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| Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/Reed Estabrook |
| A potted tree can anchor and focus your garden, providing the elegance and prominence of statuary to an open setting. | When you think “container garden,” it’s often flowerpots and window boxes that first come to mind. But potted trees like Japanese maples, junipers, locust and citrus can really pack a punch of beauty and anchor a container garden by providing maturity, scale and permanence. Don’t let the idea of planting something as large as a tree intimidate you. Planting trees in containers is similar to planting anything else in a pot – though the pot is larger. And while you can plant trees any time of year, fall and spring are best because they give trees a better start to the growing season. All kinds of trees work in planters, but the best candidates are dwarf and slow-growing varieties. Conifers – especially evergreens – require less food and nutrients than broad-leaved species, and they tolerate root restriction better than most tree species. Pines and junipers are naturally adapted to dry soil – a condition that’s common in many containers. If you’re not sure what kind of tree to add to you container garden, ask a knowledgeable staff member at your local garden center or contact your local Cooperative Extension Service for recommendations on what thrives in planters in your area.
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| Photo Credit: ©2000 Dolezal Publishing/Image Point |
| The breadth and depth of a tree’s root ball will help you determine the correct container size. Place the container in its ultimate location before planting, unless you have the means to move it safely after planting. | Before you buy a tree, make sure that it isn’t root-bound. Most garden centers will assist you in partially removing a tree from its nursery pot. Avoid trees with circling roots. When you get the tree home, you can loosen the roots a bit more before planting by cutting 1-2 inches into the root ball vertically, using a sharp trowel. This will help the tree send fresh root growth into the surrounding soil rather than wind around itself. Once you’ve got the tree, pick a pot that’s sized right for it. (Or if you’ve already picked a pot, select a tree that’s the right size for the container.) The planter should be twice the width and depth of the plant’s existing root system. Another rule of thumb is to allow a foot in container diameter for every 4 feet of tree height.
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| Facts |
- Some trees that work well in containers include Norfolk Island pine, weeping birch, bottlebrush, katsura tree, false cypress, Mediterranean fan palm, fringe tree, yellowwood, sago palm, ginkgo, grevillea, common witch hazel, green ebony jacaranda, juniper, golden-chain tree, laurel, silver tree, star magnolia, sourwood, Persian ironwood, spruce, pine, Japanese umbrella pine, white pine, Chinese pistache, yew pine, Japanese pagoda tree, European mountain ash, Japanese snowbell and linden. You can learn about these – and other trees – by visiting the Learn2Grow Plant Database.
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| Tips |
- You may be able to overwinter some tropicals inside during the harsher months, but make sure pot and plant are small enough to move back and forth from season to season.
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| Faqs |
- Q: When is a tree a “standard?”
A: When it’s not a tree at all! “Standard” is just nursery speak for a shrub that’s been grafted into a treelike form by combining rootstock, sturdy limb stock for a pseudo-trunks, and the crown stock of the desired cultivar or variety, picked for its flowering or fruiting canopy.
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