Where to get cheap bonsai post ?

[PA_Penjing]

Adam Ross pots are dope as hell AND affordable
Plus
Adam Ross is dope as hell
You can contact him and hell make what ever shape and size you want

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

There is cheap YiXing, and then there is well crafted, more expensive YiXing. There is some very fine, higher end pottery coming out of YiXing, you just don't see it every day.

 

[PA_Penjing]

Hahah meant Ross Adams, blame election night

 

[canoeguide]

Hahah meant Ross Adams, blame election night

Well, damn. The guy lives just down the road from me and I didn't know about him! Thanks for leading me to this.

 

[PA_Penjing]

Well, damn. The guy lives just down the road from me and I didn't know about him! Thanks for leading me to this.

He's the coolest dude. I'd have a beer with him

 

[Shogun610]

Where online could I get cheap bonsai pots ?

eBay , Bonsai auctions, Etsy... or or or or get a shallow pot or even say a baking dish ( I did this on a shallow pot with no drainage)... a ceramic drill bit, spray with water while drilling it to not crack the ceramic... and drill holes. Grind down the area or superglue feet for drainage.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Anyone ever tried 3d printing a pot?
Here's a pattern from Nigel Saunders:

Shallow Oval Bonsai Pot (style 1) by Nigel_Saunders

This is a two piece shallow oval bonsai pot for 3D printing. The pot can be printed any size to suit your tree or forest.It is best to use a durable plastic like N gen to prevent warping when the tree and pot are placed outside.The pot requires the top to be aligned and glued to the bottom with...

www.thingiverse.com

 

[shimbrypaku]

Cheap is not the same as quality, save your money and buy one from Matt.

kaedebonsai-en he is on eBay

Search for tokoname bonsai pots

 

[JoeH]

I frequent thrift stores and I have found some actual bonsai pots and i also look for interesting ceramic pieces that work. If it has no holes I grill my own with a tile bit.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Cheap - go with plastic and mica pots. Mica pots can look "pretty good", some you actually have to touch, handle to tell if they are mica or clay. The good thing about plastic and or mica pots, you do not have to worry about the pot being freeze thaw resistant.

With the money you don't spend on "cheap clay pots", save up. Once a year, make a point of buying at least one quality pot. Pick a size that could work for a tree you do own, or might come to own. Larger quality pots will be in the $100 to $ 500 dollar range. Smaller pots, quality can be had for as little as $45 to $250 or so. Point is, set aside money for good pots. Set aside a certain amount each month, so that once a year you can get a really decent pot. Matt Ouwinga, Kaedae-en is my favorite source for Japanese high quality pots. But there are many who bring great pots from Japan.

Buying one or two decent pots a year, by the time you've been in the hobby 10 or 20 years, you will have a nice collection of good pots.

 

[Paradox]

yea good pots definitely are not cheap and the prices have gone up considerably in the last few years.
I second what Leo said, mica pots are a good alternative until you can buy good ceramic ones/

Besides from what Ive seen of your trees so far @Njyamadori, none of them are ready for a "finished" ceramic bonsai pot.
You have a few years before they are read and in the mean time, some larger bonsai shaped plastic training pots will work fine.

 

[Enfield Snapper]

Besides from what Ive seen of your trees so far @Njyamadori, none of them are ready for a "finished" ceramic bonsai pot.

I do agree with the idea that you shouldn't be too concerned about pot selection in the early stages of a tree. And pot choices can have an impact on growth. However, at the BSOP virtual meeting last week Bjorn Bjorholm did a presentation on pot history and pot selection. Someone asked about what kind of pots beginners that mostly have young stock still in early development should be using. Part of his answer was that he's noticed some enthusiasts are more likely to pay attention to their trees if they're in a cool pot.

So if it gets you more excited, by all means put it in a pot you enjoy looking at. Even your tree isn't "ready" for it.

 

[Njyamadori]

Yeah I’m starting to find stuff in the recycling and just use that stuff

 

[ShadyStump]

Yeah I’m starting to find stuff in the recycling and just use that stuff

Yard sales and thrift stores work, too. They might not be the nice ones, but people routinely get rid of pots they don't use any more or don't like. That's my go-to. Wouldn't enter any shows with most of them, but I don't have anything worth showing right now anyway People try to say, "oh, it's for African violets," or whatever, but in reality a pot is a pot is a pot. If it looks right and is shaped right and has the holes in the bottom, who cares what someone else had in it?

And don't forget rocks. Slab plantings are always cool. I'm keeping an eye out for some funky hubcaps or something to weld and bang on for that 5Yr native challenge It's arguably a homemade pot, right? Just get creative.

 

[Paradox]

I do agree with the idea that you shouldn't be too concerned about pot selection in the early stages of a tree. And pot choices can have an impact on growth. However, at the BSOP virtual meeting last week Bjorn Bjorholm did a presentation on pot history and pot selection. Someone asked about what kind of pots beginners that mostly have young stock still in early development should be using. Part of his answer was that he's noticed some enthusiasts are more likely to pay attention to their trees if they're in a cool pot.

So if it gets you more excited, by all means put it in a pot you enjoy looking at. Even your tree isn't "ready" for it.

There are a couple of problems with this logic
The tree isnt in a pot that promotes good growth at a time when it needs it so it takes much longer to progress that tree to the next step.
The pot originally selected ends up not being the right pot when the tree finally is ready for it
You end up with too many pots that you dont have trees for and storage becomes a problem
With a limited budget you end up buying things that arent the best for what the tree needs now and once you figure that out, you cant get what you really do need

This tree isnt in a bonsai pot yet but I get pretty excited when I see it go from this


To this


And now this



Still a long way to go but this year it will graduate from the anderson flat to a large plastic bonsai training pot.

On that thought, maybe we should be encouraging everyone to take yearly pictures of their trees and compare them from year to year.
I didnt realize the progress my tree had made until I did just that.

 

[Njyamadori]

There are a couple of problems with this logic
The tree isnt in a pot that promotes good growth at a time when it needs it so it takes much longer to progress that tree to the next step.
The pot originally selected ends up not being the right pot when the tree finally is ready for it
You end up with too many pots that you dont have trees for and storage becomes a problem
With a limited budget you end up buying things that arent the best for what the tree needs now and once you figure that out, you cant get what you really do need

This tree isnt in a bonsai pot yet but I get pretty excited when I see it go from this
View attachment 352634

To this
View attachment 352635View attachment 352636

And now this

View attachment 352637

Still a long way to go but this year it will graduate from the anderson flat to a large plastic bonsai training pot

Thanks for what you said but you did an amazing job on that tree . I’m trying to watch every bonsai u and miria video I can to do something like that .

 

[Paradox]

Thanks for what you said but you did an amazing job on that tree . I’m trying to watch every bonsai u and miria video I can to do something like that .

Thank you for the kind words
Learn everything you can.
See what works for others
Dont be afraid to work on your own trees and try things.
Do things at the right time but dont do too much.
Be patient and wait for the tree to respond
Dont get discouraged if it doesnt work and when you lose trees
Correct the mistakes you made
You will get there some day.

 

[Enfield Snapper]

I agree with you @Paradox that keeping early material in bonsai pots isn't necessarily the best choice. And I was hinting at what you pointed out when I said the pot impacts growth.

I don't really see having to change the pot once you have a "final" composition as a problem if your interim pots are versatile and can be used for other trees. You see plenty of posts here where people are shopping for a new pot for a tree when it's already in a ceramic pot. Nothing in bonsai is actually final.

As far as development rate, it seems like that could also be a case of it depends on what you want. Aren't the best formal uprights, for instance, grown slowly over decades so they can develop taper without having to chop the trunk?

For most people this is just a hobby, so ultimately if you're doing what gets you the most enjoyment out of it, then you're not doing it wrong - maybe not the best, but not wrong. Pretty much everything I've got is just in nursery pots. And I don't really have a problem with that. But like Bjorn said, if you'll take better care of the tree if it's in something other than a nursery pot, isn't that the better choice?

 

[Paradox]

if you'll take better care of the tree if it's in something other than a nursery pot, isn't that the better choice?

I think this is a perception problem that people need to learn to get over so no I dont think its a better choice.
I see it as shortsighted. Bonsai requires patience.
If the only reason you are taking care of a tree is because it is in a bonsai pot and neglect ones that are not then you are not seeing the forest for the trees.

 

[Enfield Snapper]

I think this is a perception problem that people need to learn to get over so no I dont think its a better choice.
I see it as shortsighted.

I think this in itself is a perception problem. And shortsighted. It's kind like telling someone that if they don't have a tripod they shouldn't try to do landscape photography, because they'll never get the best possible photographs. I did landscape photography for years before I decided I was going to take that step and buy a tripod to improve my work.

People find their own enjoyment in the things they like to do and not everybody wants to go to the effort of being the best at something. And that's fine - they're doing what makes them feel good. Bjorn seems to understand that. Let people enjoy things where they're at - explain that there may be better ways to do things and let them decide if they want to act on that knowledge. But don't tell them their choices are wrong. Maybe eventually they'll start to see things in a way that aligns more with most people here and and reconsider how they work. If not, who cares?