Recommend a Tree to grow in a pot for patio

I'd go for the biggest and heaviest pot you can find, the weight is important as tall plants in pots will topple over very easily.

It's a pain in the bum to try to persuade a big plant from it's pot for repotting, so my lazy option is to pot straight into the permanent pot. If the plant is not filling it up quickly, it can be lifted out in spring and the compost refreshed during the early years.

I have a selection of these, the 53cm is huge so will be the forever home to my Arbutus Unedo Compacta with some underplanting.

 

Peach trees have nice flowers in my opinion

 

OP here again. Thanks folks, went to a nursery today with the below list of trees/plants to see:

They had most of them but for a couple of them they did have, the staff member said they would not be variety to end up lollipop style - not sure if that makes sense or not.

Anyway we decided to go with an Olive tree - see picture.
It’s currently in a plastic pot that it came with.

1. Olive Tree
2. Bay Tree
3. Euonymus
4. Standard Oleander
5. Ceanothus

The guy there said to get a bigger pot, fill it with around an inch or so of polystyrene bits or gravel/stones then add the plant and fill the extra space with peat free compost before topping with more smaller stones.

I need to go and look for a pot we like and that’s a bigger size.

I would still like to get another one of the aforementioned trees that has a bit more colour and can be shaped if not already in a lollipop style. So I may need to check another nursery.

Thanks for all the advice so far.

 

That looks a lovely healthy specimen.

Peat free compost is very variable. A lot of it is absolute rubbish. If you can get any with peat in, I would. And as it is a long-term container plant, I would definitely buy a bag of good quality top soil to mix in with it, at about 50:50. I personally never bother with polystyrene bits. Just stones will be fine to assist drainage.

Bear in mind, once planted up the pot will be quite heavy, so putting it in its final position before starting is a good idea.

 

Your tree will be in its pot for a long time. My olive has been in the same pot and compost for about 25 years now and is still happy and healthy.
So you need a compost that will last.

The bags of compost you get in GC's are generally for short-term use and after one or two seasons will break down, so you don't want too much of that.

The mix I use for long-term planting is along these lines -
About 3" small pebbles or large gravel in the bottom of the pot.
Make up a mix of John Innes No3 (No2 is also fine to use) about 50% (John Innes is a soil-based compost)
Horticultural grit - about 30%
General purpose compost (or even better - home-made compost) - about 20%

They do not need a lot of feeding so mine gets a drench of seaweed extract (diluted as per instructions) once a month from Spring to early Autumn.

 

Excellent advice, @Pete8!

@NoviceGardener2023, if you have an ebay account and don't mind spending a fair amount to get a good product, this compost is absolutely excellent. A joy to work with and plants really thrive in it! Plus you get some free gloves thrown in if you buy 2 bags!

Pardon our interruption...

 

That compost would be ideal for the 20% general purpose compost as it is peat-based, but tbh any general purpose compost will be fine.

 

Ah, have just remembered @NoviceGardener2023 is in Ireland. Am not sure about rules for buying compost from here. There might be a good supplier there, of course.

 

Thank you. I have a few questions if you don’t mind:

1. The diameter of the plastic pot the tree is currently in is around 30-32cm, would it make sense to go and get a proper (non plastic) pot that is around 50cm in terms of future proofing?

2. I didn’t realise that there are many different brands that do John Innes compost, some also seem to be peat free but it seems it is nearly better to have some sort of peat. Though I found there seems to be less peat based composts in Ireland from looking online.

As I’m in Ireland I don’t always have the same brands but trying to get the mix you suggested, should these suffice?
John Innes no 3 - 50% - John Innes Compost No. 3 for Large Plants | Shop Online Now

Horticultural Grit - 30% - Potting Grit On Sale From Ireland's Online Garden Shop | Buy Now

General potting compost - 20% -
Multi Purpose Compost For Sale at Best Prices in Ireland | Shop Now Or could I use John Innes No2 here as I don’t think I need a bag of compost that big.

3. If transferring tree from current pot to new pot, do I just leave the old compost/soil in the old pot and don’t transfer?

4. What is the best approach for storing bags of compost after opening them?

Thank you

 

Good questions!

 

John Innes is just a formula. A lot of suppliers call their product JI but not all of them necessarily stick to the original formula unfortunately. Purchasing "compost" these days can be very hit and miss.
As for storing bags once opened, the only thing you can do is to tightly fold down the top and put a clothes peg or 2 on it and keep somewhere out of the weather. Some makes appear to deteriate quicker than others.

 

I have Westland JI and it appears to contain no soil, I used to moan about Arthur Bowers being muddy but at least it contained soil.

 

Mine is in a terracotta pot that's 45cm wide and 40cm deep and it's been happy there for many years.

As said above, John Innes is just a recipe that was developed many years ago at the JI Institute.
The basic mix should have real loam in it, but these days just silt/topsoil is used. If you can find one with added peat, that's fine. The JI is more like a really, really good garden soil and it's what your tree roots needs long-term.

General purpose compost will break down over a few years into almost nothing, but it does make the mix a bit lighter and easier for the roots to penetrate which is helpful when the tree is young.
I wouldn't substitute JI2 as it has the same consistency as JI3 - you need something to lighten the texture of the compost. Most garden centres sell bags of rotted manure - that would work just as well.
You can use any compost that remains in the pot when to take it out.

If you've ever seen olives growing in southern Europe, they seem to be growing in nothing but gravel and dust, so really good drainage is vital to stop the roots rotting in a very wet winter (which they often get in Greece).
On which note - do get 'pot feet' to raise the pot off the ground a little - this will allow excess rainwater to drain easily in winter.
And to the grit will help keep the roots not too wet.

The products you link to above are all very good and will make a good mix for your tree.

I also just fold the top of the compost bag over. When I open it months later it's usually homing loads of snails! so I don't' use it for sowing seeds.

 

About 50% inorganic 50% organic is a fine mix for pots i think. Higher organic is fine for smaller pots.

Olives are fairly drought hardy, in bad winters they can die back, if the winter weather seems to be below -4c consider throwing an blanket over it. But even then they often resprout from the base. I have seen some in warm london with a good fruit crop on it!

Please dont use polystyrene as its hell to get rid of, that stuff should be banned frankly

 

Agree about the polystyrene, @Adam I. Ghastly stuff.