Are Japanese Maples practical for container gardening?

I'm also looking for a fruit tree that I could grow in a container, presumably outdoors in the summer and indoors in the winter, if anyone has any suggestions.

Ficus trees can make good indoor trees, such as, F. elastica (rubber tree) Ficus lyrata (fiddle leaf fig)
F. benjamina (weeping fig) is another popular indoor tree, but, can lose leaves (temporarily) if stressed from being moved around place to place, low to high light, high light to low, not given enough light, or water. Sometimes they do need an adjustment time.
Schefflera is another indoor tree. If they get too large, they can be easily trimmed back.

Palms, such as, Chamaedorea elegans (parlor palm) will stay around 3-4ft indoors, at least mine does. All they ask is for some good indirect light and the soil to be on the moist side.

Some of the dwarf citrus trees like orange, lemon, lime and others might be another type of tree you'll like. I find it best to keep them on the cooler side in winter, or they can drop many leaves.

Billy Rae

Some trees that are usually thought of as outdoor trees in southern climes, can work as a houseplant when given indoor treatment. One noted tree is the Norfolk Island Pine...grown in its natural habitat on the Pacific Island of Norfolk and grown substantially in southern Florida.

They do well in homes when given sufficient light---and that speaks of west or southern exposures.
Eight feet is possible and if the plant is not wished to go beyond that height, it is simply cut off at the top...the tree can no longer attain higher growth.
But, do some research for yourself about growing N.I.P.'s.

Citrus trees can be grown indoors, treated as much you would a houseplant. They have particular needs so you would be advised to learn about how to care for them.

while these plants can go out of doors when weather permits, they are still houseplants and must come inside when temperatures threaten.

Billy Rae

As for fruiting trees, Here are some which I've had inside successfully:
citrus, keep an eye on scale and mealies.
Ficus carica, (edible fig) make good houseplants also, but they do like to go dormant during the winter months.
Olive trees are good candidates, they are slow growing trees if kept in a container.
Loquats, avocados, bay, even grape vines are other choices.

I wouldn't look for fruit on most of those, but citrus has a heavenly scent when blooming, which is almost every month out of the year! If you got two different trees you could cross pollinate the flowers and come up with a new hybrid.

I would not go with the rose relatives though, apples, apricots, peaches, plums, almonds, etc. are not good candidates for inside culture, they are sappy and must have a dormancy in order to survive, which means that you'll have sticky leaves everywhere in the fall.

I have a key lime tree. It drops leaves if I underwater it. It drops leaves if it doesn't get JUST enough light. It leaves up and grows nicely outside in the summer though. Main problem I have is that I don't know how much to water in winter. It's in a bigger container so it can actually grow and I want to avoid rot when it's not actively growing, so I'm not watering it very much, but as I said, it gets to dry and drops leaves. Otherwise it's been pretty easy though.

Acacias, mimosas and Delonix regias apparently work indoors, although all three can get very huge very quickly apparently. I've only had experience with the latter as acacias are expensive and none of my mimosa seeds sprouted, but delonix regias can grow several feet a year, apparently, and need to be cut back constantly. Also they really need to go outdoors in the summer as they lose a lot of leaves in the winter (which makes a bit of a mess, if that bothers you).

I really like Norfolk Island Pines (A. Heterophylla, though sometimes A. Columnaris is sold as a norfolk island pine. Difference isn't noticeable till they get big). Fairly easy if you've got humidity and light. Slow growers.

Podocarps are nice too, and apparently grow substantially faster than NIPs. Apparently also tolerate really heavy pruning as they're used as hedges in southern florida. I guess.

Don't japanese maples require winter dormancy?

Do the citrus trees go outside in the summer or do you keep them indoors year round?

How much light do they require? I don't have a south facing window but don't mind setting up a small light for it.

Thanks for the suggestions. I can't decide on one so I'll just have to buy 2 or 3.

The Bonsai Forum should be a great source of info regarding the indoor care of potted trees.

Isn't this a climbing, epiphytic cactus?

Also since I'm here, I might as well ask: Anyone tried M. Coco lately? That'd qualify, but I'm not sure how hard it is to grow and it seems to be the only viable magnolia for indoor growth. I'm not sure whether that means most don't like indoor conditions or they just get too huge rapidly (M. Coco doesn't get more than 7 feet in a container, apparently). Interested in getting one of these myself if i could find one, ever (and at a good price).

Citrus are wonderful plants. Meyer's Lemon is my favorite. It blooms and fruits throughout the year, flowers are very fragrant, and there's no danger if anyone decided to nibble. Of course citrus aren't exempt to pests, with proper care, insects can be avoided.

Another fragrant, flowering tree is Murraya.(related to citrus.) If you like scent, you'll love Murraya. If kept in a bright south or west window in winter, outdoors in summer, it'll flower 9 months out of the year. Murraya's are less likely to attract insects, too..

I found my Murray at Osco Drug store for 19.99 several years back.

Here's my Murraya outdoors in summer..In winter it's placed in an upstairs bedroom, in a south window..
Good luck, Toni

Amccour, I believe Koicool is referring to Spike's sold in garden centers in spring. They're Cordylines, (also related to Dracaenas.) Most are green, but newer species are available in purple, deep purple, and variegated purple/red. They grow into beautiful plants.
Spikes are usually planted in the center of a container, small or hanging plants potted around the spike and near the edge of the container.

There's so many plants to choose. Toni

Greenwood, I know your question related to a growing indoor tree but if this is something to decorate a corner of a room, I heartily suggest instead -- an artificial tree that can do as well for you, or maybe a lot better improvement for your furnishing skills.

Artificial trees come in all manner of form and if you don't especially go for Christmas Trees, can often be decorated to serve as such without the evergreen look.

If your search for a living tree is though what you desire, during your searches do wait until spring when the new stock arrives in your garden centers and nurseries.
Often suppliers might wish to drag out an old one from storage and put it on sale. Such plant might have problems and so should be avoided. Buy the best you can at affordable prices but get the better one when new.