Chinese privet in a new pot

I have had this little tree 3-4 years now. Its old pot was about twice as large, a bright blue cheap Chinese bathtub-shaped pot, ugly as sin.

The new pot is an old Japanese pot acquired at a shohin show at the Ueno Green Club.

The tree stands 4 1/4 inches from the pot rim.

Nice pot.....

Nice guy.

NOW Thats a bonsai ! i like the new pot.. is this one collected??? take care john

It was a cutting, John. Thanks.

lovely old looking trunk on a young tree - and the pot does it total credit, very nice

Lovely tree,beautiful pot, but do they work together? Would not a shallower pot do the tree more credit? Just my opinion,I may be wrong.

i think the pot works really well, but the stand is wrong to be honest, so the two together make the pot look too big

Bob Bailey wrote:
Lovely tree,beautiful pot, but do they work together? Would not a shallower pot do the tree more credit? Just my opinion,I may be wrong.

Pot proportions with mame have to be a bit different. If you kept the same pot-to-tree ratio for the tiny ones, none of them would live. You'll see this is true for most mame, and the ones you see in truly tiny pots, usually have been planted in those pots for the 2-3 days of a show or for the photo session and go back into larger pots immediately thereafter. This tree probably will live in this pot, at least until cold weather, when they all are lifted from their pots and set in a large tub filled with pine mulch where they will stay, virtually unwatered by anyone other than Ma Nature, until spring.

Unlike larger bonsai, the pot is a distinct part of the image with the tinier trees. Many mame pots are much brighter colored or heavily decorated than pots used for larger trees. The pots are part of the enjoyment I get out of my tiny trees. Good mame pots are almost impossible to find over here. Michael Hagedorn used to make a few, but I've seen very few other potters that bother to work on them over here.

marcus watts wrote:i think the pot works really well, but the stand is wrong to be honest, so the two together make the pot look too big

I agree, but you use what you have. This tree-and-pot combo is actually too large for most of my mame stands.

Here's a not-quite-ready tiny Buxus mycrophylla that is a more typical pot/stand proportion. This tree will NOT live in this pot.

With a typical pot-to-plant ratio, the middle pot (another old Japanese pot) might be a better choice for the larger tree, but it would not support the plant, so I use the larger pot.

The little tree on the left is the prototype for the bigger tree. It has been in a pot this size (usually, this pot) for about 8 years now. It is small enough that I have a perpetual difficulty keeping a half-way decent canopy on it. , It's either half way there or regressing now. When I have shown the smaller tree it is usually in the middle pot. The pot it is in is an adequate but undistinguished mame pot available over here (USA), though I suspect it is Chinese.



I try to keep a few empty mini pots. At least half of these wer not designed to be bonsai pots. I've drilled holes in teacups, small dishes for shoyu sauce, ikebana trays, and other bits and pieces of ceramic and made them do. (I may have shown these before.)

I can,t agree with your argument on Mame pot/tree ratios.I keep and exhibit only Mame and have done so for the last three years. I have about 20 exhibition quality trees and each and every one of them are kept in their small exhibition pots from March to the end of October when they are then dropped into larger pots for the winter. The trees are watered,misted and fed every day and I have yet to lose a tree because of the size of the pot.
I do realise the the asthetics of tree pot combinations and display and it is something I study all the time to strive for the best display possible,this after studying for four years with my tutor and friend Natsuo kobayashi who has exhibited Shohin in all the major shows in Japan. The most important thing he taught me was that you will never achieve the perfect tree/display or tree/ pot combination and listen and learn as there will always be someone with more knowledge than YOU! I hope I have heeded this advice and it is the reason I accept advice from any source.
If you are having trouble obtaining good quality Mame pots,try Happy-Bonsai,a Japanese company on ebay with excellent pots at reasonable prices and in most cases postage free. I have used them and they are very reliable.

I can,t agree with your argument on Mame pot/tree ratios.I keep and exhibit only Mame and have done so for the last three years. I have about 20 exhibition quality trees and each and every one of them are kept in their small exhibition pots from March to the end of October when they are then dropped into larger pots for the winter.

Maybe our differences stem from the differences in our climate. Daytime temps here in the summer range from 30 C to 35 C. . . . but anyway, I'd love to see some of your little trees. I get so VERY tired of seeing all these huge behemoths everyone seems to show off here.

JimLewis wrote:

I can,t agree with your argument on Mame pot/tree ratios.I keep and exhibit only Mame and have done so for the last three years. I have about 20 exhibition quality trees and each and every one of them are kept in their small exhibition pots from March to the end of October when they are then dropped into larger pots for the winter.

Maybe our differences stem from the differences in our climate. Daytime temps here in the summer range from 30 C to 35 C. . . . but anyway, I'd love to see some of your little trees. I get so VERY tired of seeing all these huge behemoths everyone seems to show off here.

Bob Baileys trees have been shown here from just bout every major UK exhibition. Page 3 here for a start Jim. https://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t5694p30-2011-9th-swindon-winter-image-show-pictures?highlight=swindon+winter+image

Hi Jim
A tip my tutor Natsuo gave me for Mame and Shohin, is during the hot summer months is to bury the pots in gravel trays to give the trees extra humidity. This method I think would work even in your summer temperatures and will give the trees more health and vigour. The only problem with this method and it is a good problem is that because of the extra vigour the roots of the trees will grow through the drainage holes into the gravel ,so if you wish to show the tree it will mean cutting the surplus roots and cleaning the the pot. A small price to pay for very healthy trees I think. Hope this helps
Bob

Like Bob I keep my Shohin and Mame in their pots from spring to winter. I am sure different climates may demand another way around the problem keeping the trees healthy during hot dry summers, if you do not have a full time employee around for that
The tree just have to be placed in an appropriate sized container for exhibitions then, without demanding roots pruning much.
I do like the colour of the pot Jim which is beautiful, and I also do think it is a little large for exhibition purpose any way.

I use a tray with a layer of pebbles to place the smallest trees in, having a little water in it to add humidity during the hot season. This year though have been more like keeping water out because it has been the second most raining period ever! (Almost didn't need any pots at all, if that was the only benefit of them).

I a Mame nursery in Japan this summer, I observed how even very very tine Mame was kept in very small pots. They were placed in a tray with a plastic grass mat and with water in it. Roots growing out of the hole in the bottom too, but the trees coped very well with the extreme heat there any way. So I think most places this is possible.
Pictures below from the Japanese nursery in Angyo.

Regards
Morten

I do that in the winter (in pine-bark mulch), but I lift them from their pots, then trim roots hard in spring. Probably should do it in the summer, too. Thanks.