Selecting The Right Container For Your Bonsai
by Randy Clark, Charlotte, NC
Selecting an appropriate container for bonsai involves the same decision making process as the selection of a frame for a painting. In either case, the decisions made can enhance or detract from the final impact the work will have on those who view it.
Don't make the mistake of thinking the tree is the only thing a viewer will see when they look at your creation. Your bonsai is not just the tree, but a whole presentation including not only the plant material, but other elements as well. Sometimes bonsai artists are so focused on the placement of each branch and leaf they forget this. Because they work with their trees every day, bonsai artists tend to see their creations individually and apart from any containers they might be potted in, weeds growing in the pot, other trees sitting next to them on the bench or unsuitable backgrounds. I am always pleased when a visitor tells me how wonderful my bonsai garden looks. Personally, when I look at the garden I see all the flaws and defects in my trees and all work that needs to be done. I think how great things will be looking in five years as I finally get all the work done. This is as it should be. A good bonsai artist needs to turn a critical eye towards his or her creations.
However, the uninitiated who visit our garden or attend a bonsai exhibit do not see things in the same way! Certainly they see the tree, but also all other things associated with it. Such things include the tree's container as well as any grasses, moss, stones, figurines, plant stands and any other elements the artist has chosen to include. Even other bonsai on display nearby will have an effect on the way ours is perceived.
This is where the trouble can begin.
In our rush to create "great art and beauty," one very important, fact sometimes gets lost in the shuffle... The tree is the point. It is the only reason for all of the other items to be gathered together in the first place. If these elements are more "noticeable" than the tree itself, they will detract from its visual impact by competing for the viewers attention. An overly elaborate or inappropriate container selection can damage the appearance of a bonsai as surly as an Italian renaissance frame would detract from the appearance of a Picasso painting.How should you proceed? Should you scrape off all the moss, throw the figurines and rocks in a trash can and plant everything you own into a unglazed, brown rectangle? Hardly! It makes no more sense than suggesting that all paintings be placed in the same brown frame. What you must do is remember the prime directive... THE TREE IS THE POINT. By keeping things in focus, and taking a step back from our creations, we can insure that the selection of containers and accent items all make a positive contribution to our bonsai creation.
Listen to those who are looking at your creation. If you hear any of the following expressions, you are probably doing something right. "Wow!" "Nice composition." "Congratulations." "That pot works well with the tree." "That's really a walk in the woods." "The glaze on that pot really accents the bark nicely." "Your choice of a figurine gives it just the feeling it needed." "The accent plant and stand set the tree off nicely."
If the first comment a viewer makes about your tree contains any of the following phrases, it means you have probably placed the emphasis on something other than your bonsai. "Nice pot!" "The moss looks great." " Oh look at that cute little bunny back in the woods." "What are all the rocks for?" "Is that supposed to represent a river bed?" " What does the writing on the pot say?"
The Japanese precepts for selecting and using a container have created a solid ground work for pot selection. Beginners would do well to be guided by them. At the same time, it should be remembered that even the Japanese do not always adhere rigidly to these guidelines and that the selection of a container is as much a personal "feeling" as it is an adherence to rules and regulations. Remember that bonsai is art... not science. There is no right or wrong... only those things that work and those that do not work. It is your responsibility to make the elements work for you. Let the Japanese philosophy of "less is more," guide you in these matters.
The selection of an attractive, well made and proportional container can do much to increase a bonsai's beauty and value. If the tree and container are matched effectively the whole will magically become more valuable than the sum of its parts. At the same time, the placement of a $5 tree in a $500 pot, will not necessarily create a bonsai whose value is $505. Base your selection of a container, not on its price tag, but on its suitability and harmony with the tree.
This is not really as difficult as it might sound. Most of the guidelines applying to pot selection are common sense and will be instinctively understood by even the most elemental students of bonsai. It almost goes without saying that trees with massive trunks will look better in heavy containers. Likewise, trees with lighter elements belong in lighter and more delicate pots. A cascade style bonsai belongs in cascade style pot and not in a shallow tray. Forest plantings tend to look better and give a better feeling of depth if they are planted into low wide trays. It is almost unnecessary to write such rules down. A capable bonsai artist with a clear understanding of asymmetrical, balance and negative space will probably arrive at these conclusions by himself.
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This section is still under construction... Soon we will add something here about holes in pots and difference between terra cotta and stone ware. tokonoma ware and xi xing pottery.
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There is a large variety and diversity of containers which are available for use in the art of bonsai. We have noticed over the years that Japanese containers tend to be made to a very high and uniform standard. When unpacking a carton of Japanese pots you can usually depend upon all containers being exactly alike. Traditional Japanese pottery is elegant , subdued in nature and places a heavy emphasis unglazed or dull glazed containers. This is in complete contrast to bonsai pots of Chinese origin which often can feature elaborate design on the pots surface or bright glazes. Western potters too are making inroads into bonsai container design. Using ideas gleaned from both Japanese and Chinese designs they are creating containers which are equally as suitable for bonsai, but using western concepts of suitable clays, glazes and shapes.
Finally, it is well to remember that the selection of a pot for your tree does not need to be an absolute one. Periodically changing the container your tree is potted in can give the planting an entirely new look and is completely at harmony with the way our trees themselves change throughout the seasons and years.
General guidelines (not absolute rules)
for container selection:
1. A bonsai should be planted in a container deep enough to comfortably sustain its health and life. (This rule supersedes all other rules.)
2. An unglazed container is always correct for any tree and almost mandatory for evergreen bonsai.
3. Glazed containers are usually reserved for deciduous trees or trees which bear flowers or fruit. Color usually complements some element of the tree.
4. Trees which exhibit "masculine" design elements should be planted in containers which are angular. Such elements might include, angular trunk movement, sharp downward branch movement or extensive use of jin and shari.
5. Trees which exhibit "feminine" design elements are best planted in containers with soft flowing lines. Such elements might include gentle trunk movement, curving branch patterns or rounded crowns.
6. For most bonsai the width of the pot should be a little more than 2/3 the total height of the tree.
7. In situation where the tree is wider than it is tall, the container width should be slightly less than 2/3 the spread of the left and right branches.
8. The depth (top to bottom) of a pot should be about the same as the width of the trunk base at its widest point (unless this rule conflicts with rule #7 or #1).
9. The width of a container (front to back) should be slightly narrower than the spread of the longest branches in the front and back.
10. The container selected should always be subordinate to the tree planted in it. i.e. - Keep it simple!