Choosing the Pot for a Cascade Fir

Josh88

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I finished the initial styling on this sub alpine fir in a Jan Culek workshop this weekend, and now I’m looking to find a new home to accommodate its new planting angle. This deep round by Vicki Chamberlain really caught my eye as a nice match, but I would love to get opinions and input from folks with a more experienced eye than my own.
AD5EC5FF-47EB-4847-BD58-8EFEDF8FC9D2.jpegA0E2EC53-36CB-4C0A-A966-085F76A12E65.jpeg
 

sorce

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Yalready know my vote.

Capture+_2019-11-26-12-08-41.pngCapture+_2019-11-26-12-08-52.png

I think this shape will do the best justice to the trunkline.

Tall enough to remain semicascade.

Sorce
 

PABonsai

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This is not so much an opinion as a question. Should you maybe do a grow box repot or two to allow the roots to grow (and trim) into the new planting angle before going straight to the bonsai pot? Do you maybe need to repot once at half the angle and then once more at the full angle? I only say this because your angle change is like 65-70 degrees. I don't remember who I saw recommending this, it was someone fairly reputable.
 

Josh88

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This is not so much an opinion as a question. Should you maybe do a grow box repot or two to allow the roots to grow (and trim) into the new planting angle before going straight to the bonsai pot? Do you maybe need to repot once at half the angle and then once more at the full angle? I only say this because your angle change is like 65-70 degrees. I don't remember who I saw recommending this, it was someone fairly reputable.
My plan is to have plenty of options for its next container, including something I’d like to see it in for a long time. I have no idea what I’ll find when I get into the roots, but when you pull back the soil from around the trunk, the way the base meets the ground, there is a good chance that a lot of roots are positioned right where I want them. While I won’t know til I get in there, I’d hate to wind up with a good situation and not have what I’d like to put it in on hand and be itching to repot it again soon. I will definitely err on the side of caution though. I’m very pleased with the direction it’s headed and don’t want to move faster than the tree will like.
 
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Adair M

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Yalready know my vote.

View attachment 272466View attachment 272467

I think this shape will do the best justice to the trunkline.

Tall enough to remain semicascade.

Sorce
Oh, no!!! Those are HORRIBLE! They were popular maybe 30 years ago, but it turns out that you can’t really repot the tree because you can’t get it out without breaking the pot! And, how do you know if the bottom needs water? Or maybe the bottom is still wet, but the top is dry?

Seriously, those pots are terrible.

Cascades are now grown in pots like the OP suggested, and if the cascade extends down below the pot, you elevate the pot on some type of stand.

Trust me, you will hate yourself if you ever put a bonsai into one of those “cascade” pots.
 

sorce

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An artist will figure a way around those circumstances.

Sorce
 

Djtommy

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I finished the initial styling on this sub alpine fir in a Jan Culek workshop this weekend, and now I’m looking to find a new home to accommodate its new planting angle. This deep round by Vicki Chamberlain really caught my eye as a nice match, but I would love to get opinions and input from folks with a more experienced eye than my own.
View attachment 272464View attachment 272465

I think this would fit the tree nicely. It’s a good looking pot and the shape i also think a good match.

Aesthetically for this tree I prefer this over the deep old school cascade ones.
Cascade trees are annoying to put on the bench though...
 

PABonsai

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My plan is to have plenty of options for its next container, including something I’d like to see it in for a long time. I have no idea what I’ll find when I get into the roots, but when you pull back the soil from around the trunk, the way the base meets the ground, there is a good chance that a lot of roots are positioned right where I want them. While I won’t know til I get in there, I’d hate to wind up with a good situation and not have what I’d like to put it in on hand and be itching to repot it again soon. I will definitely err on the side of caution though. I’m very pleased with the direction it’s headed and don’t want to move faster than the tree will like.
For what it's worth though, I actually really like the one you posted. Though it would be interesting to see how the color compares with the tree next to it in the same light, I think it's a very nice pot.
 

Josh88

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I think this would fit the tree nicely. It’s a good looking pot and the shape i also think a good match.

Aesthetically for this tree I prefer this over the deep old school cascade ones.
Cascade trees are annoying to put on the bench though...
I see where @sorce is coming from in looking to create a unique and not totally traditional image with the tall pot, but I also prefer the aesthetic of the smaller one, and the functional issues with the tall water column as @Adair M mentioned make it a challenge I’m not up for. I’m gonna have to work on my pot to bench tie down techniques. I will not lose this to some clumsy raccoon! Or a handsy six year old.
 

Adair M

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I see where @sorce is coming from in looking to create a unique and not totally traditional image with the tall pot, but I also prefer the aesthetic of the smaller one, and the functional issues with the tall water column as @Adair M mentioned make it a challenge I’m not up for. I’m gonna have to work on my pot to bench tie down techniques. I will not lose this to some clumsy raccoon! Or a handsy six year old.
Well, the current box is awkward, but you can build a wooden frame to hold it in position until you start to transition it to the pot you will want to use as it’s “final” pot. You don’t have to get there in one step.

Long term cascades on the bench are not so bad. Make a stand from a concrete block or those landscape bricks to elevate the pot off the bench.

What’s more difficult is transporting them in the car to a workshop or a show without messing up the drop branch.
 

Adair M

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And they STILL ARE! Your personal bias against them is irrelevant!
Oh, those are Ron Lang pots, aren’t they Potawatomi? And Ryan Neil sells Ron Lang pots. So OF COURSE you like them!!! Lol!!!

Look, Ron makes good pots. And those tall cascade pots I’m sure will be good quality. But the style is now functionally obsolete. I listed the problems with them above.
 

LanceMac10

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I finished the initial styling on this sub alpine fir in a Jan Culek workshop this weekend, and now I’m looking to find a new home to accommodate its new planting angle. This deep round by Vicki Chamberlain really caught my eye as a nice match, but I would love to get opinions and input from folks with a more experienced eye than my own.
View attachment 272464View attachment 272465



oh yeah, buy the pot....but for me, a few re-pots between now and that pot. D.I.Y. a grow box so you gradually induce a "flat" rootball. Along the @Adair M vein, it also creates a "talking piece" if you have visitors. How ya' gonna' help talkin' 'bout some "jacked-up box" with a tree hanging out of it?


...cascade pot?....save 'em for a one-time shot for an "art-sy" display, then promptly put back into a more practical container.....



"interesting" fir....💐
 
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