One of the best ways to refine your sense of which pots are a good match for a given tree is to try out different alternatives. This is especially true for trees with unusual shapes or features.
In the case of the ume below, I can use a deep round (or square, or hexagonal) pot to match the semi-cascade form of the tree. As a deciduous tree, a glazed container is a natural fit, but as a tree with prominent deadwood, an unglazed container might also be a good match.
Before looking at the options below, do any specific pot shapes, styles, or colors come to mind?
Semi-cascade ume
Here are the containers I had to choose from. As I’m not planning to show the tree anytime soon, it doesn’t need to go into a perfectly sized pot. My current development goal is to make the silhouette slightly larger and increase the overall twigginess.
As you evaluate the options below, try to focus on pot color, shape, and style rather than size. In other words, if you could make any of the pots below the perfect size, which would you want to use for a winter exhibit? (The flowers are double pink, if that helps.)
Option 1 – Michael Hagedorn
Option 2 – 2nd generation Yamaaki
Option 3 – new Chinese
Option 4 – Tokoname
Option 5 – Ikko
Option 6 – Eight-sided Tokoname
Option 7 – training pot
Option 8 – Antique Japanese
Option 9 – Imported square
Option 10 – Jan Rentenaar
Although I prefer some options better than others, I don’t know that I find any of the options to be a perfect match for the tree.
- Option 1 (Hagedorn) is a beautiful container but is more refined than I’d like to accompany the craggy bark and deadwood.
- Option 2 (Yamaaki) is good fit but a darker shade of brown or a clay with more color might provide more interest.
- Option 3 (new Chinese) almost looks tippy and makes the trunk look small.
- Option 4 (Tokoname) is better than 3 but the wide lip makes the trunk look small.
- Option 5 (Ikko) is closer but like 3 and 4 the flare at the lip makes the trunk look small.
- Option 6 (Tokoname) makes me think the eight-sided design could be a good fit for the tree, but it the thick lip creates a heavy feeling for the twiggy tree.
- Option 7 (training pot) is a surprisingly good fit for the tree, but it lacks the quality and craftsmanship I’d like to see in a show pot.
- Option 8 (antique Japanese) is in interesting option that looked better than I expected but it feels heavy for the tree (I think it’d be great with a conifer of similar shape and style).
- Option 9 (imported) feels heavy for the tree and I don’t know that the color goes well with the pink flowers.
- Option 10 (Rentenaar) is a good fit for the tree if the goal is to present it in a contemporary design. If it were a bit smaller I’d consider using it in an exhibit.
I ended up using the eight-sided pot as I want to give the roots some extra space to help the tree gain strength while I focus on improving the silhouette. Although it’s heavier than I’d like, it’s not as deep as some of the other containers and it’s the right size overall.
Ume in an eight-sided container.
If and when I decide to show the tree next, I’ll plan to run through the same exercise with whatever pots I have on hand at the time. Until then, I’m looking forward to getting the tree back into shape!
Subscribe to Bonsai Tonight
New Posts Delivered Every Tuesday and Friday
Mats Hagstrom says
Jonas,
These pot selection exercises are really helpful. So again, thank you.
There are so many variables to take into consideration.
I went through the list and came up with some similar conclusions. (Maybe I’m slowly getting a little better at this? )
I found the angle of the deadwood trunk and the first (lowest) branch to make the selection challenging.
The sides of some pots like #3 are too close to parallel to the main deadwood trunk and/or perpendicular to the first branch. I also found the tree looking unstable in the more obtuse or open pits and more secure in #2, and some pots do look large.
I liked the Hagedorn pot and anticipated it would look great while flowering. That was my first choice.
I’m beginning to recognize the importance of having a good pot inventory and how much goes into pot selection.
From Tokyo wishing you the very best,
Mats
Jonas Dupuich says
Thanks, Mats – hope you’re having a great trip!
MJ says
So many good choices on this one. Great material.
ceolaf says
Hagerdorn pot.
Clearly, you’ve chosen to treat it as a confier, but I like the color of the hagerdorn pot. It’s not like you need to worry about overshadowing some dull winter conifer foliage. Find something with color, dammit!
Of the rest? Yeah, the octogonal pot is the best. It’s a shallower pot and I think that works for this tree.
I would ask, analyically, what would the case for any of these pots be? What woudl you be trying to accomplish? The reds of so many of these pots have nothing to play off of with the greys of the tree. And the greys are just blending. There’s not enough clear interplay between black bark and white (or grey) deadwood for me to see how a big b&w mass helps.
This is a tree that might be shown in flower, right? It should have a pot that can pair with flowers. That means color and shine. I don’t see the existance of deadwood as calling for red pots, as there’s no red live vein or bark.
So, if you are hunting? Something with color that can stand up to flowers, but not so bright that it overshadows the tree when not in flower. And given that the mass of the tree (in winter silhoette) is over the pot, rather than off to the side a less deep semi-cascade pot, rather than a deeper one. I see angles, not curves. Many of them, not a small number of simple lines. So, echo that with…well, something with many sides seems like it works.
Jonas Dupuich says
Ha! If I were showing it two weeks ago, I’d have opted for the Hagedorn (assuming it made sense with any other trees/containers in the display).
Ume are displayed in unglazed pots about as frequently as in glazed pots in Kokufu (at a glance, at least), and since that’s how I’m used to seeing them, they’re a natural choice (the bark is often more conifer-like than deciduous-like).
As for the reds and grays, I’d first have to think about what to do with the deadwood. I don’t see bright white as often as more muted colors, and I’d want to see the tree with treated deadwood (it needs it these days) to see what the combo looks like. Then there’s the flowers – I don’t know if some of the muted tones would make sense with lots of pink, if I were luck enough to get lots of flowers in a given year (the tree doesn’t always bloom like crazy).