Whether you keep a tree in a pot for the entire life of the plant or eventually transplant the tree to the outdoors, there are many tricks and techniques to use when growing your tree in a pot or large container. From seed to sapling to near-maturity, here is an easy guide to growing a tree in a container.
Size
The size of the tree will be important as to what kind of container to have for it. Every tree starts as a seed and grows rapidly into a little green shoot within a season. As your tree grows you will probably have to transplant it into other pots to allow for its root system to expand so the tree can get bigger.
Transplanting a tree is an important aspect of its growth in a pot. As you move a tree to a bigger container make sure the soil in the new container is loose so the roots have an easier time to grow. You will want to keep the same kind of soil in the new pot as you did the old pot.
The easiest thing to do is get the new pot ready and loosen the dirt at the edges of the old pot and gently work the tree out of the old container. If you have a larger tree you may need a helper to hold the tree or the pot.
Sun
As your tree starts out, experiment with different levels of sunlight. If your tree is indoors try putting in front of different windows to see if grows any different and find what window works best for the tree.
If you have a sunroom then that may be an ideal place for any plant. Just make sure the tree doesn’t get too dry with all of the warm sunlight streaming into the room.
Water
Your container should be well drained so as to prevent over-watering. Have a drip pan underneath the pot. You’ll know you’ve watered your tree enough when the drip pan has water in it.
Keep the soil moist enough so it stays loose. You don’t need to soak the tree necessarily but you don’t want the dirt to get cracked and hard. As you find a balance based upon sun and temperature, regular watering of your tree will become routine.
Nutrients
Trees may stay in the same pot for a long time and as such they may get all of the nutrients from the soil in a very short amount of time. Fertilizer that is right for your type of tree is needed periodically to keep the tree vibrant and growing strong.
As you transplant your tree to a new container add fertilizer to the new soil before you make the switch. Ask your local nursery or consult a master gardener as to what kinds of fertilizer your tree will need.
