Pots on a budget...

fredman · Jul 27, 2025

Haha, I walked past this serving dish in a second hand shop....and a thought came to me. I can maybe make a bonsai pot from this....

Drilled some holes and glued on "feet". They're pink pumice balls I got from the bead shop...where all the cool kids hang out....

I'm happy with the pot...the feet, not so much....but it'll work for now. I need to get the inspirational juices flowing on ideas for more suitable feet.

Cost me $15.
Yesterday I went around with the wife to more second hand shops and picked up more dishes...all shapes and sizes. I'm going to make me a collection....!

Paradox · Jul 27, 2025

If you don't need to worry about freezing temperatures, resourcing pots like this should work fine.

Would never know the one you repurposed above wasn't made for bonsai

Joe Dupre' · Jul 27, 2025

I've done quite a bit of that. I'm now drawn to every thrift store I see. Pink feet? A little Walmart acrylic paint every couple of years could take care of that.

blackadam · Jul 27, 2025

very nice pot, needs much smaller feet imho

maybe something subtle like pic above, twisted tree also seems fit

fredman · Jul 27, 2025

blackadam said:
smaller

Agreed...they're way to high

fredman · Aug 2, 2025

Got the feet sorted...polymer clay baked in the oven.

All in, this pot cost me under $10

pandacular · Aug 3, 2025

How do you feel about non-traditional containers? Free is the price of a great deal of interesting containers such as brake drums, driftwood, slabs.

fredman · Aug 4, 2025

pandacular said:
How do you feel about non-traditional containers? Free is the price of a great deal of interesting containers such as brake drums, driftwood, slabs.

You mean like this pumice pot...?

Thing is...I've always used "simple" containers to grow them on. Now that some of them are getting to the "developed" stage they need shallower pots....and I don't want to buy expensive pots.
I'm just in it for the love of trees. I just fuddle along in my back yard...doing what I love most. I don't belong to a club. I don't even have a bonsai friend...and i've been doing it for 20 yrs.
I mean look at this beautiful hand made dishing bowl I found for almost nothing in a second hand shop. All it needs is some nice feet (and i'm getting better at that)...and i'm giving it a new purpose.
This is going make a mighty fine bonsai pot for me.

Michael P · Aug 4, 2025

pandacular said:
How do you feel about non-traditional containers? Free is the price of a great deal of interesting containers such as brake drums, driftwood, slabs.

I just found two brake drums and am eager for potting season!

fredman · Aug 4, 2025

Some more...I did them a few weeks ago

fredman · Aug 4, 2025

Fitted some feet on the pot above...and wrestled the miniature rose in there.
I think it makes a nice bonsai pot....and that for under $10

oranjeaap · Aug 4, 2025

Funny, I have considered this a few times but always thought that drilling holes would cause them to shatter.

fredman · Aug 4, 2025

oranjeaap said:
Funny, I have considered this a few times but always thought that drilling holes would cause them to shatter.

True...that was me to.
All that's really needed is the right drills.
I use these

6.0mm Glass & Tile Drill Tungsten Tipped https://share.google/AuUaJVDMQVV7cisiH

Hex Porcelain Tile Bits - Bosch Professional https://share.google/jPgX22Ore98UdQ3ci

Some bowls drill better than others. I've basically given up on the white porcelain ones. They can be drilled, but its a Very slow process...plus little room for error. I've lost a few drills as the tungsten carbite chips and breaks....movement or speed to high.
I now go for pottery ones...they drill reasonably easy. Slow speed (500 rpm) and keep the drill cool with water.

fredman · Aug 4, 2025

Seems the links don't load....

Its tungsten tipped drills.

Attmos · Thursday at 1:36 PM

pandacular said:
How do you feel about non-traditional containers? Free is the price of a great deal of interesting containers such as brake drums, driftwood, slabs.

I see objects in that way too. I think that kind of thing can be really cool.

vesper818 · Thursday at 1:47 PM

Epoxy plumbers putty comes in white, black, brown, etc, can be mixed, and makes sturdy feet for remained bonsai pots, glues rocks together and fills chips nicely.

Attmos · Thursday at 1:50 PM

fredman said:
True...that was me to.
All that's really needed is the right drills.
I use these

6.0mm Glass & Tile Drill Tungsten Tipped https://share.google/AuUaJVDMQVV7cisiH

Hex Porcelain Tile Bits - Bosch Professional https://share.google/jPgX22Ore98UdQ3ci

Some bowls drill better than others. I've basically given up on the white porcelain ones. They can be drilled, but its a Very slow process...plus little room for error. I've lost a few drills as the tungsten carbite chips and breaks....movement or speed to high.
I now go for pottery ones...they drill reasonably easy. Slow speed (500 rpm) and keep the drill cool with water.

I've been repurposing some dishes too.

I had a bunch of these

for lapidary projects and they work really well on clay and porcelain, you might give them a try...
Don't have any pictures of a hole I made in White Porcelain, but I could take some if you like.

These are diamond coring bits that I bought at Home Depot. They come in sizes starting at 1/8" all the way up to 2", lots of options for different size dishes. I don't know if Home Depot has made it down to New Zealand but I'm sure you could find them at the stores there... you can also order them.

PS. If you only use them on clay and porcelain, one bit might actually last forever.

Attmos · Thursday at 3:07 PM

Paradox said:
If you don't need to worry about freezing temperatures, resourcing pots like this should work fine.

Would never know the one you repurposed above wasn't made for bonsai

Yeah I suppose it would be worth filling them with moist soil and exposing them to a winter before subjecting a tree to failure. Good point.

Might even be worth sealing the clay in the newly made holes before trying that....

Wulfskaar · Thursday at 4:22 PM

fredman said:
polymer clay baked in the oven.

I'm probably the only person on Earth who did this, but I used polymer over-bake clay for a pot. I left it outside for a full year in the sun and weather, and it looked like it didn't weather at all. This spring, I put a small tree in it as a test and also to mess around with rocks and moss.

The pot is still perfectly good as far as I can tell. The funny thing is it's slight bendy, so I don't think I could break it without trying hard to do so. I have another one I made last winter that has no trees yet. It's much thinner and flatter, so who knows if that will work.

fredman · Thursday at 4:55 PM

Attmos said:
I've been repurposing some dishes too.

I had a bunch of these View attachment 615159 for lapidary projects and they work really well on clay and porcelain, you might give them a try...
Don't have any pictures of a hole I made in White Porcelain, but I could take some if you like.

These are diamond coring bits that I bought at Home Depot. They come in sizes starting at 1/8" all the way up to 2", lots of options for different size dishes. I don't know if Home Depot has made it down to New Zealand but I'm sure you could find them at the stores there... you can also order them.

PS. If you only use them on clay and porcelain, one bit might actually last fore

Nah no Home Depots here...on some world maps NZ don't even appear..

Those diamond bits are available here, but it has to be a good quality one...and they're expensive. Hahaha...I bought a set off Temu, and I used 3 bits to do half a pot...

I've settled on using pottery dishes now. Most I buy is hand made...and signatured at the bottom. I love that.
I got these ovals at a second hand store this weekend....$5 and &6

Even got a proper Grandma potato serving dish to...$3...

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