Ideas for pots in rented garden

[cattygorically]

We've just moved into a lovely rented cottage, planning to stay here about 18 months max for work reasons before buying and settling down for good. The garden has good soil but we're keen to keep things in pots so we can take things with us when we leave.

I like the idea of buying some young tree seedlings that I can plant out when we move. I've ordered a monkey puzzle seedling (well aware of how big it may get!) but I was wondering if anyone could think of any other trees / plant / shrubs that are worth having in a pot for 12-18 months before potting out that will eventually grow to be much bigger

• specifically any fruit trees?
• maybe a young acer?

Any ideas at all greatly appreciated!

Passion flowers are easy to grow from the seeds in supermarket fruit, and ime you get more fruit if you restrict the roots by growing them in a pot. The flowers are gorgeous and very showy. They are climbers, and prefer a south facing wall if you have one.

Definitely go for Acers and Azaleas. Very easy to transport. You can plant these in the soil if you like as, because of their root system, they uproot easily. When it’s time to move just put them in sacking or plastic bags.

For the pots I would choose some of the many Sorbus , dwarf Rowan and Hibiscus.

Thank you! These are lovely ideas. We have 3 hibiscus plants in the rented garden so actually might try my hand at propagating

Haven't grown an azalea before but they look lovely

Any other thoughts greatly appreciated!

I’m a terrible plant hoarder who gets excited and buys too many lovely things in a nursery so I’ve had lots of plants growing on in pots over the years - so anything you fancy could probably be potted on and survive for 18 months if you water and feed it correctly. Whether they survive when you plant them in the next garden is a different matter. They might not like the new soil, or have become pot bound and not particularly want to establish as well as a smaller, younger plant. Ones that don’t mind dry conditions might be better.

On the basis of choosing things that might like to stay in pots long term, agapanthus (sun) and hostas (shade) are good. I’ve got a collection of pots with Elymus Magellanicus (which would run if planted in the ground), Verbena Bonariensis (which self seeds)and Senecio Angel Wings (which doesn’t like my soggy clay soil) grouped together.

Magnolia and Wisteria might work, Humulus Aureus is a herbaceous climber which disappears to nothing over winter, cheap clematis from the supermarket?

Another thing to consider is how you transport them to wherever you move to. I’ve had two house moves where the pots went to a friends till they could be moved to the new house. One pot was so heavy that we couldn’t move it which I regret, so don’t make my mistake. Good luck!

I did really well with roses in pots, you can prune them right back to almost nothing when you need to move

Acers, blueberry bushes and dwarf fruit trees work well in pots and can be arranged in clusters which look really effective. You can move them around so the type at its peak is to the front. Keeping them together also helps them protect each other from frost.

Lasagne planters with snowdrops, tete a tetes and tulips are also very effective and perfectly portable.

Thank you! I've not heard of dwarf fruit trees but I love that idea! I'll also check out magnolia as they're lovely

We've been renovating a derelict property for 2yrs and living in a caravan in the garden. Only moved into the actual house recently and starting to get the garden sorted after having diggers/rubble etc churn it all up. I grew everything in pots for those 2 yrs and had a thriving veg garden- in pots! Potatoes, lettuce, dwarf pumpkins, tomatoes, courgettes and runner beans.

I've had success with tulip and various daffodil bulbs from aldi/lidl/asda. The foliage will die back, bulbs can stay in the pot and you can also have a summer/late summer flowering plant on top.

Jerusalem archichokes. Ideally with a large, stable based pot. They get very tall, and have a pretty, yellow flower. I dig up a few through autumn/winter to eat and leave just a few to continuing growing next year.

Black elderberry (sambucca). I bought 2, tiny sticks about 10cm tall with a little leaf from a garden centre in Spring. I've had to re-pot them up twice as they are growing so fast. They make pretty, ornamental shrubs in the garden, but you can also use the pink flowers to make pink elderberry champagne and use the berries too.

I also have a fig I've been growing up

Bakkers used to do some lovely fruit trees and olives in pots, but IDK how much they would be since Brexit. They don't tend to be as frost hardy as plants in the ground, and some types may need to be overwintered in a conservatory.