Question about replanting a potted Mountain Ash tree

100gSoma

Hi all,

I'm planning on getting this potted tree (Rowan / Mountain Ash / Sorbus Aucuparia) from a friend and replanting it in my own garden.
I have a fine spot for it with excellent soil.

I'm just wondering should I consider pruning off the side branching and plant it with the main stem upright, or should I leave it as is with the Y split? Are there any advantages or disadvantages to either action? Anything else I should consider? Distance from wall? Aftercare etc? I'm a novice in this area and only recently acquired a garden.

Here are two photos. Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

http://m.imgur.com/Q3yd9Uc

and

http://m.imgur.com/vJ6GncO

looksee

Rowan is a good garden tree, it is not all that tall, but will need a reasonable amount of space as it gets bigger. Whether you cut off the side shoot is up to you, I would leave it myself, but its entirely a matter of choice. I suggest you plant it at least a metre away from any walls, or preferably a bit more if you have the space.

When you take it out of the pot you will probably find the roots have wound round inside the pot, try and encourage them to disentangle a bit, pull them out and spread them a bit.

It might be a good idea to stake it for a couple of years, but I will leave that advice to the staking experts on the forum!

It will not really need any aftercare, if the summer turns out to be dry you could give it a bucketful of water occasionally (don't sprinkle it, you do more harm than good with little dribbles of water, a full can poured on slowly so it soaks in is better). Soak it well before you plant it too.

Edit, you appear to have two (recent?) tree stumps, I would avoid planting it there as there is likely to be a network of roots there already.

100gSoma

Thanks Looksee. The garden in the original post with the stumps is not my garden.

My garden can be seen here http://imgur.com/a/0l8HP

I had a eucalyptus which came down in wind and I had to remove it as it was very loose. This left a large gap about 1m from the wall (marked with x) behind the bushes you can see. This is ideally where I would want to put the Rowan.
It is close enough to the wall, but I could maybe get it a metre away. I've removed all the root system of the eucalyptus as it was quite shallow and was easy to remove the rootball and roots. The wall is about 7ft tall.
It's north facing too so I'm not too bothered about blocking any light from the lawn etc.

What do you think? I don't mind trying it for a couple of years and if it is not suitable or doesn't fit the location I can remove it I'm sure? I'm not against buying some other tree if more suitable either. I just had this one offered for free, and seems a shame to leave it in the pot. I like the idea of something with character, seasonal, berris colours etc. Rather than just an evergreen or pine genus that would be less broad and maybe easier to fit in there.

I would like any advice on staking and support. No idea about that? Do I need to buy those rubber harnesses you see on the council trees?

Oldtree

If the roots are rootbound then it is not really a good idea to plant this tree with a long term view. It can always be put into a bigger pot easily and enjoyed it that way. Put a tray under the pot and that when empty of water tells you the tree needs more water or the leaves will indicate water need when they droop a bit. I grew many trees in pots as I had a very small garden. Don't forget to give it a feed every now and then.

A sorbus whip can be bought very cheaply and planted in the spot in your garden and will do much better than a pot grown plant in the long run.

If you do plant out the potted plant I don't think it would need a stake if well rooted into the pot medium. I would prune off the lower RHS branch, use "target pruning". It looks as if the leader has been damaged.

If you stake do it like this to avoid damaging roots when taking away stake:


using these soft rubber ties:


Ensure both stake and tie are secure. The corrugated bit on the tie ensures that the tree cannot be strangled and allows the cambium to continue to function. I have used both the above to good effect.

100gSoma

This is most helpful Oldtree. Thank you.
I'm getting the impression I may just be better off forgetting the potted plant, and buying a Sorbus whip for the spot. I'll have a look in the garden centre this weekend.
Do you think there is a better choice of tree for that spot?

wildlifeboy

I would go ahead and plant it. you should be able to steak it and avoid the main roots. i did the exact same thing two years ago and my Rowan is flourishing now.

100gSoma

will retrieve the tree today and might juast ask about positioning before planting and provide closer image of the RH branch regarding to prune it off or not. and if not which way to face it (away from wall obviously)