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| I just bought a saucer (purple-white) magnolia a few days ago and I'm not sure whether to plant it down or keep it in a container. I live in a neighborhood where I cannot plant large trees. I read the tag that these magnolias can grow up to 20 feet. Does anyone know if I can grow this tree in a container? It's about 4 feet tall and the trunk diameter is about 1 inch. I think it's about 2 years old. It's blooming and the flowers are so pretty. Right now it's inside the house next to my large window. Can I keep it inside like this? Or does it have to be grown outside? Any advice to control its size is helpful. Thanks |
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| No, you cannot keep it in your house for more than a couple of weeks. It is a temperate zone, deciduous plant, and it needs the full range of temperate zone weather to survive long term, plus more sunlight and air flow than an indoor environment will provide. But yes, almost any plant can be containerized -- look at how successful Bonsai enthusiasts are at dwarfing species that, in nature, can grow to a hundred feet or more. The two challenges -- long term pruning and winterization. You will need to prune both the roots and tops to keep the plant size appropriate, as well as periodically replace a fair amount of the soil to keep it from getting depleted. Not a big deal once you learn to do this. The other potential issue is winter cold. I don't know where you are. If you are in zone 9 as you screenname seems to allude to, this would be a complete non-issue. If you're in a colder zone, 6 or North, you will need to shelter the root zone every winter, because soil in a pot is much more exposed in the ground, and sensitive roots can be killed by winter cold. People protect potted trees and shrubs by either putting the pots in a protected corner and mulching heavily, by burying the pots up to the rim in the soil and mulching, or by wintering in a protected but still cold environment such as a garage. Finally, be sure to pot this in the LARGEST container that you are comfortable using in terms of size and weight, because the plant can use all of the soil volume it can get. Consider using a plastic or foam pot because they are lighter and won't shatter if they freeze in the winter (for the most part!), and also use a lightweight soil-less mix -- believe me, I have quite a lot of potted plants, and you want to minimize the weight as much as you can, because its no fun trying to lug these things around when they weigh hundreds of pounds. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Mar 15, 12 at 7:46
| It's about 4 feet tall and the trunk diameter is about 1 inch. I think it's about 2 years old. ==>> just as an aside... its not 2 years old.. with a one inch trunk ... put it in the ground ... its a flowering shrub.. not a child .... it most likely .... will never flower again.. w/o near full sun ... which if 8 hours.. at least 6 hours ... it will set buds in late fall for next year ... most i know of.. are multi-trunked.. you can practice REJUVENATION PRUNING to keep it smaller ... mine is somewhere between 12 and 18 feet tall ... and i am z5 ... which means it is asleep for 5 months ... i have seen them in ann arbor in front of old Victorians .. at least 25 feet tall.. with 12 to 18 inch trunks ... if you are limited as to space.. you probably bought the wrong plant ... as absolutely glorious as it is ... ken |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Mar 15, 12 at 9:43
| it most likely .... will never flower again.. w/o near full sun ... which if 8 hours.. at least 6 hours ... ===>>> what i meant .. is that if you keep it in the house it needs direct sunshine ken... |
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