Selecting Containers For Bonsai

Selecting
Containers
For Bonsai
Selecting
Containers For
Bonsai
By Randy Clark Charlotte, NC
Artistic Considerations
Selecting an appropriate container for bonsai involves the same thought and careful consideration as the
selection of the frame for a painting. In both cases the decisions made can enhance or detract from the final impact
the work will have on those who view it.
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 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 retail
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 student 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 who has spent even a little time in reading and has a
clear understanding of balance and proportion will probably arrive at these conclusions by themselves.
Horticultural Considerations
While a container is the “frame” for the bonsai “painting,” it is also the “home” in which the tree will be living for
a long time. Bear in mind that growing a tree in a container is an unnatural environment for it. When God created little green apple trees (and all the other trees for that
matter), his plan was to grow them in the ground. It was
man who came up with the idea of putting them in pots.
Aesthetic shape not withstanding, all bonsai containers are
specifically engineered to provide an optimal environment
for the trees roots to grow in. Even so, the containerization process places the tree’s root system at a considerable disadvantage and in a situation where damage may
more easily occur.
When selecting a container, the foremost concern
must be for the health and safety of the root system.
The tree must be provided with enough growing room to
sustain its health and vigor. If this very important aspect is
ignored, it will very shortly not matter how artistically well
the tree harmonizes with the selected container. Newcomers, in their rush to achieve artistic perfection, are notoriThis dwarf Hinoki cypress is 5 inches tall. It has been
planted on the extreme left of a low, narrow tray. The
negative space on the right of the container along with the
gradual rise in soil elevation serves to focus the viewers
attention on the tree. Selection of a container is very much
like selection of a frame for a painting. It should work in
harmony with the bonsai.
The container at left is the basic, quintessential Japanese bonsai
pot... unglazed brown clay with little or no ornamentation. Below
is a copy of an antique Chinese container by German potter
Peter Krebs. Chinese pots are commonly made from red clays
and are often decorated with simple designs or calligraphy.
ous for “rushing” their trees into containers which may look
great, but are too small to maintain the health of the tree.
Remember, it may often be best to temporarily set artistic
considerations aside and overpot a tree until such time as
it has developed horticulturally.
The Japanese Standard
Today bonsai containers are readily available in a
wide variety of shapes, colors and sizes. In the beginning only Japanese containers were available in the
West. These were, and continue to be, manufactured to a
uniform standard. Traditional Japanese pottery is elegant,
subdued and place a heavy emphasis on containers which
are either unglazed or dull glazed. They have become the
standard by which all other bonsai pottery is measured.
In recent years containers of Chinese and Korean
manufacture have begun appearing in the Western marketplace. These non-Japanese containers still bear a
marked Asian influence in their design and tend to follow
established Japanese patterns. Western potters are also
making inroads into bonsai container design. Using ideas
The possible shapes and designs for bonsai containers are limitless. All, however, will incorporate feet, drainage holes and a
conservative use of ornamentation designed to harmonize and not detract from the tree planted in it.
Bonsai containers need not be
boring... just subdued as this
remarkable dragon container
by German potter, Peter Krebs,
proves.
gleaned from traditional Japanese and Chinese techniques, they are creating containers which are equally as
suitable for bonsai, but make use of domestic clays and
glazes. These Western made pots often demonstrate new
approaches and viewpoints which reflect western concepts
of shape and design.
Mechanical Considerations
Regardless of its appearance or point of manufacture, any container intended for use in bonsai must
incorporate two important elements usually not found in
ordinary pottery. The first is the creation of substantial
drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. This is important
because perfect drainage is a key element in maintaining the trees’ health. Without holes the water would be
trapped and roots would begin to rot. Secondly, all bonsai
containers must have feet which hold them just slightly
off the surface of the growing bench. Not only do the feet
provide a little clearance for the drainage holes to do their
job, but they also allow air to circulate under the pot and
help to keep the root system cool.
In terms of quality, containers used for bonsai span
a wide range from very cheap to very expensive. These
prices reflect not only the artistic aspects of the pot, but
also the quality and skill used in its manufacture. Any
given bonsai usually passes through a series of containers
during the course of its lifetime. They can span a range
from cheap plastic to high quality Tokonameware. As the
tree develops in appearance and age the natural tendency
is to provide a container of better quality. Bonsai people
are fond of saying that the tree has matured to the point
where it “deserves” a more expensive container.
Pottery, whether intended for the dinner table or
for bonsai, fall into three general categories. terra cotta;
stoneware and porcelain. These three classifications are
general references to the temperature and length of time
the potters raw clay (known as green ware) was heated
(fired) in the kiln.
Terra cotta pottery is at the bottom of the ladder. It
is fired at a relatively low temperature and only for a short
while. This results in a pot with clay that is more porous
and allows water and water salts to leach through the
walls of the container. Such pots are generally unsuitable
for bonsai use because they discolor quickly, decompose
easily and are subject to freeze damage during the winter
months.
Most containers used for bonsai generally fall under
the classification of stoneware. Stone ware pots are fired
for longer periods and at higher temperatures than terra
cotta. This causes them to be harder and less permeable
Higher quality, hand
made stone ware
is often signed by
the artist and bears
his personal (or the
kiln’s official) “Chop
Mark” on the bottom
of the container.
This Chinese made container incorporates a banded design
with a bamboo motif at the top edge. The decoration is
designed to give a distinctive look to the container while at
the same time remaining subdued.
molded pot can vary greatly depending upon the amount
of time the manufacturer allowed the slip to remain in the
mold before removing the excess. This means the quality
can vary greatly.
to water. Even though stoneware is a vast improvement
over terra cotta, there can also be a great variance in the
quality of stoneware containers.
The final category is porcelain. Generally, dishes and
kitchen ware are made of porcelain. It is fired at extremely
high temperatures
and results in an
extremely dense, and
very hard finished
product. Occasionally porcelain bonsai
containers can be
found, but they are
not common.
The second method is press moulding. This is
also sometimes referred to as injection moulding. In this
method a sheet or heavy slurry of clay is forced into a
mold using two interlocking molds. This method is the
one generally used for better quality pots produced for the
mass marketplace. It usually results in a container with
sharper, cleaner edges and produces a uniform clay thickness for every pot coming out of the mold.
When trying to
discern the quality
and durability of a
bonsai container it is
advisable to consider
the way in which it
was manufactured.
The cheapest
way to produce a pot
is through a process
called slip molding.
In this method, the
liquid clay, or slip, is
poured into a mold
and swished around
causing it to adhere
to the walls of the
mold. The excess
is then dumped out.
After the clay hardens
it can be removed
from the mold for the
drying and firing process. The thickness
in the walls of a slip
The cascade container at the top is certainly distinctive in appearance,
but would be too bright and busy for use as a bonsai pot. The cascade
pot at left features a bamboo motif and is much more subdued in nature.
Nevertheless, a bonsai planted into it would need to be carefully selected
to insure harmony between tree and pot.
The final category are handmade
containers. These
are the most time
consuming to produce. Some are
made using a potters
wheel and others are
cut and assembled
one piece at a time
from rolled sheets of
clay. Since this is the
only method in which
the hand and eye of
the artist are totally
in control of the final
product, such pots are
labor intensive and
of a very high quality.
Most hand made bonsai pots will contain a
chop mark on the bottom of the container
indicating the kiln of
manufacture or will be
signed by the artist.
Its worth noting
that the term used
by bonsai people to
reference very high
grade pottery from
Japan is “Tokonameware.” “Yi Xing ware”
is the same term for
high grade Chinese
pottery. These terms
Japanese flowering Apricot, Prunus mume, standing 16
inches tall and planted into a Chinese copy of an antique
Japanese pot. Note that the shape and movement of the
container add mass and stability to the planting. Also
note that the design, complements rather than interferes
with the visual impact of the whole planting.
Innovation is a good ingredient for bonsai pottery. In this photo, the containers
feet have been carved to resemble pine cones. At left the containers feet have a
bamboo motif and below a scroll or cloud motif. Keeping it simple doesn’t have
to mean keeping it dull.
are somewhat misleading because Tokoname and Yi Xing
are geographical areas in Japan and China where a large
number of both very good and very bad manufacturers of
pottery are located.
Keep It Simple!
Unglazed containers with minimal ornamentation
on the pot are the preferred standard for most bonsai. In
the case of Japanese pots, the clay used is a dark brown.
In the case of Chinese containers it is a dark earth red.
Western potters adhere to these standards as well but
also produce pots made from regional clays that reflect a
wide variety of earth tones ranging from dark greys to egg
yellows.
When shopping for containers with a glazed finish it
is worth noting that the preference among bonsai growers
is for pots that have dull, subdued glazes. There are two
reasons for this. First, a dull, understated glaze on a container is less likely to upstage and draw attention away
from the tree planted in it. Secondly, dull glazed pots can
only be achieved by high temperature firing; which, in
turn, probably indicates a
better quality pot.
When considering a
pot with ornamentation it
is best to select something
on the conservative side.
Ornately decorated containers draw the viewers
attention away from the
tree they contain. Since
the tree must be the main
focal point in any bonsai
composition, use of overly
ornate containers would
not be in keeping with the
“less is more” philosophy
at the heart of all bonsai.
Containers which feature
subdued designs of varying
types.
This is not to say that a pottery has to be boring in order to useful with bonsai. Just try and remember that the
essence of bonsai’s spirit is simplicity. Such designs are
not hard to find. Indeed, many Japanese pots will contain
design elements such as bullet motifs or bands resembling
bamboo. Others have interesting feet, corners, lips or
subtle imprints in the surface of the clay. When selecting
a container one should look for design elements which,
in addition to being compatible with the tree, are unique
and understated. Such designs add interest to the whole
without detracting from the total composition.
As an example, dragons are a popular item among
bonsai people and many containers for bonsai feature
them. A pot with a twisting, turning serpent might work
well with a tree whose primary aspect was a twisting, turning trunk. It would also be completely inappropriate for a
forest planting or a more upright tree.
A grass or bamboo design etched into the surface of
a pot might harmonize well with a forest grouping or with a
wildflower, kusomono type compositions. Many possibilities exist but the ultimate choice belongs to the artist. In
making that choice it is well to remember that the guidelines which govern the selection of bonsai containers have
been developed over many hundreds of years. They have
not changed greatly for centuries and are still followed
today, primarily because they work.
If the container you select has feet and drainage
holes and provides enough growing room for the trees
roots then you have met all of the pot’s horticultural requirements. What remains to be determined is the aesthetic appearance of the pot and how well it will harmonize
with the tree planted in it. The “finished” bonsai is not a
miniature tree independent of its container, but the combination of the pot and tree together. Which container the
artist finally selects should be based on the guidelines set
forth below.
This excellent American designed stoneware container has a
dull glaze on its surface as well as a very faint grass pattern
etched into the clay. The design is elegant, understated and
will make an excellent home for someone’s beloved bonsai.
The Japanese have a saying. “Less is more.” It
means that the simpler you can make a thing, the more impact it will have. Containers used for bonsai are traditionally understated and always defer aesthetically to the tree
planted in them. Remember this when you are picking out
your pot.
It is also well to remember that the selection of a container does not need to be a final one. Periodically changing the tree’s container can give the bonsai an entirely new
look. Since there really is no such thing as a “finished”
bonsai this is completely at harmony with the way our trees
themselves change throughout the seasons and years.
General Guidelines
For Container Selection
Below, containers for sale at a local bonsai nursery. The
choices for bonsai containers are almost as limitless as the
choices for creating bonsai themselves.
With the exception of number one, it should be
remembered that these are guidelines, not hard fast rules
and are not set in stone. Bonsai is art... not science. In
order to grow and develop it needs the ability to remain
fluidic. What few rules it does have therefore function best
when they are allowed to bend and on occasion break.
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 visually
subordinate to the tree planted in it. i.e. - Keep it simple!
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 usually mandatory for evergreen bonsai.
3. Glazed containers are usually reserved for deciduous trees or trees which bear flowers or fruit. The color of
the glaze is selected to compliment 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.
NOTE: This article and images it
contains were written and photographed
by Randy Clark, resident bonsai artist at
the Bonsai Learning Center in Charlotte,
NC. They are intended for private use
only. Reproduction of this material for
commercial purposes is strictly prohibited
without the written consent of the author.
© 2000 Bonsai Learning Center, All Rights Reserved