want one with a decent size. So I decided to Buy a couple of Casserole dishes and I brought them to a local Stone worker and got him to drill some holes in them for me. Perhaps the drainiage wont be as quick as with the large mesh covered holes but I think this is a cheap winner. I'm also buying little rubber feet on ebay to raise them off the ground slightly. The one in the photo is white but I'm going to go ahead and do the same with Nice dark coloured dishes.

Would love to hear what people think.

Spunog

 

[DaveV]

Why are bonsai pots so expensive? No potters?? All have to be imported?? Have you tried a garden center for regular flower pots?

It is recommended that the inside not be glazed. Sorry to hear that. Hope it works out for you.

 

[davetree]

Can you make your own pots ? A kiln should be available somewhere near you .

 

[Bill S]

If they are tied in should be no big issue with the glazed insides. May want to put in a few more holes depending on what you use for soil.

Just don't bang em around.

 

[Brian Underwood]

Nice alternative. You can also use styrofoam as makeshift pots, or make some out of cement and paper or cement and styrofoam. I'm sure there are a few posts on the subject...

 

[plant_dr]

Hey, if it works for you don't worry about what others may think!

 

[donkey]

Hi Bonsai people.

Some of you may be horrified by my post but I wanted to share. In Ireland Bonsai pots are very expensive especially when you want one with a decent size. So I decided to Buy a couple of Casserole dishes and I brought them to a local Stone worker and got him to drill some holes in them for me. Perhaps the drainiage wont be as quick as with the large mesh covered holes but I think this is a cheap winner. I'm also buying little rubber feet on ebay to raise them off the ground slightly. The one in the photo is white but I'm going to go ahead and do the same with Nice dark coloured dishes.

Would love to hear what people think.

Spunog

i do the very same thing for the very same reason another trick is the crap bonsai they sell in garden centres usually get reduced in price at end of summer to about £4 each and sometimes you get the bonus of one of the trees being worth working on.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I'll bet you could make your own for less than the cost of a casserole dish Clay is cheap - it is the skill that takes time to develop. Imagine how proud you'd be if you could churn out some nice pots made to order for each of your trees

Regardless, there are two types of bonsai "pots". Display pots - with a premium placed on appearance, and Grow pots - with a premium placed on getting the tree to develop as quickly as possible. Grow pots can be anything - and may not be pots at all (wood boxes, plastic colanders, etc). Once you put a tree into a display pot, the development slows down significantly, so the tree really needs to be "ready" for a display pot. The point I am trying to make is... perhaps you don't need a casserole dish at all, if your trees are still in the early development phase. Focus on what you want the pot to do for you - not what the pot is made from.

 

[Ang3lfir3]

good on you for being creative..... prolly needs more holes for better drainage but at least you are working at it.

I am surprised that you find it expensive to purchase bonsai pots... some of my favorite potters are local to the UK and nearby countries ..... I would like to better understand why that is..

have you contacted?:

Erin Pottery (http://www.erinbonsai.com/)
China Mist (http://www.chinamist.co.uk/index.php)
John Pitt (http://johnpittbonsaiceramics.co.uk/aboutJohn.asp)
Dan Barton (http://danbartonbonsaipots.wordpress.com/bonsai-pots/)

the list goes on....

 

[Klytus]

Bigger holes,you could attempt to enlargen them with a set of grinding stones designed for hand drills,use low speed and low torque.

 

[CamdenJim]

Hi Bonsai people.
... In Ireland Bonsai pots are very expensive especially when you want one with a decent size.

Spunog

Don't know where you are in Ireland, but call The Pottery Shop, Corofin, County Clare. I don't remember the potter's name, but she was intrigued when I spoke with her in September about making some Bonsai pots. I bought a few small pots that I've since drilled holes in. Very nice work, variety of attractive glazes, etc. I'm considering commissioning a couple of pots from her before much longer. She might find the idea of doing something for you appealing.
Jim

 

[CamdenJim]

Don't know where you are in Ireland, but call The Pottery Shop, Corofin, County Clare.
Jim

Sorry - forgot the number: 065 6837020

 

[Ang3lfir3]

Don't know where you are in Ireland, but call The Pottery Shop, Corofin, County Clare.

Interesting .... muh family is from County Clare ....

 

[edprocoat]

I use stuff like this all the time. The feet can be made with moldable epoxy sticks, they look like a clay tube usually white in the inside and blue on the outside, you cut it to lenght and then knead the epoxy together, I use the 5 minute stuff which lists glass and ceramic as what it adheres too. If you want to be creative the stuff can be drilled , sanded or ground after it has set and you can design it or just make crude legs to lift your pot that are permanent.
Its in most hardware stores for less than $5.00
ed

 

[spunog]

I have also made my own pots. It is very rewarding too. I didnt know u werent supposed to glaze the inside ... d'oh I guess soil could slip around in a glazed one.

I agree that anything could be used as a grow pot. I dont do any displaying as of yet.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Joedes3]

I am using terra cotta drip trays from Home Depot for my schefflera group. I used a masonry drill bit to drill the holes.

They are shallow an come in different diameters and the price is right.

 

[treebeard55]

... I guess soil could slip around in a glazed one...

Actually, it's not the soil. It's the roots that need to be able to grip the sides, to keep the tree stable.

If I remember right, you mentioned on an earlier thread that you're in Dublin. If so, you might talk to Paul Masterson at the Bonsai Shop, near Grafton Street. He might be able to steer you to some decently-priced containers. You might also contact Ian Young in Belfast; he uses "Bonsai Eejit" on the web, and has been doing bonsai for a while. Has some great trees.

 

[TreeKiller64]

Not sure if you have plastic Milk boxes in Ireland, But I've heard that they can make pretty good training pots. You'll just have to use some kind of mesh for the bottom of the box, and once again I've heard that you can use a circular saw with a plywood blade put on backwards to cut the box sides down to you wanted height. Just a thought,,, it's what I "heard".

 

[donkey]

Not sure if you have plastic Milk boxes in Ireland, But I've heard that they can make pretty good training pots. You'll just have to use some kind of mesh for the bottom of the box, and once again I've heard that you can use a circular saw with a plywood blade put on backwards to cut the box sides down to you wanted height. Just a thought,,, it's what I "heard".

I use wash basins there ideal for larger trees and for smaller trees small mushroom crates

 

[Klytus]

Ah,the washing up bowl or rectangle.

Multiple uses for those,i'm also partial to the cutlery drainer for seeds and plants.

http://www.addis.co.uk/product_detail.php?product_id=58

The insert is discarded to yield an extremely durable and well draining plant pot.

I've used them for Cactus that are disproportionately taproot,for seed sowing,for growing on,for storing stuff in,so many uses.