"Dave Poole" wrote in message
...
Sacha wrote:

..

In fact, thinking about it, I'm tempted to put some into 'interesting'
pots
and see what happens if we just grow them that way.

In very big tree pots yes - filled with sandy loam. A 50/50 mix of
your local red soil and sharp sand will do the trick - maybe with a
light sprinkling of osmocote pellets to give the plants a boost early
on. You won't get 5m. high spikes, but they'll put on a decent show
to 2.8m. high or maybe more. They would look spectacular in the big
double and you'll get them to flower in Feb/early March as opposed to
April/early May.


Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November

Your info about pots and Sachas links to those stunning pictures makes me
want to have another go at them. I managed to get one to its second year but
then it gave up and so did I.
A tree pot of what size? I assume the bigger the better but what's the
minimum size you recommend?