Potted tree for an enclosed space

[WakeUpSpacedOut]

Hi,

I’ve been asked to sort out a special gift for someone but it involves horticultural knowledge and that’s not my strongest suit!

I’m looking for a tree that is suitable for potting and that will be located in a small garden space, enclosed on all four sides. Lovely and sunny at this time of year but less so in the winter! (Realistically, it would need to be left out all year.)

Budget is up to £100, including a suitable pot for the next couple of years at least.

Does such a thing exist? If anyone has any suggestions I would be most grateful!

What kind of tree do you want? Flowering? Fruit?

We have an olive tree in one of those big plastic buckets builders used in our small enclosed yard. Honestly its immortal.

I was given a flowering cherry for our courtyard when we moved here 6 yrs ago. It has grown nicely but has never flowered sadly. Maybe that could work?

What about a lemon tree?

Bay tree? I have one in a pot that's about 10 years old and it's thriving. Can use the leaves in cooking as an added bonus.

I would be looking at an acre, Japanese maple.

Acer! not acre

Brilliant - thank you for your ideas and suggestions; they more or less match what I found reading online so at least my research skills are ok, even if my tree knowledge is weak!
@Florissant - I think either would be ok if it matched the rest of the criteria - it won’t be in a domestic setting but the recipient uses the space a lot (and has little time to look after it, so low-maintenance is important).

An olive tree would fit the bill, then. They are very low maintenance and live forever if conditions aren't too extreme.

A fig tree also might be an idea as they grow best when their roots are constricted, i e in a pot, and produce fruit. Figs just need the occasional watering and feeding.

Bay trees smell great and are cheaper than things like olive. Also evergreen so looks good in winter. Acers are beautiful, but for a small garden I'd avoid a deciduous potted tree as it feels like a waste of space in winter.

Need to pot up my bay...does anyone here know if the regular Lidl all purpose compost is okay to use...or should I buy something better from the garden centre? I was bamboozled by all the different kinds of compost when I bought the tree!

They are not really hardy in the UK as they can only tolerate temperatures down to about 5 degrees.

I would go For an olive tree possibly in a galvanised container.
Morrisons olive trees are great value.

Sorry that's a lavender bush ! Ignore the photo.

I'd go for a Japanese maple too. Just choose one which is good for full sun. The shelter from all four sides would be great for it. Something like fireglow, sango kaku, red emperor, ozakazuki or maybe a even a dissectum (if you've got the space for it to spread a fair bit sideways) would look really good. How tall do you want it to get in the long term? Most of the ones I've listed will grow to about 4m tall, but there are others which will stay smaller.

I think 4m would be a bit too tall for the space - is there any you’d recommend that would stay smaller?

Yes, loads!

Beni Kawa is a smaller version of Sango Kaku, coral bark in winter, bright yellow leaves in autumn.

Peve chamaeleon is another coral bark, stays quite small, has orange/green leaves in spring and bright red autumn colour

Orange dream has leaves that are yellow/orange in spring, turning to lime green in summer. Not sure it would cope with full sun though

Crimson queen, garnet, and Emerald lace (all laceleaf) don't get too tall but do get as wide as they are tall, so may not be ideal for a very enclosed space.

That said, all are fairly slow growing, so even the ones which will eventually get to 4m or more will take a long time to get there, and are unlikely to if they are kept in a pot.

@CatherinedeBourgh - thank you for all your ideas and wisdom! I’ll hit the big garden centre this week!

https://www.pomonafruits.co.uk/fruit-nut-trees/fruit-nut-trees-pot-grown/sibleys-patio-fruit-trees?number_of_uploads=0&
sibleys patio trees (choice of many petite fruit trees) worth a look - I have the quince which has very pretty blossom and which I’m hopeful to acquire quince from as it’s so hard to buy in U.K.

i also have a Cornus kousa China girl in a half barrel currently after loving them at Chelsea. Not sure how that’ll fare as we has destined to grow a bit big. https://www.jacksonsnurseries.co.uk/cornus-kousa-china-girl.html

I do have a fig and a standard olive tree both acquired from outside Morrisons and yellow stickered. Both doing well but both sub £10 purchases so might not be special enough for the budget.

Depending on the circumstances you might provide compost, stake etc as part of the purchase as obviously can cost quite a bit otherwise to get tree fully planted.

Good luck! Let us know what you choose in the end.

We've just bought a small olive tree which is very nice and easy to care for.

Good point about the extra costs - I’ll keep that in mind!

The event that I was buying this for has been postponed so I won’t be making a decision for a while now! Thank you so much for the wisdom and tips - I will be coming back to this thread when needed!

I planted a silver birch into a huge pot. I'd seen a program where a lady had mature but miniature versions of full sized trees and I liked this idea.

My silver birch is three years old and it's about 6 feet now. I'm hoping I can get it to 10 feet but I think I'll need a bigger pot.