bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - which pot for this Larch?

Vance hit it on the head. If it were my choice, I would look for another pot and save these three for accent plants. You asked for the "best" choice among the three. I chose the shallowest, but only because it was the most suitable among those presented.

The pots you have chosen are simply too busy and fussy. They may be interesting pottery, but they are not good choices for trees--something that often happens when potters try to make bonsai pots. Some potters can't get behind the idea that their work has to take a supporting (not starring) role in presenting a bonsai, or they try to be "cutting edge." In practicality, neither approach works.

The best bonsai pots are those that speak for themselves in low tones. They are self-confident without being self-conscious. The tree you have created is light, stark and airy. It is pretty austere in appearance. You have worked to create that image. Why marry it to a pot that is a "visual party" that is the exact opposite of the image you've worked to create? No, the "ironic" argument doesn't really work for bonsai...

Bunjin rivet or low round, unglazed or half glazed, rough texture clay in darker mottled brown, or Tokoname brown is what would set off the tree.

7-Nov-2005	#10
rockm bonsaiTALK ArchMaster Join Date: Oct-2003 Location: Fairfax, Va Country: USA USDA Zone: 7 AHS Heat Zone: ? Posts: 4,561	Vance hit it on the head. If it were my choice, I would look for another pot and save these three for accent plants. You asked for the "best" choice among the three. I chose the shallowest, but only because it was the most suitable among those presented. The pots you have chosen are simply too busy and fussy. They may be interesting pottery, but they are not good choices for trees--something that often happens when potters try to make bonsai pots. Some potters can't get behind the idea that their work has to take a supporting (not starring) role in presenting a bonsai, or they try to be "cutting edge." In practicality, neither approach works. The best bonsai pots are those that speak for themselves in low tones. They are self-confident without being self-conscious. The tree you have created is light, stark and airy. It is pretty austere in appearance. You have worked to create that image. Why marry it to a pot that is a "visual party" that is the exact opposite of the image you've worked to create? No, the "ironic" argument doesn't really work for bonsai... Bunjin rivet or low round, unglazed or half glazed, rough texture clay in darker mottled brown, or Tokoname brown is what would set off the tree.