I have to respectfully disagree. Your trees are equally as good/better than your pots and truly something to aspire to for all of us here.
Pricing
- Thread starter Boulder Bear
- Start date
Most of them, yes. I put less than deserved trees into nice pots because I like the pots and they're my trees. No sightings of the bonsai police around my little town.
Gabler
Masterpiece
I realize in hindsight my prior comment may have appeared to be a response to you specifically, whereas I had intended it to be a continuation of the sub-thread starting with, "Too many pots are purchased for trees that will be never used," to which you had replied.
pandacular
Masterpiece
There's nothing wrong with having more pots than trees. It's always good to have a backup or three when it comes time to repotting.
There's also nothing wrong with collecting pots more so than trees.
In fact, I posted a thread a while back about a similar subject. I have plans for one of those pots, but the other two are just waiting, or I'm actively looking for a tree to fill them!
www.bonsainut.com
There's also nothing wrong with collecting pots more so than trees.
In fact, I posted a thread a while back about a similar subject. I have plans for one of those pots, but the other two are just waiting, or I'm actively looking for a tree to fill them!
Talk me out of buying fine pots before my trees are ready
I saw a thread the other day on the Oribe glazed pots of Aiba Koyo, Shuyo, Akinao, and others, and I simply love them. After looking them up, I was shocked to find them a lot more reasonably priced than I expected. The problem is that I really shouldn't be putting most of my trees into a proper...
No worries.
Boulder Bear
Yamadori
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Loved ur input!! To the point, offered guidance I’d hoped for, and backed up by personal experience with a nice/very-nice collection!! Thank u!I typed a very long response to this question, then promptly erased it as it was just going too far down various rabbit holes. Suffice it to say that while no unwritten price guideline exists, I do believe you're not too far off when discussing trees at the top of the bonsai pile. As it turns out, I have several pricey trees in my collection... worth significantly less than the 20 grand the OP used but solidly into 4 figures... and the pots those trees are sitting in cost between 10-15% of what the trees cost. Fwiw, I never look at the price of either the tree or the pot when attempting a match but better trees do seem to end up in better pots. Also, pretty much all the high end trees I've seen displayed at regional and national shows have been in very nice pots, and I can't say those pots were vanilla either.
I like this thread topic. As someone who makes pots I never feel compelled to keep a good pot for my own trees- anything is too good for me and my trees. So I only keep defect pots. People visit my garden hoping to see nice pots. nope!
leatherback
The Treedeemer
which is why our club auctions are not open to all: We can tell some people are after specific items and bidding wars only happen for things people REALLY all want. Not just because they can afford to pay more htan the next person.
milehigh_7
Mister 500,000
I have pot that I may never use and it is my favorite. It was made by an old friend and former member of the site, Paul Katich. He made it in 2010. I love it for lots of reasons. Sorry for the terrible video. BTW here is a great thread on pots: Pot School
View attachment VID_20180328_155317231.mp4
View attachment VID_20180328_155317231.mp4
Shogun610
Masterpiece
Can I chime in on this?
Each pot I have , there is a tree that has gone into it , or it will go into it eventually. I looooove supporting US potters even the ones who are unfortunately no longer with us, but I have more “worn” Japanese pots I use as well.
I base my price range on many factors and intentions on how I want the pot to accentuate the tree (insert snarky containerized environment joke).
I think if the juice is worth the squeez on a tree , then I go for it , you can get pretty creative on how you find the perfect pot. And you don’t need to break the bank. Even the hard to find ones , there isn’t a Kelly blue book on pot pricing , even though pots do hold their value , and I can make the argument they increase with age spending on factors like not damaged etc.
Each pot I have , there is a tree that has gone into it , or it will go into it eventually. I looooove supporting US potters even the ones who are unfortunately no longer with us, but I have more “worn” Japanese pots I use as well.
I base my price range on many factors and intentions on how I want the pot to accentuate the tree (insert snarky containerized environment joke).
I think if the juice is worth the squeez on a tree , then I go for it , you can get pretty creative on how you find the perfect pot. And you don’t need to break the bank. Even the hard to find ones , there isn’t a Kelly blue book on pot pricing , even though pots do hold their value , and I can make the argument they increase with age spending on factors like not damaged etc.
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Paradox
Marine Bonsologist
Agree with BVF.
Texas heat did your mugo in.
They are mountain pines from northern Europe. They can't handle 100+ degrees for weeks.
As to the topic.
I try to match trees with pots that I think looks good together. I've put trees in pots that cost more than the tree did. I put a $20 Ilex in a $60 pot and it won me a $150 gift certificate in a small, local show. Granted there was some time, wiring and training on my part along the way. I don't worry about how much the tree cost vs how much the pot cost but I also haven't bought any very expensive pots either.
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Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
That’s sweet of you…somehow over the last few years I haven’t bought a single tree, but have found some pretty killer pots.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
Somehow pots take less space than trees and do not complain when stacked on dark shelves.
That might be a factor?
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
That and they don’t require much attention.
BrightsideB
Omono
I think you have to ask yourself what you want the pot to do for you and your tree.
I think as long as you know what you are buying than price doesn’t matter as long as you can afford it.
I think as long as you know what you are buying than price doesn’t matter as long as you can afford it.
Paradox
Marine Bonsologist
Yea I have a bunch of pots stacked up in corners of my basement waiting for me to deem a tree I have ready to take up residence. Definitely easier to care for tha the trees. Only problem I have is when I'm looking for a specific pot and can't remember which corner of the basement I put it.
ShimpakuBonsai
Chumono
I just watched a video of the bonsai garden of Mr. Kimura.
In the video a part of the bonsai pot collection is showed and it is said that Mr. Kimura rents out his pots to customers when needed.
The pots are show in the video at about 5.32
In the video a part of the bonsai pot collection is showed and it is said that Mr. Kimura rents out his pots to customers when needed.
The pots are show in the video at about 5.32
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
I have triple the number of pots as trees. Can't really get my head around the thinking that you need a tree to go into a pot before you buy a pot. OF COURSE buy a pot for no reason other than you like it--that's the primary reason for buying a pot--you like it. I have a lot of those and I like looking at them as much as I like my trees. Of course that depends on whether you have the resources to buy it...
Another thing--pots will not get patina simply by being outside. They have to be exposed to stuff like fertilizers, handling, etc. Note the pots at Japanese nurseries are stored underneath the trees on the benches...they catch fertilizer/chemical run off.
Another thing--pots will not get patina simply by being outside. They have to be exposed to stuff like fertilizers, handling, etc. Note the pots at Japanese nurseries are stored underneath the trees on the benches...they catch fertilizer/chemical run off.
Boulder Bear
Yamadori
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I’m the same way about cooking pancakes! I get the burnt ones
Srt8madness
Omono
I suppose I'm an outlier WRT this topic, but I get more pleasure looking at a pot with a tree in it, even if it isn't a "finished" tree.
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