If you think trees are just for people with big gardens, think again
Hannah Stevenson gives you the lowdown on the best trees to grow on patios, terraces and balconies
POT PLANT: Flaming red Acer adds colour to a patio (Image: Alamy/PA)
You can bring the beauty of trees to a patio, terrace, balcony or even a windowsill, says Dr Gabriel Hemery, forest scientist, photographer and author of The Tree Almanac 2024. And they're not just for country folk or those with huge gardens.
While many other gardening activities wind down during the cold months, November to March is the perfect time to plant trees. Later this month, National Tree Week will see conservationists, volunteers and tree-lovers come together and get planting.
Experts at the Woodland Trust recommend planting trees when they’re dormant and less likely to get damaged. While many people don’t have the space for a tall tree with a majestic spreading canopy, they come in all shapes and sizes.
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With the last few leaves falling and a nip in the air, now is the ideal time to consider what tree you could grow. “Select a tree to suit where you live, both general climate and the specific location where you want it to grow (for example, whether in a sheltered spot or shaded from above),” says Gabriel.
There are many thousands of species and varieties of trees, meaning a ‘maple’ can range from a towering sycamore to a ‘dwarfing’ variety of Japanese maple suitable for a patio container. Alongside size, think about leaf colour, overall shape, flowering, and fruitfulness.
If you’re growing in an urban environment, the style and material of its container can have a big impact on the growth and health of the tree. “Small pots can help restrict a tree’s growth, but it might need more careful nurturing,” says Gabriel.
He adds that, while stone or terracotta pots can help prevent trees blowing over during wild weather, bulbous shapes are best avoided as repotting can be difficult. Here are Gabriel suggestions for anyone with limited space wanting to plant a tree:
Evergreens: Most conifer trees are evergreen, meaning they bear leaves (usually needles) all year round, making them ideal for adding structure and colour when planted in a pot for a patio or small garden. Choose a dwarf variety and plant in the largest pot you can using a well-drained compost.
A good choice are dwarf varieties of Hinoki cypress Chamaecyparis obtusa including ‘Meroke Twin’, which grows 1m in height with attractive sprays of foliage. The golden foliage and neat columnar habit of Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Goldcrest’ is very compact.
For the miniature rock garden, a dwarf variety of Japanese red cedar Cryptomeria japonica ‘Vilmoriniana’ provides great structure and purplish colour in winter. Another good option would be a prostrate growing juniper like Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’.
Spectacular colour: There is a wide choice of Japanese maple varieties suitable for growing in containers, many with very attractive foliage. Make sure the pot is well-drained and expect to repot every five years.
With red foliage throughout the growing season, ‘Crimson Queen’ is a popular favourite, while the pink leaves of ‘Corallinum’ turn green before bright scarlet in the autumn. The spectacular leaves of the unusual variety ‘Amagi Shigure’ dazzle from pink to red to purple through the growing year.
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Fruit: Olive trees provide an exotic look to a patio during the summer, yet need careful watering during dry periods and must be moved inside before any hint of frost. The diminutive fruit of crab apple trees, as used in the tradition of wassailing in the orchards of old, make attractive hardy patio specimen plants given a large pot.
Citrus trees, whether lemon, lime, or orange, grow well in a conservatory or on a windowsill, and even enjoy a spot of fresh air during summer months. Just make sure you bring them indoors when temperatures drop. They tend to benefit from a regular dose of fertiliser rich in nitrogen.
Screening: Any selection of pot-grown trees can be carefully arranged to provide screening, whether to hide less attractive elements of the garden or to increase privacy. Privet and box are great examples, and both can be trimmed into attractive shapes, although sadly the latter is prone to the devastating box hedge caterpillar.
Japanese holly (Ilex crenata) and mountain totara (Podocarpus nivalis) are good alternatives, although smaller in stature. Sweet bay is another good option, with the bonus of providing fragrant leaves for the kitchen.
Bonsai: The Chinese art of penjing aimed to recreate natural treescapes in miniature, more commonly known as ‘bonsai’ in English. Single trees or even clumps of trees are grown in shallow pots and over many years become dwarfed with repeated pruning of their roots and branches.
Japanese maples including ‘Deshojo’ are popular subjects, as are many conifers especially pines and junipers. The beginner is best advised to start with the popular houseplant weeping fig Ficus benjamina, which is easy to care for and can remain indoors all year round.
The Tree Almanac 2024 by Dr Gabriel Hemery is published by Robinson on November 9, priced £14.99. National Tree Week runs from Saturday, November 25 to Sunday, December 3 and you can find out about events and activities here.
