On 02/06/2011 13:16, Charlie Pridham wrote:

"Puzzledmonkey"Puzzledmonkey.85d01d6@gardenbanter .co.uk wrote in message
...

Hi All,

This is my first post, so please be gentle.

I'm a complete gardening novice, having totally re-landscaped our
gardens over the last 12 months. I've planted trees and shrubs here
there and everywhere with no thought or knowledge of what hould be
where, so please forgive me,

But to my problem, i've purchased a small (2ft) monkey puzzle tree,
which i'd planned to plant as a feature on a small area, which is banked
with railway sleepers at the front, and barked so there is nothing else
growing within 6ft.

Although the spot i have earmarked for the tree is partially over-hung
by a very mature oak tree. The branches are still some 12/15ft off the
ground.

Having researched the best i can over the web, i'm worried that the MP
tree will soon be to big for the spot. Am i therefore better off
submerging a large plant pot (how big?) in the ground, to restrict the
growth of the tree, and to allow me to easily move it in x number of
years time?

If i think that the tree can comfortably grow to 8ft in height before it
starts to look out of place, how many years will this take (10 years ?)
and therefore how big of a pot do i need to submerge to allow the tree
to grow freely to that size?

Sorry for so many questions, but any help is appreciated.
Puzzledmonkey


It will take about 4 years to do the 8 feet after that growth will be
extremely rapid if its getting a good water supply, I can't comment on how
they do in pots but as you have already bought the tree you have nothing to
lose by trying!. I doubt it will be movable after it reaches its 8 foot
limit, as a Genus they do not move at all well.

8 feet in 4 years! Tell me where you get your plants, Charlie!
According to
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?...ria%20araucana, "The
monkey puzzle is a very slow growing tree that can take 5 - 10 years
before it even gets above grass height and then grows around 35cm a
year". That seems a little slow to me, but even so I can't see 8 feet
in 4 years. A tree at Kew, although of unstated age, would seem to have
grown about 23 feet in 30
years.(http://apps.kew.org/trees/?page_id=136). I agree, though, that
as they grow older they grow faster.

I have an Araucaria araucana in a pot. It was bought for me about a
dozen years ago when it was less than a foot high. It has been repotted
a couple of times, most recently about 3 or 4 years ago into a 18" tub.
It is now about 5 feet high.

--

Jeff