Advice for tree that can be planted in container

Hi

We are wanting to have a nice tree we can put in a container and place on our decking.

We have a 40cm by 40cm square container and are looking for something that will have nice colourful flowers on it but not really bushy.

Ideally it would be something that doesnt branch off a lot and that doesnt grow very tall. Upto about 6-7 ft

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

 

I don't think you are going to get a 7' tall perennial plant in a 40cm container, I don't think the container is anything like big enough.

You could probably grow an annual climber, like Morning Glory, up a 7' "obelisk" shaped frame, in a 40cm container, but it would only give you "interest" in the Summer.

 

ok

Do you have any suggestions for something that will be suitable?

 

I did suggest Morning Glory, but if you tell me what you like/ don't like about that we'll better understand what you might like and can make other suggestions.

There are a number of climbers you could grow up a frame - Passion Flower might cope in a 40cm container, for example. But they will only be Summer flowers, not Winter interest.

 

I think you would be able to put a small acer in a pot like that. They don't grow very tall, however, but tend to spread sideways. They can also be a bit fussy and tricky to look after in my experience but extremely pretty.

I have got a Cercidiphyllum japonicum in a pot not all that much bigger (an old lead cold water tank, to be exact - waste not, want not). They grow to be large trees eventually. I bought it cheap in a sale and thought it might last a few years before it got rootbound and difficult to keep watered and then I planned to discard it. That was at least 8 years ago and it is still going strong and is now about 12 feet tall but very airy and delicate. I have pruned the stem to form a trunk and it only grows very slowly now.

You could do that with your 40x40cm container and just discard, plant out or give away after a few years when the plant got unmanageable.

 

I notice you wanted flowers - how about a miniature azalea? Or a Magnolia stellata (boring foliage, lovely flowers), or an Amelanchier lamarckii (very short flowering season, good autumn colour, quite pretty foliage). Myself, I think I'd be happy with having a graceful-looking plant with really nice foliage for 6 months of the year rather than go for a lumpy-looking thing with boring foliage just for the sake of a short flowering season.

Anything you plant in a pot is likely to be naturally dwarfed by the experience so i wouldn't worry too much by imagining the eventual size. Just don't choose something very vigorous and fast-growing like a sambucus.

 

You could think about something like Salix integra "Hakuro-Nashiki" - they can be grown in containers, in a John Innes compost (or a general purpose compost with water retaining granules). You can buy them in varying heights and since they don't grow very much - or at least very, very slowly - as they are grafted onto dwarf rootstock, you'd be able to choose one of pretty much the height you want (that said, I think the tallest I've seen is about 2m.) It would need to be fed periodically.

Granted, it doesn't have flowers, but it does have very attractive foliage.

 

Hi and thanks for the advice

I have no idea about any aspect of gardening and plants, trees, shrubs etc. We are just in the process of having our garden done and have chosen a design that is very very low maintainence. I have decided to post some pictures to give you more of an idea of where the tree is going to be and the new garden whcih is currently in construction.

I hope these help you understand more of where the tree will go. We cannot have any climbers as there will be nothing for it to climb up as we are wantingh the tree to stand in a pot in the corner of the decking but not flush in the corner.

Something that has the shape of Hakuro-Nashiki mentioned below would be great with bright flowers and easy to look after.

Thanks again

 

You could go for a small fruit tree. 40 cm isn't massive but I have been looking Malus laura (a crab apple). It's a smallish tree with pretty leaves and the bonus is once the blossom has gone you have pretty fruit.

I have quite a few trees in small tubs so it is possible though obviously the plant is limited, I have olive, robinia, acers, box, small fir trees, even a silver birch! I have a lot of pots! My most recent purchase for a pot was eriobotrya japonica (a Loquat) but I can't tell you much about it as I have only just got it. The prettiest foliage I have is the Robinia which is a weeping variety (i think it's twisty baby but not sure as lost label!) but no flowers.

I hope you find something nice. The Malus is gorgeous and a dwarf variety.

Kate

 

If you're lucky you might be able to find a dwarf cherry; I have one that I bought 10 years ago at about 10" in height, its still in a very small pot (about 30cm) and has only grown to about 18" in that time. This year in particular it was absolutely covered in flower