by Midge Goeth

When we think about Bonsai, most of the time we envision the tree. Be it deciduous, evergreen, large, small, formal, cascade, literati, we concentrate on the plant material. And we should. Proper attention to plant health is extremely important as is the pruning, styling, and general maintenance of our trees. Most of us are involved in the hobby of growing Bonsai because of the pleasure and gratification that comes with looking at our trees after years of "fussin'" over them.

A very big component of that final specimen is the pot in which it is planted and displayed. Have you ever looked at one of your trees and suddenly said, "Oh, my gosh! That tree needs a different pot." It certainly has happened to me, and of course, I want to immediately find the right pot. It is amazing how the proper pot can make a ho-hum plant become a YES Bonsai.

We are very fortunate to have Linda Kossmann in our club. She has been very generous donating her time and artistic talents to us in the form of pottery workshops. Last month we met at the Cave Hill maintenance barn for a morning of creative clay. Using a method known as pinch pots, we made wonderful bonsai pots with nothing more than a lump of clay, our own creativity, and lots of help from Linda. After a short demo-lecture, she turned us loose to make our own pots. She then took them to her kiln and fired them for us. We now have perfect pots to put perfect trees in. I've been told there will be a special exhibit of these works of art with the perfect trees in them. (Stay tuned for dates and location)

How do you select the right pot? The pot you choose for your bonsai is as important as the kind of tree you use and the pruning that you do. Its color, shape and texture can mean the difference between having a tree in a pot and having a subtle, yet vibrant showing for your work.

Here are a few pointers.

1. Remember that, in bonsai, a 'pot' can be a very loose term. A pot can be a hollowed-out log, a homemade cedar box, a crevice in a rock, a flat piece of slate or a porcelain or earthenware planter created especially for bonsai. As always with bonsai, look for a design that almost speaks for itself.
2. Try a few of these basic ideas for the more traditional pots, but don't adhere too strongly to any given set of offered circumstances.
3. Select a wide and shallow pot to keep the attention on the planting itself. The wide, flat planting gives the feeling of calm serenity found in the deep forest.
4. Find a container whose length is about two-thirds the height of the tree. If the tree is wider than it is tall, use the width as your gauge for the pot size - a planter with a width two-thirds the height of the tree.
5. Look for a planter with a depth of approximately 1 1/2 times the trunk diameter.
6. Choose a tall pot with a narrow opening for a cascadestyle planting. It allows for the overhang without the need of a special stand or table edge to provide clearance for the low-hanging branches.
7. Use colors that complement the tree - a brightly colored pot for a flowering tree or for a deciduous tree that has stunning fall leaves, or more muted and solemn colors for a pine or cedar.
8. Look at the bark of your tree. If it has a rough texture, a bit of texture on the pot itself works well.

Remember that no pot is permanent. Your tree will require repotting over the course of time to keep it from becoming root bound.

Keep these basic bonsai styles in mind when selecting your pot:

formal upright
informal upright
cascade
semi-cascade
literati or other slanted styles
group or forest plantings

While researching bamboo for use as a fence in my new garden, I came across these interesting facts.

• Bamboo is a fascinating material due to its incredible strength, regenerative properties, and its natural aesthetic beauty. In structural engineering tests, bamboo has a higher tensile strength than many alloys of steel, and a higher compressive strength than many mixtures of concrete! It even has a higher strength to weight ratio than graphite.
• Bamboo has been used as the standard building material for the majority of the world for thousands of years. There are many examples of buildings constructed entirely of bamboo which are now several hundred years old. Due to their strength, these structures have even withstood 9.0 magnitude earthquakes!
• Typical hardwood lumber trees, such as the ones used in conventional wood fencing, take 30-50 years to regenerate to their full mass. In the meantime, there is less oxygen produced, less carbon dioxide consumed, and more soil runoff in the spot where that tree was harvested - all producing negative environmental effects.
• On the other hand, bamboo is the fastest growing plant on Earth. Some species have actually been measured to grow over 4 feet in 24 hours. A pole of bamboo can regenerate to its full mass in just six months! Bamboo can be continuously re-harvested every 3 years, without causing damage to the plant system and surrounding environment. During the time it takes to regenerate, the bamboo plant's root system stays intact so erosion is prevented. Continuous harvesting of this woody grass every 3-7 years actually improves the overall health of the plant.
• It is believed that if bamboo were planted on a mass basis, it could completely reverse the effects of global warming in just 6 years, and provide a renewable source of food, building material, and erosion prevention.