Re: Shrub question
- To: s*@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
- Subject: Re: [SG] Shrub question
- From: M* T*
- Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 22:23:10 -0500
Nancy,
I do this as a matter of course - have been for donkey's years.
Found long ago that it pays to keep new children potted up for a
while if they are quite small when received. If put directly into
the garden, losses can be high because of competition and the general
fight for survival that all garden plants have to go through. If you
pot on regularly when the roots fill the current pot, you will not be
stunting them. Now, that said, there are some trees that do not do
well in pots because they grow very fast and have large tap roots,
but your basic shrubs are going to be fine. I also keep new
perennials in pots for a while, just to keep an eye on them and let
them recover from their journey (most of mine are mail order plants).
If I buy something at a local nursery, I'll go ahead and plant it
out as they are usually larger and have been sitting outside anyway.
Anything from division is potted on for a while for recovery until
it's got a good root system.
Japanese maples do very well in pots. They are slow growers and will
take a few years to make any size. Some stay relatively small and
some will get fairly tall...depends on the cultivar you've gotten.
Actually these maples are very good candidates for pot culture as
long as you can protect the pot and their roots over winter. I just
planted one in the garden this fall that has lived happily in a pot
for about 10 years. Got it as a liner from Forestfarm - maybe 8"
tall and it's about 2.5' tall now and a bit more around...they do not
grow quickly. Another from the same source and about the same size
was in a pot for maybe five years and has been in the ground
since...it's about 3' tall and 3 or 4' in diameter. Neither of these
are slated to become tall trees, although they can reach 10 feet
after many, many years.
So, don't worry about your child, keep it potted until you've got a
good spot for it. Most of the woody plants purchased in pots at
garden centers have spent their whole lives in a pot...only those
sold B&B were once in the ground. It's just a matter of maintenance
as they will require more regular watering and feeding than those in
the ground, as well as potting on.
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
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> From: Nancy Stedman <stedman@INTERPORT.NET>
> Date: Saturday, December 18, 1999 12:27 PM
>
> Hi all. I was hoping for some feedback on a practice of mine. I've
been
> getting small shrubs mail-order in the spring, and replanting them
into
> large containers that I can watch over for the whole growing
season. I've
> also been doing this for perennials that seem touchy. I lost many
small
> plants when I put them right away into my difficult
> conditions--root-infested, shady, clay soil--so have decided to be
more
> careful. My question is: does another season in a pot stunt the
growth of
> the plant? My Japanese maples seem awfully small for their age.
> Thanks,
> Nancy S. (NYC, zone 6B)
