Crowd Sourcing Pot Selection

Which pot do you feel goes best with this tree

  • 1. reddish brown with clipped corners

    Votes: 10 34.5%
  • 2. medium brown with flared rim

    Votes: 5 17.2%
  • 3. grey brown with straight sides

    Votes: 14 48.3%

  • Total voters
    29

clevetromba

Shohin
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Hi all, I'm in the process of choosing a pot for my European Spruce that I recently worked on with Bjorn in a workshop. I would love to get opinions on which pot folks like best. I've never purchased a ceramic bonsai pot before and I don't have the most discriminating eye when it comes to color. The sizes are all comparable except number 1 is 4", 2. is 6" deep and 3 is 5" deep. The trunk is about 2 1/2" thick. So please place your votes!
20170914_230556.jpg
1. reddish brown with clipped corners.
31QWivngseL.jpg

2. medium brown with flared rim
31Ay1YUA0nL.jpg

3. grey brown with straight sides
31EQCHz1faL.jpg
 

clevetromba

Shohin
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Thanks for the views and the votes! Keep em coming!
 

sorce

Nonsense Rascal
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Eeeewww gross! Who's voting on these 2 definite no go's?

I vote for 2 but the right pot is not present IMO. They are all well designed for Spruce, whose trunks can be masculine, but whose soft foliage always keeps them a bit feminine, IMO. Yours is 80/20 masc/fem.


The first one with the inverted corners, is too visually restrictive for that far spreading nebari.
Even if it works horticulturally, it will always look like shit.

The second flared one is good to give the elusion of the nebari having a farther place to grow to. But something about the horizontal flare goes against the vertical jin/shari.

The grey is the best shape IMO.
But the color is that of a dead spruce bud. Feels wrong to display it in that color.
That's very my opinion, just a little off putting, in person 3 may be the one.

Definitely not 1. That spreading nebari is way too cool for 1.

Sorce
 

Smoke

Ignore-Amus
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It's not time to pick a pot yet. This tree has a long way to go. I suspect that in the end you will need a much shallower pot to emphasize the height of this tree. It looks rather short with the longer branches below and a taller walled pot will make it look that much more squat. I also suspect the tree will probably look much better in a round pot.
 

clevetromba

Shohin
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Eeeewww gross! Who's voting on these 2 definite no go's?

I vote for 2 but the right pot is not present IMO. They are all well designed for Spruce, whose trunks can be masculine, but whose soft foliage always keeps them a bit feminine, IMO. Yours is 80/20 masc/fem.


The first one with the inverted corners, is too visually restrictive for that far spreading nebari.
Even if it works horticulturally, it will always look like shit.

The second flared one is good to give the elusion of the nebari having a farther place to grow to. But something about the horizontal flare goes against the vertical jin/shari.

The grey is the best shape IMO.
But the color is that of a dead spruce bud. Feels wrong to display it in that color.
That's very my opinion, just a little off putting, in person 3 may be the one.

Definitely not 1. That spreading nebari is way too cool for 1.

Sorce
I agree with you about the color of #3, it's too grey in the picture. I hadn't thought about the flared rim in terms of the visual effect of the spreading nebari. They will need to be cut back when I repot it though, since they're so long and straight with no taper. Hopefully I can get them to branch a bit.
I love the color and shape of 1, but it feels too formal and too reddish for this tree. And 2 seems too deep. Arrggh! If only I could hire someone to make just the right pot.
 

clevetromba

Shohin
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It's not time to pick a pot yet. This tree has a long way to go. I suspect that in the end you will need a much shallower pot to emphasize the height of this tree. It looks rather short with the longer branches below and a taller walled pot will make it look that much more squat. I also suspect the tree will probably look much better in a round pot.
Round! Why round? I agree with you though about needing a shallower pot, which is why I'm reticent about #2. And you're right about the length of the branches. I was surprised to find the tree is wider than it is tall. I've always pictured it being a tall skinny tree, but it's not there yet.
It does need to be repotted into something smaller though. I hate to use another plywood box though. I'm tired of plywood boxes.
 

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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Round! Why round? I agree with you though about needing a shallower pot, which is why I'm reticent about #2. And you're right about the length of the branches. I was surprised to find the tree is wider than it is tall. I've always pictured it being a tall skinny tree, but it's not there yet.
It does need to be repotted into something smaller though. I hate to use another plywood box though. I'm tired of plywood boxes.
The tree doesn't really lend itself to the rather formal pots you've chosen. The tree's "final" proportions are yet to be determined.

A round drum, or even better a shallower round rustic drum with irregular sides, or other less formal features--rough clay, uneven lip, etc. would work better for this tree's projected rugged final image. It is not a formal upright...

Take a look around Walter Pall's gallery of similar rustic conifers. Look at the pots he uses. Rectangles and squares are scarce...
http://walter-pall.de/
 

Smoke

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The tree doesn't really lend itself to the rather formal pots you've chosen. The tree's "final" proportions are yet to be determined.

A round drum, or even better a shallower round rustic drum with irregular sides, or other less formal features--rough clay, uneven lip, etc. would work better for this tree's projected rugged final image. It is not a formal upright...

Take a look around Walter Pall's gallery of similar rustic conifers. Look at the pots he uses. Rectangles and squares are scarce...
http://walter-pall.de/
You can lead um..... but is like pulling teeth to get them to drink. I don' get it
 

clevetromba

Shohin
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The tree doesn't really lend itself to the rather formal pots you've chosen. The tree's "final" proportions are yet to be determined.

A round drum, or even better a shallower round rustic drum with irregular sides, or other less formal features--rough clay, uneven lip, etc. would work better for this tree's projected rugged final image. It is not a formal upright...

Take a look around Walter Pall's gallery of similar rustic conifers. Look at the pots he uses. Rectangles and squares are scarce...
http://walter-pall.de/
Rock, your point is well taken. It may be beyond my budget to order a custom pot from Europe, but I definitely see what you're getting at. I had several of WP's trees in mind when I envisioned what mine would look like, so your suggestion that I look at his pots is a complement!
 

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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Rock, your point is well taken. It may be beyond my budget to order a custom pot from Europe, but I definitely see what you're getting at. I had several of WP's trees in mind when I envisioned what mine would look like, so your suggestion that I look at his pots is a complement!
You don't have to order pots from Europe. American potters do the same kind of thing. You can also get imported Japanese pots that have the same qualities from importers like Matt Ouwinga.
http://www.langbonsai.com/nanbanB.htm
http://www.langbonsai.com/nanbanC.htm
Ron's work is excellent, but it isn't cheap, but I'm sure there are other American bonsai potters out there who can do a nanban or rougher pot for you.
If you do Facebook, look up "bonsai auctions." Very nice stuff goes through there all the time.
 

clevetromba

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You can lead um..... but is like pulling teeth to get them to drink. I don' get it
Smoke, was that directed at me? I hope you don't perceive I'm not listening to you all's advice. I'm asking questions to more fully understand your reasoning, not to question the validity of what you're saying.
 

Smoke

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"perception is all there is"

A book to live ones life by by Tom Peters.
I get it...the internet sucks because people don't type complete thoughts or ask the right questions. Just keep in mind that all a person can really do here is throw out things that people, like myself, have learned over the the years. I can't make your decision for a pot for you, but I can throw an idea your way. It is up to you to do the research and decide what is best for the tree not you. In a thread last week or so I spent many days posting pictures from four books on the proper use of a tall root stand. I am not going to do that for every poster here, it is time consuming and I got pots to buy and stands to build. I hope you are doing the research and looking at trees that look like yours and have seen that indeed many are planted in shallow round pots to accentuate the tall nature of the tree you seek.

A place like this is made up of many people with different levels of experience. many will just agree with everything , some will challenge but not sure why they do, some have the knowledge but are terrible about connecting with people and a few...few will have the experience, the writing skills and the confidence to tell someone what the norms are as a whole. That's what I do. I look at thousands of trees annualy in exhibits around Cailfornia. So when Al says your tree would look best in a thinner round pot, I would look to find out if this guy is right or just out there. Trust me I'm not out there, that you can take to the bank.

Now that you know, what have you found out in your brief research, post a picture or two to show this. Make this place a classroom. You can be a teacher too.
 

Stickroot

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"perception is all there is"

A book to live ones life by by Tom Peters.
I get it...the internet sucks because people don't type complete thoughts or ask the right questions. Just keep in mind that all a person can really do here is throw out things that people, like myself, have learned over the the years. I can't make your decision for a pot for you, but I can throw an idea your way. It is up to you to do the research and decide what is best for the tree not you. In a thread last week or so I spent many days posting pictures from four books on the proper use of a tall root stand. I am not going to do that for every poster here, it is time consuming and I got pots to buy and stands to build. I hope you are doing the research and looking at trees that look like yours and have seen that indeed many are planted in shallow round pots to accentuate the tall nature of the tree you seek.

A place like this is made up of many people with different levels of experience. many will just agree with everything , some will challenge but not sure why they do, some have the knowledge but are terrible about connecting with people and a few...few will have the experience, the writing skills and the confidence to tell someone what the norms are as a whole. That's what I do. I look at thousands of trees annualy in exhibits around Cailfornia. So when Al says your tree would look best in a thinner round pot, I would look to find out if this guy is right or just out there. Trust me I'm not out there, that you can take to the bank.

Now that you know, what have you found out in your brief research, post a picture or two to show this. Make this place a classroom. You can be a teacher too.
AAAAAAAAAAAND CUT!
 
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