I wouldn't plant the ficus in the urn itself. Use a plastic pot that is the
appropriate size for the tree, and use the urn as a cover pot. That makes
it much easier to provide the correct drainage, as well as remove the tree
from time to time to root prune/add fresh soil/repot in a larger pot. It
also protects the urn, which is not a small investment. You can put the
plastic pot on blocks to bring it up to the right height, and use spanish
moss around the top to cover it up.

Cheers,
Sue

Zone 6, Southcentral PA

"mmarteen" wrote in message
...
I have a lovely ficus and I would like to plant it in one of those giant
chinese urns, about 3 feet high, with maybe some trailing low light plant
around the base.

I've read that rather than filling the urn wth soil, all the way to the
top
you can put something else in until about half way up and then fill the
rest
with dirt, to save money and weight from so much soil. I first thought of
those cornstarch peanuts but then don't those disintegrate over time? I
don't want the plant to collapse in a hole!

Has anyone done this or seen it done?

mm