How many unused pots do you have?

[leatherback]

I have a number of nice pots with no trees for them. Made that mistake thinking "Then when my trees are pot worthy I have a pot". Now I do not buy pots anymore uness I have the tree for it. Still leaves me with some 20 training pots of good ceramics with pretty glazing.

 

[M. Frary]

I used to buy pots here and there and now I have a lot of pots lying around with no tree for them.
I need another tree like I need a hole in the head. If anything, I need to thin them out.
So now I wait until I have a tree that needs a pot then find one that fits it.

Sell a few trees and maybe a pot or two then get a nice tree.
It's working for me.
I get rid of some each year then turn around and buy a nice tree to work on.
I got a big Amur maple and a nice mugo last August at our show.
The maple is from the Flower Market and the mugo,well you know who I got that from.
I sold a couple elms I grew from seed and a small collected Scots pine in order to get them.
A side note.
Collected trees command more than others.
When people hear trees come from the wild they like them much better.
Odd if you ask me because sometimes they're fairly crappy compared to ones that have been raised with bonsai in mind.

 

[penumbra]

I’m not really sure. I make ‘em, so there’s always 5 or 20 that I say I’m going to save for myself, but then there’s always another that comes out well and I sell one of the keepers.

Exactly!

 

[Anthony]

How about you older heads explain the use of stoneware and earthenware
pots to the younger heads.

Here's one - porous bottom. but glazed sides earthenware is what we use for
J.B.pines, as well as porous concrete and porous earthenware.
So for the basics --- one can water like a normal tree and the soil does
not end up soggy. as welll as the pot cools the roots through evaporation.

Just don't buy pots, buy em with purpose.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Adair M]

I never bother counting. I do think I have over 50 reasonably high quality Tokonome pots, many with free hand signatures in addition to the kiln chops. These are all good quality pots, just waiting for me to have the right tree to come along. They are good enough, that I don't bugger them up by planting just any old stick in a pot into them. I also have another 50 or more pots made by North American and European artists. These too are waiting for the right tree to come along.

I do have maybe 12 nice quality pots with halfway decent trees in them. Most of my trees are in plastic pots and Anderson flats.

It appears my ability to find a good pot is better than my ability to produce a decent tree.

By the way, one benefit of getting old(er) is that you tend to accumulate things. Most of my Japanese pots I purchased between 1980 and 1998, most of my American pots were purchased after 2002. This works out to less than 3 decent pots a year. I did not go out an buy these all at once.

Leo, those pots would look better “buggered up” with patina. Certainly you don’t want to damage them, but using them will put the patina on them.

 

[Adair M]

How about you older heads explain the use of stoneware and earthenware
pots to the younger heads.

Here's one - porous bottom. but glazed sides earthenware is what we use for
J.B.pines, as well as porous concrete and porous earthenware.
So for the basics --- one can water like a normal tree and the soil does
not end up soggy. as welll as the pot cools the roots through evaporation.

Just don't buy pots, buy em with purpose.
Good Day
Anthony

It depends, Anthony. Sure, sometimes I have to find a pot for a particular tree. Sometimes, I find a great pot that, while I don’t have an immediate plan for it, I will be thankful I have it when one of my trees needs a special pot.

For example, this antique Chinese pot:



Going on 200 years old. Awesome patina.

 

[River's Edge]

If every tree needs a grow pot, maintenance pot, seasonal show pots, special antique show pot and one has several hundred trees!
There is not enough shopping time left! And there are too few good pots available! Pots are easy to store, the den, the garage, the crawl space, under the benches outside.
Perhaps it is too many, only at that point when it becomes someone else's job to find a place for them.

 

[Anthony]

Sifu, @Adair M ,

it's a pretty pot.

I trust you got certification. as China has a law about removal of items
over 100 years of age. From China.

If it came through Japan. it could also have been an incense pot, doctored
to look like a Bonsai pot.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

I've got around 10 pots waiting for trees at the moment. Maybe another 5 pots with trees in them. The rest of my stuff is in cut down nursery pots, grow boxes, or Terra Cotta bulb pots.

 

[Adair M]

Sifu, @Adair M ,

it's a pretty pot.

I trust you got certification. as China has a law about removal of items
over 100 years of age. From China.

If it came through Japan. it could also have been an incense pot, doctored
to look like a Bonsai pot.
Good Day
Anthony

It came from Japan. It is likely an old incense pot with holes drilled making it to be a bonsai pot.

 

[August44]

I make pots and have a number setting around with nothing in them. I also just bought 2 small Sarah Rayner pots...why?...dono

 

[BackyardBonsai]

It’s a thing… and I can’t count that high
View attachment 273808View attachment 273809View attachment 273810View attachment 273811View attachment 273812View attachment 273813

This dude has a pots issue!!!

 

[penumbra]

I trust you got certification. as China has a law about removal of items
over 100 years of age. From China.

The Chinese antiquities law applies to things 200 years or older. Makes no difference though because they ship whatever they want. I have imported genuine archaic pots and jade carvings over 20 years though this past year I finally retired and buy almost nothing anymore. During the building of the dam at Three Rivers Gorge, thousands of antiquities were exported nearly daily. Most exports now are fake but some are genuine.

 

[penumbra]

I make pots and have a number setting around with nothing in them. I also just bought 2 small Sarah Rayner pots...why?...dono

I get it Peter. Potters are most notorious for collecting pots by others.

 

[Anthony]

@penumbra ,

antiques need some form of proof. Certification is good
proof.

Ever hear of the- Vintage - of Ebay ?
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Toraidento]

It’s a thing… and I can’t count that high
View attachment 273808View attachment 273809View attachment 273810View attachment 273811View attachment 273812View attachment 273813

Can you say Horder!! J/K

 

[penumbra]

antiques need some form of proof. Certification is good
proof.

I have seen hundreds of certificates of Authenticity that are worth less than the paper they are printed on. As I said, this Was my business for the past 20 years and importing somewhere around 8,000 antiques and artifacts ...... and fakes, many with certificates.
I would agree with you except experience has taught me otherwise.

 

[Dav4]

This dude has a pots issue!!!

Can you say Horder!! J/K

In the infancy of my hobby, I purchased only the cheapest pots available, as I hadn't developed the understanding at that time that a good tree needs an appropriate pot to complete the image. As the years went by and my exposure to all things bonsai expanded dramatically, I began to appreciate a well made bonsai pot almost as much as I appreciate a well developed bonsai tree. This was back in the early 2000's when there was little or no on-line sources of pots. Most of these pots in the pics were bought back then at New England bonsai, many used and discounted... They were well made and relatively affordable and I never knew if I'd have an opportunity to by them in the future, so... . Anyway, I only buy a pot now if I've got a tree earmarked for it... or it's a collectible pot and I can afford it... I really like antique Chinese pots, as well as pots by certain current and deceased potters like Bigei, Gekkou, Zeshin, Shukuho, and Tofukuji- most are too pricey but SOOOO NICE!

 

[bluesky]

It’s a thing… and I can’t count that high

I tried to count the pots between all your photos, and realized I also can't count that high
I stopped at 83, not counting the plastic and paint pots LOL. That's about 63 more than my meagre collection of pots-in-waiting.
Some very nice pots there, especially in the fourth and sixth pics.

 

[TyroTinker]

Uh I’m thinking you are in the rabbit hole and just haven’t reached the trap quite yet. It’s coming you’ll see.........SNAP goes the trap!!!!..... LOL you’ll see.

Ok just bought a new pot on Facebook... the nicest I have so far I think.