AusBonsai

There was a post a few weeks ago, from a bonsai nut, who made his/her pots from concrete.
I can't find it. I want to try if I can? Thanks in advance mod.

Bush bunny

Was it this one? viewtopic.php?t=18344

Google papercrete and bonsai should find heaps of info on the web too

Ken

Bunny,

My wife is rather creative and she has made a couple of training pots from a mix of paper, cement and tile adhesive (cement based). It creates a nice mottled look to the pots. Once dry, it is sealed on the inside with a Bitumen or arcrylic waterproofer. I must admit that I do prefer the ceramic pots. It kept her busy for a while and although they are practical from a training pot perspective, I do not see them as pots for bonsai. Well, the pots my wife made. Although they are made very neatly. Maybe there are cement pots out there which are satisfactory for intermediate or advanced stages of bonsai, but I have not seen them. They have lasted well enough as it has been through a growing season and our wet winters and they still look solid. How long they last I can't tell you as she has not had them for very long.

I rather use plastic pots and seed trays as temporary training pots. Some producers also sell plastic bonsai pots for training. If you do want the ratios of ingredients, I will ask her for them. The pots are however only for training purposes in my opinion.

You can just make them, and make them frostproof.

Tropical zone, so I make them porous or non-porous. Can be coloured as the body goes, but will cure to very light.
Still have to test an exterior paint mix, so I can't give you any help there as of yet. However, you only need to paint the areas left bare after potting and not neccessarily the underneath.

Simple mix, cement / builder's sharp sand or you may call it Builder's gravel, it is a mix that will be dense, and if wanted to be denser, add some sand, to get an even tighter fit.
Just ask for a building /pillar concrete formula, and a formula for concrete in frost/winter areas.

Shapes are made from plastic containers that can fit inside each other [ can have a 1/4" to 1/2 wall thickness - should I use cm's in future ?] or wooden boxes, that are screwed together and after casting/ setting for 3 days or so, simply unscrewed.
Soak underwater for up to 6 weeks for a full cure and removal of excess alkalinity.

You can vibrate the mould for a super smooth finish or a coarser finish, experiment. Polish like terrazzo to get the pearskin look of Yi-xing clay pots. Just be willing to experiment.
Enjoy, it is extremely simple.
BUT then so is slab-building a clay Bonsai pot.
Until later.
Khaimraj [ Tambrand ]

* You can also use porcelain tiles, cut to shape.

Attached image 20 year old concrete pot

Tambrand wrote:You can just make them, and make them frostproof.

Tropical zone, so I make them porous or non-porous. Can be coloured as the body goes, but will cure to very light.
Still have to test an exterior paint mix, so I can't give you any help there as of yet. However, you only need to paint the areas left bare after potting and not neccessarily the underneath.

Simple mix, cement / builder's sharp sand or you may call it Builder's gravel, it is a mix that will be dense, and if wanted to be denser, add some sand, to get an even tighter fit.
Just ask for a building /pillar concrete formula, and a formula for concrete in frost/winter areas.

Shapes are made from plastic containers that can fit inside each other [ can have a 1/4" to 1/2 wall thickness - should I use cm's in future ?] or wooden boxes, that are screwed together and after casting/ setting for 3 days or so, simply unscrewed.
Soak underwater for up to 6 weeks for a full cure and removal of excess alkalinity.

You can vibrate the mould for a super smooth finish or a coarser finish, experiment. Polish like terrazzo to get the pearskin look of Yi-xing clay pots. Just be willing to experiment.
Enjoy, it is extremely simple.
BUT then so is slab-building a clay Bonsai pot.
Until later.
Khaimraj [ Tambrand ]

* You can also use porcelain tiles, cut to shape.

Attached image 20 year old concrete pot

You can also add Perlite or Peat to make it lighter, search "Hypertufa Pots" lots of tutorials and recipes ...

Thanks everyone, But I think this member was from Africa. But thank you, I'll search.I suspect you could put pebbles on the outside too.?

Bush bunny wrote:Thanks everyone, But I think this member was from Africa. But thank you, I'll search.I suspect you could put pebbles on the outside too.?

That would be Neli, I'd just drop her a PM and ask She experiments with a few different ways of makign them I believe.

As the others have said though, there is a heap of different ways online. I've tried a couple myself too

The link I posted is to Neli's thread

Hi bush bunny, an interesting site to Google is "ATELIER BONSAI ELEMENT". It may not be the type of things you require, but I found it a very interesting search through his site. this was mentioned in one of the "Bonsai Focus " magazines a while back. Miyagiman.