non-conformist and unusual containers thread.

[lordy]

At the PBA show in DC this weekend I saw a most unusual pot. Made me try to think out of the box with regard to containers for bonsai. I've seen various rocks with hollows that hold a rootball and a tree, but this one got me. What kind of things have you seen?

This is a brake drum from an old car. If it wasnt rusting, I may not have stopped to notice!

 

[jaholmes]

The book "Keshiki Bonsai", by Kenji Kobayashi, details numerous unusual containers used for bonsai. I found it pretty interesting, as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Keshiki-Bonsai-Modern-Miniature-Landscapes/dp/1604693592

 

[KennedyMarx]

Lordy, is the tree actually in a pot that's sitting in the brake drum? It sort of looks that way for the pic. I like it.

 

[GrimLore]

Great picture AND the concept is "way out of the box" I think it is pretty silly when people use a tractor tire in a garden but that is really a neat concept! Goes along with Wabi - Sabi and some other natural schools of thought as well. Thank you for sharing that!

Grimmy

 

[lordy]

Lordy, is the tree actually in a pot that's sitting in the brake drum? It sort of looks that way for the pic. I like it.

To be honest, I didnt inspect it closely, but I would suspect, knowing the owner, that there is NO pot, but just the brake drum. Again, to be honest, I am not positive that a drum has an inner and outer wall, but it sure looked like just a drum. The same guy had another small juniper growning in a rather large piece of bog iron sourced locally (as in collected). There is a photo on the thread of display trees on the PBA Festival thread. He has the rootball held in with epoxied 3M Scotch Brite pad. I wouldnt put anything past him. He's as close to Bonsai McGiver as I've seen.

 

[sikadelic]

I like it! I tend to enjoy more unconventional things, so that's right down my alley.

 

[Neli]

I have seen a TV planted with a tree inside...it was interesting...but can not find the picture.
Robert Steven is promoting unusual display and pots, as a new direction in bonsai.

 

[dick benbow]

new meaning to the expression "drum Pot"

I like such things for shows. For non bonsai folks it creates a surprise and interest and for old timers in the hobby a chance to rethink their entrenched rut they may have dug themself into.

Personally, I wouldn't want this type in my collection at home as I'm one of those old F***s
that clings to the olde ways

 

[barrosinc]

is there a downside to the plant being in touch with so much rust? (I realize it seems to be in some other recipient inside the drum)

 

[Steve C]

I like traditional bonsai pots best, but I also like to have at least one or two "different" things as well. This is one I made at the end of the winter that is a bit different. I carved it out of closed cell foam then sealed it with waterproof drylok and shaded it with fusion paints to get it to look like real rock. Just adds a bit of variety to my collection is all.

 

[lordy]

is there a downside to the plant being in touch with so much rust? (I realize it seems to be in some other recipient inside the drum)

John Naka used to put nails in the pots when repotting, just to give the plant a shot of iron. Certainly too much could be an issue, and I dont know how long this twin trunk has been in the brake drum, but it sure looks happy to me.

 

[jk_lewis]

Planted in an old, South Florida roof tile -- podocarpus:

 

[Neli]

Apart from the fact that I make my own cement training pots...that are nothing unusual...I make pots from stones...soap stone...I use my dies grinder to hollow them or caarve them...it takes like 10 min per pot.
This one I made fast when the pot of my pine broke.

 

[sbarnhardt]

Never thought about something like a brake drum, but there are two big advantages to using those that are readily apparent, at least to me, right out of the box.

1) They are readily available and cheap. Probably any garage, junk yard, etc. has any number of old heaps around. I would imagine you could buy them for whatever value they have as scrap metal which is probably very little.

2) Those things are heavy! They aren't going to get knocked over, blown over, and/or tipped easily. A really solid base there.

 

[sbarnhardt]

....different. I carved it out of closed cell foam then sealed it with waterproof drylok and shaded it with fusion paints to get it to look like real rock.

When you say closed cell foam, I'm sure to most folks that's self explanatory. I understand foam like in a cushion and Styrofoam. Help me understand "closed cell foam?"

BTW...I really like that. The looks and the concept of "thinking outside the box."

 

[Steve C]

Closed cell is just a denser foam. If you go to someplace such as Home Depot or Lowes and look in the insulation department you will find basically two types of foam there. The white stuff that comes in small pre cut sheets is basically an open cell which is not as conducive to detail work. Then they have the larger sheets of closed cell foam which is usually green or purple. It's very dense and you are able to carve a lot more detail into it because of that.

 

[ABCarve]

Here's one. This is made from wood carving chips that are put back together. It's lined with epoxy to remove the rot problem. It has a begonia in it for this picture but I'm trying to think of some other material (more permanent) to plant in it.

 

[Poink88]

When you say closed cell foam, I'm sure to most folks that's self explanatory. I understand foam like in a cushion and Styrofoam. Help me understand "closed cell foam?"

Closed cell is just a denser foam.

The way I understand it is, closed cell foam FLOAT...because the air inside are trapped (closed cell). Open cell absorbs water. BOTH can come in soft or rigid form. It doesn't have to do with density.

 

[Poink88]

I don't have a pic but I've seen tree pic of bonsai planted in a boot (shoes) and war time helmet.

 

[Steve C]

The way I understand it is, closed cell foam FLOAT...because the air inside are trapped (closed cell). Open cell absorbs water. BOTH can come in soft or rigid form. It doesn't have to do with density.

Dario I have to disagree with you on it not being denser, I've been using it for years for my 3D aquarium backgrounds so I am pretty familiar with it. The closed cell has much less gaps/air pockets than the normal white packing foam which makes it much better to carve with.

The true description of what I use is "Extruded Polystyrene Foam Board Insulation" which is just commonly referred to in the 3D background world as "closed cell". Is the closed cell you are talking about different than what I am talking about? Could be who knows. But the Extruded Polystyrene Foam Board Insulation which is also known as closed cell is in fact much denser than standard open cell white styrofoam, that's the main reason we use it for 3D backgrounds for our aquariums, because it holds detail work much better and also takes heat gun work without shriveling up like the open cell stuff.