Wooden Pots?

ghues · Jan 2, 2014

Hi folks,
Like many on this forum, I collect rocks, stones, boulders, wooden pieces like burls and driftwood, which mostly go into the garden landscape.
Currently with the driftwood I look for options for; stands, pots or slabs for my trees. Here is one, a Douglas fir root stump which is river driftwood, I really like the stones that the tree grew around. I'll dry it out, take away all the softwood, burn the inside to help its resistance to rot and add an oil to the outer shell to bring out the grain and colour.
Anybody else do the same?
Cheers
Graham

M. Frary · Jan 2, 2014

I once used a wooden salad bowl for a bonsai pot. This was a long time ago and pots were hard to find. I've seen a picture of a Nick Lens creation where he used an animal skull also.

RECLAIMEDBARNWOOD · Jan 2, 2014

What do you think you will do for a bottom? You could probably find a pot that will fit in the hole and cover the edge of the pot with moss if you use it in a show.

wireme · Jan 2, 2014

Nice stick.
I hope you show us again when it's done. I also like to see rocks embedded in deadwood. Someday I would like to try to grow a daiza around a stone. I'm thinking creat a hollow in living wood, let the callous grow around the stone then harvest and carve feet etc. would be cool I think.

Here's a stick with embedded rock I found. I was going to turn it into a lamp but wound up giving it away first.

ghues · Jan 2, 2014

Hi Jim,
I have considered modifying a plastic pot or pond basket or even layering/stapling mesh at the bottom.
Wireme, your "daiza around a stone" sounds like a great idea. I don't have a tree that might work with the wooden pot but seeing as though it will take a while to finish it off (inside is still wet), I'll see it I can find one.
Cheers
Graham

ghues · Mar 3, 2014

Ready for a Tree

Worked on this fellow recently ("river driftwood find"), got some mesh stapled into the bottom which will hold about 5-6"soil/tree roots - now all I have to do is find the right tree - semi cascade perhaps.
Cheers G

Poink88 · Mar 3, 2014

Nice! Good find!

I hope you treated this with wood hardener...especially the areas in contact with the "soil".

nathanbs · Mar 3, 2014

ghues said:
Worked on this fellow recently ("river driftwood find"), got some mesh stapled into the bottom which will hold about 5-6"soil/tree roots - now all I have to do is find the right tree - semi cascade perhaps.
Cheers G

definitely semi-cascade

ghues · Mar 3, 2014

Thanks Dario - I'll burn the inside of the pot and treat the outside with a preservative.
Thanks Nathan..... I do have a couple but might have to wait until the right tree comes along.
G

nathanbs · Mar 3, 2014

I can help find a good home for it

I have a nice cascade cork oak that would be perfect for it

ghues · Nov 20, 2015

Another small Douglas fir burl accent pot, will be potting up for this growing season. I still have to burn the inside of it to help against rotting/degradation and attach a screen to the drainage hole. I've used linseed oil on the main body and lime sulphur on the heads.
I have been told that the shape resembles a two headed snail (although I've never seen one)....
Sorry for the poorer quality photos.
G

wireme · Nov 20, 2015

Nice

ghues said:
Another small Douglas fir burl accent pot, will be potting up for this growing season. I still have to burn the inside of it to help against rotting/degradation and attach a screen to the drainage hole. I've used linseed oil on the main body and lime sulphur on the heads.
I have been told that the shape resembles a two headed snail (although I've never seen one)....
Sorry for the poorer quality photos.
G

Nice Graham. I've collected a few
Similar bits, inspired to plant them now, well.. next spring, we're all frozen solid here now.
I've been disappointed with the effectiveness of burning wood to increase decay resistance before, not planters but post ends for dirtbag building projects, pole frame barns and well houses and things. Charing up the wood didn't seem to help, they rotted out quickly, the buildings are still upright but, ha, kind of floating now.
Anyway, who cares right, the pots will look great till one day they're gone.

aml1014 · Nov 20, 2015

I'm thinking of carving a few wooden pots myself would it be okay to use pottery sealer to prevent rot?

ghues · May 26, 2016

An update on the first wooden pot "..........placed a small vine maple in it......the size of the stump pot calls for a larger tree however the soil pocket isn't that deep. This stick vine maple is around 10 years old (small wild seedling) and after I removed the inner tube that I used to protect the bark (large wire used for bending) the bark is aging very nicely. The small "accent" at the base is a local native red huckleberry.
The other much large (Douglas Fir) wooden burl at the side of the maple will also be used for a future bonsai project.
Cheers G.

BrianBay9 · May 27, 2016

Did this for a show last week. The trees (dawn redwood) are nothing special, but I wanted to use the deadwood in a display.

Brian

ghues · May 27, 2016

Nice piece of driftwood.

ghues · Nov 22, 2016

Here is a large Douglas Fir burl which I'm thinking of using for a pot......this is the bottom, the top is deeply furrowed/hollowed but I'll deepen it as much as I can as there is a fair amount of rot. The outer shell is really hard but I will give it some clear preservative.

ghues · Jan 26, 2021

6 Year Update.
The vine Maple I had in it got too big, so it was planted into a much bigger grow pot. A few years ago I had this deciduous (some kind of fruiting species) that I thought might work. The interior of this wooden piece was burnt hoping it would delay rot, outside finished with preservative and a thinned spar varnish.
In the past, for winter I would normally have buried this one in the garden bed but decided to store it in the garage.

Wooden Pots?

Omono

Attachments

Bonsai Godzilla

Yamadori

Masterpiece

Attachments

Omono

Omono

Attachments

Imperial Masterpiece

Omono

Omono

Omono

Omono

Attachments

Masterpiece

Masterpiece

Omono

Attachments

Masterpiece

Attachments

Omono

Omono

Omono

Attachments

Similar threads