Imported Pot Troubles

[MelaQuin]

Pot 1 (1).jpg

Pot 1.jpg

No, this is NOT an old pot. In fact, it is not even 2 weeks in use. I paid $18 for it, brought it home and repotted my tree. in less than a week the salts were leaching through. There's no sense in complaining to the nursery as this is not the first pot this has happened to nor will it be the last.

Due to the high cost of fuel the Chinese are putting pots in kilns at lower temperatures and for a shorter time so the clay isn't properly sealed. I'm not a potter and I don't know the terms but the results are plain to see. This happens whether it is the matt brown or a glaze... the salts leach through. And no sense complaining to the nursery, which is highly reputable, because they are bearing the brunt of this 'disaster'. Complaining customers like me, no redress from the suppliers and no help for their last shipment that arrived with 50% of the pots chipped.

What I am trying to get across is the importance in getting your hands on any old pots, and that's not antique but pots older than 2 years when the firing was higher and longer. Look on sale tables, wherever. How can you tell how old a pot is? Hard, agreed. But look at the finish and the feet. Older pots are better made, finer features, less imperfections. The pot in the photographs was the best of a questionable lot as the corners are uneven, the finish leaves a bit to be desired and overall it just doesn't have that extra bit of refinement that was available one or two years ago.

The nurserymen can only get what they can get.... no sense going crook at them. I have been advised that WD40 will remove this. I will have to try various ways to get it off. I will even go to the hardware store and see about getting a sealer to put on the inside of the pots.

But just be warned. This pot is not an isolated bit of bad luck... this is more than likely the future. So encourage all local potters by inspiring them and buying their pots, learn ways of dealing with this and keep your eyes out for older pots that are better made.

If you have a brown pot that is chipped, gentle application of the finer side of a knife sharpening stone will help smooth it and oiling the pot will minimise the obviousness of it.

[Bretts]

That is after two weeks wow. How salty is your water? I would not know the technical term either but when a pot is fired at high temperatures it all melts and forms a solid. Much like sand forming glass. At lower temps this is not complete and the pot is not water proof. We don't have to worry about it here much but in Countries that get really cold it can be an issue. The water is soaked up by the wall of the pot and when it freezes it breaks the pot. Terracotta is this way and that is why I love them the wall of the pot holds water and through transpiration the pot stays cooler. They can't use terracotta in the countries where it gets real cold they just break apart.
Terracotta pots are very permeable and I would be surprised if these could possibly worse and My terracotta pots that have been in use a couple of years don't have salt on them like that?
Maybe a little on the rim and the bottom but the way yours is makes me wonder how salty or hard or whatever the word is your water is?
I have actually been after a bonsai pot that works like a terracotta pot the trees love them.

[cactuscandy2004]

A lot of the pottery coming into the country is once fired, and at low temperatures. A lot of it is not vitrified, hence the leaching of salts. Bisque ware is fired at approx. 1000 degrees, terracotta at approx. 1100 degrees, stoneware at approx. 1200 degrees. One way to distinguish the quality of fire is to tap the pot. The higher the ring, the more vitrified the clay body. Buy Australian is another good option.

[Pup]

Peter Odin of the Bonsai Emporium here in the West has told us to weather them. That is to put them out in the open and let the rain --watering helps and sun get to them he says that will stop that. As we had a similar problem.
It does work, but varies in time I had a couple where I had tree's in them it did take two years before it was presentable.

Bob Asquith of Asquith's Bonsai taught me the way to tell a quality pot from other's I have tried this with pots and it works.

It is quirky though.If you have two pots that are similar. You want to know which is the better.
The ring test is good for cracks also, but as I said quirky hold the pot to your tongue, and gently apply pressure. You will feel a definite pull, from a quality pot.
I am serious it does work.
I have pots that are high quality ( should say Sue does ) and some that are similar the tongue test tells us which is which. Do not use your tongue on the glazed surface.

Pup

[daiviet_nguyen]

Hi,

Thank you for the warnings.

Best regards.

[MelaQuin]

Sydney's water is not salty and I am only having this problem with recent pot purchases, none of the older pots have ever shown this trait. I have spoken about this to my favourite bonsai nursery and shoulders are shrugged and related problems aired but there is no hint of restitution as 'this is the way things now are'.
So buy older pots when you find them!!!!

[kcpoole]

Curious I say.
I agree with the suggestion that we should fix this by buying Australian if we can

[Bretts]

I just find it hard to understand if the problem in permeability then why does this not show up on terracotta pots? I also feel that if trees love terracotta pots apart from the ugly look if these pots are allowing transpiration then that would keep the pot cooler and that can be a good thing for our growing conditions.
I don't mean to disagree Lee but these are my questions

[Jow]

While i was in Japan i saw trees grown in both Terracotta and Chinese pots. Over the winter when ice would form and snow would fall the Chinese pots would ex foliate their glazes and also crack. The terracotta would not. I have no idea why this is but just an observation i made. A lot of Stock trees in Japan are grown in terracotta.

[bodhidharma]

I dont know if this any help but Korea is producing some nice pots.