Tokoname training pots

[Ming dynasty]

Hi, hope everyone had a great start to the season. I have a question about tokoname training pots. They are listed with 2 dimensions… inside and outside. I can’t imagine the pot to be that thick or maybe it is. Regardless, some clarification would be great. Looking to get some for my babies Thankyou Bnuts!

 

[vp999]

I've seen a lot of people swear by these and at $10 a pop they're kinda expensive..whats the diff between these are the regular cheaper nursery tera cotta ones? Thanks

 

[Ming dynasty]

I've seen a lot of people swear by these and at $10 a pop they're kinda expensive..whats the diff between these are the regular cheaper nursery tera cotta ones? Thanks

I think it’s the durability or maybe it’s just bc it’s tokoname lol not sure. This will be my first due to high recommendation

 

[yashu]

That might be the circumference at the bottom of the pot since the sides slant inward. The other measurement is most likely the height of the pot measured off a flat surface versus the depth. The thickness in that measurement is not just the clay at the bottom of the pot itself but also the rim that lifts the pot for drainage. Unlike a flower pot that sits flat these have a raised rim around the bottom with a few arches cut out for drainage as noted in the photo you posted.

 

[yashu]

I've seen a lot of people swear by these and at $10 a pop they're kinda expensive..whats the diff between these are the regular cheaper nursery tera cotta ones? Thanks

I believe these are higher fired than terracotta as they don’t seem to get damaged by frost. The raised rim in the bottom and cut out arches that I mentioned aid in draining bonsai properly, flower pots sit flush on whatever surface they are on and if it’s flat they don’t drain as well that leads to poor air circulation and ponding water in the bottom of your pot… both bad for bonsai. These pots also come with wire holes and the top rim is glazed so they are a bit more resistant to chipping which is good if you are working on your tree with steel tools. Here’s a JBP I’m working on in a Tokoname training pot. (The tree is not a lot to look at right now… but some day!)

 

[vp999]

Thank you so much for the explanation.

 

[yashu]

Thank you so much for the explanation.

My pleasure… these are more than flower pots but they’re also cheaper than a decent bonsai pot. For development they do everything you want without any modifications.

There are some German made pots that are cheaper and similar quality but they don’t have the bonsai specific features like the arches in the bottom rim and wire holes so they require some modification to work as well. If you’re on a budget and need a bunch they definitely a great second option.



As you can see my local nursery has these for $2.50 a pop compared $9 for the Tokoname at the bonsai shop.

 

[vp999]

You're awesome Yashu! Thank you!

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Garden centers around here sell these for about 2,30 a piece. A ceramic drill bit from the dollar store has helped me quite a lot on making cheap pots.
If they're not cracked to begin with, they hold up for a long time.
I got the candle wax out by letting it sit in hot water and using an old butter knife to pry it out as a whole.

 

[penumbra]

Unfortunately, the terra cotta pots they are making today do not hold up. I have some that are decades old that are fine and some that are one and two years old that are falling apart.

 

[coltranem]

I like these unfortunately they are getting harder to find which is driving up the cost.

 

[misfit11]

Darren Wong of Soh-Jo-En bonsai in Vallejo swears by these pots. He and his wife import Satsuki Azaleas from Japan and they do all their primary development in these pots. He calls them "warm pots" because of the ability of the pot to keep the roots warm. They're not the same thing as simple terra cotta.

Working with Darren Wong

On 15 July 2017, I took my “Kaho” Satsuki Azalea bonsai to Darren Wong of Soh-Ju-En, a family business specializing in Satsuki Azalea bonsai, to work on and perform summer maintenance. …

satsukiazaleabonsai.org

 

[August]

Interesting. Terracotta in general should be porous enough to insulate better than plastic. Wonder what their "secret" is.

 

[19Mateo83]

My pleasure… these are more than flower pots but they’re also cheaper than a decent bonsai pot. For development they do everything you want without any modifications.

There are some German made pots that are cheaper and similar quality but they don’t have the bonsai specific features like the arches in the bottom rim and wire holes so they require some modification to work as well. If you’re on a budget and need a bunch they definitely a great second option.
View attachment 477131
View attachment 477132

As you can see my local nursery has these for $2.50 a pop compared $9 for the Tokoname at the bonsai shop.

I use these whenever I can find them. You can grind the arches into the bottom rim and drill a larger hole with a diamond hole saw.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

We use Tokaname pots almost exclusively for growing out azaleas and conifers. They are durable and do not weep like the cheap terra cotta pots. There are still a couple terra cotta pots in the crowd that will have to be replaced this year to get rid of these once and for all.. They are always the ones whose media drys the fastest. This can be a pain in the summer.

The only thing I do with each Tokaname pot is to rebore out the 4 “wiring” holes for the bigger pots and for the small 4” and below size, rebore out the two and add two more more/drainage holes to cover the four quadrants. Usually use 3/16“ to 1/4” diamond bits for the smaller pots and 1/4 - 5/8” for the larger pots. This allows for extra drainage.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[jeremy_norbury]

I bought a crabapple recently and in came in a Tokonoma pot - I now realise...

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

The glazed rim keeps them from spalling as fast. Usually dimensions are shallower for the diameter. Pines and azaleas seem to grow great in terra cotta.

 

[jeremy_norbury]

My Crabapple in said training pot..

IMG_5851 by Jerry Norbury, on Flickr

 

[Shogun610]

I think the terracotta training pots are great most of my stuff that isn’t in its final pot or collected material goes into there , besides a few odd and ends

 

[August]

@Shogun610 are you referring to specifically tokoname pots or the more readily available shallow terracotta "bulb" pots?