Best Type Of Tree In A Pot For A Shaded Area

I managed to get hold of a large Terracotta 16 inch pot for next to no money on fleabay....
and I want to plant a tree using the pot outside my front door / porch which is shaded but bright (but will never receive any direct sunlight) and would like to know if anyone has any recommendations for this type of area plus because it under the front porch it does not want to grow much taller then about 7 feet including the pot

I looked at many Acer's and I like most of them, the problem is still to try to create a focal point during the Winter months as well, for this reason I started to look at a Portuguese Laurel
but don't know if it would be suited for this area or weather another type of tree would be better?

 

I don't think a 16 inch pot is big enough for a tree intel and I don't think laurel would be suitable for a pot. At present I can't think of anything that grows tall enough that wouldn't have cramped roots in a pot that size, sorry!

 

I personally think a tree is the wrong way to go in a pot that size and also by your front door. Most trees want to be big and shouldn't be confined to a pot imo.

What you need is a shrub. There are lots of shrubs that can cope with full shade and would provide year round interest. How about a Fatsia Japonica or even a Box that has been trimmed into an interesting shape?

I should also add that I took a portugeues laural in a pot from a skip a few years back and I had a huge amount of difficulty getting it out the pot it was that pot bound. These shrubs want to grow to 20ft+ high and a little pot won't stop them from doing this.

 

Bay? (Topiaried as a Lolly Pop or somesuch)

 

Thank you all for the ideas, I guess a Lolly Pop box may look
just as appealing.

 

Well in the end, I brought a Japanese Anemone and 6 Cyclamen, not quite a tree outside
the front door, but very pleased with the result

 

And very nice it looks as well , great looking pot , seasonal by the door works well I do this with a half size whiskey barrel and have a 4 seasons planting .

 

You BOUGHT a Japanese Anenome! It's my third summer here and I'm still trying to kill the sodding things!