What you can grow successfully in containers and pots.
These are the large shrubs and trees growing in my gardens.

A young dwarf red weeping Japanese maple doing well in a big
pottery container in front of my window in the front yard.

A young dwarf weeping tree in a big plastic pot -so much easier to move around when i feel the need to re-decorate the front yard.

The Japanese Maple

I have a small yard, and i love Japanese Maple Trees.
I've come into them late in my gardening life.
Because it didn't occur to me to grow them in containers. And because they grow slowly. Now that I'm older, i'm in a hurry.

The Japanese Maple is pefect for growing in containers. I have a few dwarf varieties that do well. Japanese Maples are slow-growing and the weeping varieties have a beautiful shape. They grow quite slowly, and can fit into any landscape design i come up with. Containers not only add a great decorative element, but your dwarf trees can be easily moved wherever you want them.

These trees look very elegant and zen in large containers. Japanese maples also play well with others, and get along nicely with companion plants.

To grow these in large pots and containers:

Choose a dwarf that matures at less than 10 feet. There are many varieties of dwarfs. Larger trees will also work if you prune them annually.

Select a container that’s no more than twice the size of the roots. Make sure there’s a drainage hole. Japanese maples won't survive long in consistently wet soil.

Use quality potting soil but not one that contains fertilizer. Chemical fertilizer tends to burn the tree's roots. I fertilize once a year with non-chemical natural fertilizers.... Epsom Salts or Fish Emulsion, diluted.

Prune in summer to shape the plant or to keep it at a desired size. If i wanted to shape an upright variety into a weeping shape, Individual branches can be trained to hang down by hanging light weights on the branches for a growing season I hang ornments on just about everything, so no one will notice unusual things like small fishing sinkers on fishing line hanging on tree branches s to train them.

Re-potting isn't necessary until roots reach the sides and bottom of the pot, every few years. Prune the roots by cutting away large, woody roots, to encourage small fibrous ones to grow.

You can over-winter potted Japanese maples in a protected spot after foliage drops in the fall. You can keep them in a sunroom indoors, if you have one. You can also move the plant to an unheated garage or basement, where temperatures remain above freezing. The bonus is that no light is needed when the tree is dormant. Keep the soil moderately moist until returning the maple outdoors in the spring. Mine do fine outdoors in a sheltered corner with other plants and survive my Zone 5 winter well. There are many varieties that are cold hardy.

I have 2 of these Blue Wisteria Trees in big pots. One is staked and training it's graceful branches onto the top of a decorative iron fence panel enclosing an Asian-style garden. One is staked in a pot in the front yard.Wisteria is usually seen as a fast-growing vine. Sometimes too fast and invasive, if growing wild or in the ground. I stake and tie them to keep them straight and growing in the direction I want them to grow. They're quite flexible.

The Blue Chinese Wisteria looks pretty even when it's not in flower. Which is nice, because it may take several years to mature to the age it needs to be to flower heavily or predictably. It looks very delicate and graceful, like their vining cousins, and lend an Asian feel to the garden. They are compact enough to grow in the small corners or spaces in your front yard, next to your porch, or on your patio.

In early summer - before the leaves appear - the lavender blue hanging flowers can reach up to a foot in length. They have a sweet fragrance. And the flowers appear before the leaves, like my dwarf cherries. It grows fairly quickly and has a nice look every season..

Butterflies and bees will be in pollinator heaven. They grow almost in almost any zone in the U.S., and they're growing very well in large pots. The fall color is an awesome golden yellow. It needs no care whatsoever, except for maybe a trim of the reaching ends once a year. Below is one of my container wisteria trees drooping nicely with the help of a capiz shell windchime. This pot is approximately 24 inches in diameter.


I train my 5 lilac shrubs into tree-form. 2 are growing in big pots. You can see where branches are cut off the main stem to keep it growing up and not out. I need the trunk to get thicker to hold up all those flowers. My lilacs are of the re-blooming variety. One pot will be on the patio for the fragrance.

Chinese Fringe Tree

The Chinese Fringe Tree is an unusual, small flowering tree. Its spring flowering is a treat, and it is attractive in fall, with reddish berries seen among yellow fall foliage.

It has fragrant flowers, and i find the scent very addictive in the spring.. I had one growing in a garden in the south, and I fell in love with it. It's a small ornamental tree, and I am growing it in large pots in my northern Zone 5 garden.

Lightly fragrant, feathery white flowers almost entirely cover these trees for about two weeks during the spring. In late summer and early fall, they will produce an olive-shaped fruit that is not edible by humans but is highly attractive to birds.

It is ideal for planting in urban areas, due to their pollution tolerance and ability to adapt to a range of soil types. These trees rarely need pruning .While they are young, you can prune it to a single trunk or a standard multi-trunked form.

Once established, they require very little maintenance. They grow well in USDA zones 5-9. It doesn't take well to transplanting in the ground, so it will do great in the pots.

Nandina - "Firepower" Heavenly Bamboo

I've grown several varieties of nandina in a xeriscape garden and in containers. They are great for gardeners like me, who like to decorate the garden in a zen style using xeriscaping techniques, and shape shrubs and trees into natural and pleasing shape. Their stems are very similar to the bamboo i grow in pots. I also like the fact that they are evergreen and will look nice in winter.

Brilliant red foliage fall through winter. It's hardy to zone 5. The others i've grown aren't cold hardy.

Fire Power Nandina is often chosen for the oriental effect they offer with their bamboo-like stalks and fern-like foliage.

The green foliage turns a brilliant fire red in fall, and lasting through winter., Great for borders, mass planting, or container gardening. Requires no pruning. I prune along the main stem for about a foot to mke it look like a miniature tree. Evergreen. Mature Height and width : 2-3 Feet. They're quite happy growing in containers.

Dwarf Bamboo

Bamboo is a large shrub, (about 6-8 ft. so i'm
calling dwarf tree), and can be invasive unless
you grow it in a pot

Grow Ornamental Dwarf Fruit Trees In Pots

Bear in mind that dwarf fruit trees bear the same size fruit as a full-sized tree. The tree is dwarf, not the fruit.

Always check the USDA cold hardiness map for the proper variety of dwarf fruit trees to grow in your region.

Depending on the variety and maturity of the plant and your growing conditions, it may take several years for plants to bear fruit.

Choose a container with good drainage.
A 12- to 14-inch diameter pot is suitable for two- and three-year-old trees.
Dwarf citrus trees flower better when their roots are slightly constricted.

Use a basic potting mix (without fertilizers or wetting agents). Don't put gravel or small rocks in the bottom of the pot.

Give trees a thorough watering at first, then add 1/4 to 1/2 gallon of water every five to seven days.

Place your tree in a spot that gets at least eight hours of direct sunlight each day.
Citrus grows best when temperatures are between 55 and 85 degrees F.

Easy to grow, prolific and don't need a lot of heat for the fruit to ripen. Slightly sweeter and juicier than the classic commercial varieties.

Meyer lemons have a slight tangerine flavor. i find it the
best cooking lemon. it doesn't break up likeregular lemons.

I like the additional citrus flavors in my homemade marmalades.

Check to see whether your fruit tree
is a self-pollinating tree, or whether
you need to plant two to bear fruit.