Planting a tree - controllerd growth

prospect

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if this will work.
I have a small (about 1ft heigh) christmas tree in a pot. I want to plant it in a large bed of various trees I have, but do not want it to get too big. I could cut it to size every so often, but I am afraid it will loose its shape.

So, if I bought a very large pot (eg 4' diameter) and buried it in the ground so the rim is just ground level, with the tree in it, will this allow the tree grow to a point and then maintain that size? Also, if I did this, would it need the soil changed at all?

Has anyone done this, is it a regular gardening method?

Cheers.

Stoner

prospect,

I'm no expert, however from what I have seen , restricting the root growth of a tree will not stop it from getting too big, it will IMO grow as big as it can and then fall over with a decent wind. Cutting these tree types can be difficult, only a very small amount of the current new growth can be cut back , old growth does not tend to repair itself.
Sounds like a job for the correct tree rather then the correct control ( as this is a christmas tree pine spruce type, not sure of the proper name), when it comes to shaping these trees I would imagine the rule would be little and often.
Cutting the top of these trees will make it bushy and as you have predicted yourself , it will loose its shape.
A pot for a tree would need have a certain amount of drainage in the end as very few trees like to have their roots sitting in still water for long periods of time.
Most trees enjoy a good leafy feed at least once a year, I would imagine that if the pot was burried in the ground, and free to drain to the ground etc that that woud be enough for it and that you would not need to ever change the soil.

prospect

Thank you for that information.

I got the tree as a present from my Mam when I spent my first christmas in my new house. So I'd like to keep it.
I'll probably leave it in its current pot till I find out more, or till it outgrows it.

Gareth Austin

Hi there,

You can control the growth of any tree by 'ringing' the tree.

As you mentioned before by regularly trimming the tree you will encourage a good thick shape to develop, and this is advised to do. When we grow christmas trees in the field you trim them a few times before harvest to get them to develop a more triangular shape.

RInging a tree is sometimes done on fruit trees to check the growth and encourage better fruit.

Remove a thin strip of bark from 75% of the circumferenace of the stem - the strip whousl only be abour 2mm thick. This will curtail the growth but the plant will still stary healthy and happy!

All the best
Gareth Austin
Courtyard Lifestyle Centre
Newtowncunningham

www.lifestylecentre.ie