Andrew wrote:

If necessary I would put it back in a pot, but was wondering if there was
a safe way to plant it in a pot with the pot underground, so it looks like
it is planted, but with the pot restricting root growth. Would this in
fact restrict the root growth or would the roots just end up spilling over
the top and outwards? I'm not concerned about restricting the growth of

Hi Andrew,

It is common practice to do this with rampant plants such as mint, so I
think it might be worth a try. But I would be concerned that the conifer
may be unstable in the pot, and whether or not it would get enough
nutrients would also be a concern.

I've never found my mint in pots in the ground with roots growing up and
over the top - and they're very vigorous!

With mint, I pot it up, and then dig a hole for the pot, and back fill round
it to hold it steady. I try to get the top of the pot roughly level with
the top of the soil.

I repot every now and again when they fill the pot or look very sad.

Now I don't bother with watering the mint, but you may well need to water
your conifer - certainly through the summer until the autumn rains start.
If you have a mulch in your front garden, you can spread this over the top
of the pot.

HTH

Sarah