Trees in pots
 

I have purchased a few small trees. Some of them are evergreen (Eucalyptus).
Is there any harm in leaving them in their supplied black plastic pots in a
wind-sheltered passage way over the winter where I can look at them out of
the kitchen window?

Trees in pots
 

"Gadget Git" wrote in message
...
I have purchased a few small trees. Some of them are evergreen
(Eucalyptus).
Is there any harm in leaving them in their supplied black plastic pots in
a
wind-sheltered passage way over the winter where I can look at them out of
the kitchen window?


I kept a small Eucalyptus outdoors in a pot for two years before planting it
at our new house. It got a bit pot bound but otherwise it was fine. If you
do eventually plant it, be warned that it will grow very big very quickly -
so pick the right spot for it!

Drakanthus.

Trees in pots
 

"Gadget Git" wrote in message
...
I have purchased a few small trees. Some of them are evergreen
(Eucalyptus).
Is there any harm in leaving them in their supplied black plastic
pots in a
wind-sheltered passage way over the winter where I can look at them
out of
the kitchen window?

I've got several trees in pots. An oak, a couple of evergreen pine
trees, etc etc.
They have been in their various pots for several years and are doing
fine.
Jenny

Trees in pots
 

Is there any harm in leaving them in their supplied black plastic pots in a
wind-sheltered passage way over the winter where I can look at them out of
the kitchen window?


They may well need the odd drop of water from time to time as any passageway is
likely to be rather dry for them. You might want to consider standing the pot
on a tray that can be kept topped up with water from time to time.

Dave.

Trees in pots
 

"DaveDay34" wrote in message
...
Is there any harm in leaving them in their supplied black plastic
pots in a
wind-sheltered passage way over the winter where I can look at them
out of
the kitchen window?


They may well need the odd drop of water from time to time as any
passageway is
likely to be rather dry for them. You might want to consider
standing the pot
on a tray that can be kept topped up with water from time to time.
Dave.

Just be careful that they don't freeze solid..........:~(
Jenny

Trees in pots
 

Is there any harm in leaving them in their supplied black plastic pots in
a
wind-sheltered passage way over the winter where I can look at them out
of
the kitchen window?


They may well need the odd drop of water from time to time as any
passageway is
likely to be rather dry for them. You might want to consider standing the
pot
on a tray that can be kept topped up with water from time to time.

Dave.

If you stand them in a tray they could very easily rot at the roots. I stand
my pots ( all year round on ) old carpet, I find this reduces the amount of
watering they need.


--
Art
Swap seeds at
Garden Web http://www.gardenweb.com
My Garden Web exchange page http://www.gardenweb.com/members/exch/art1952

Trees in pots
 

The last thing you want is for them to be standing in water.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.




"DaveDay34" wrote in message
...
Is there any harm in leaving them in their supplied black plastic
pots in a
wind-sheltered passage way over the winter where I can look at them
out of
the kitchen window?


They may well need the odd drop of water from time to time as any
passageway is
likely to be rather dry for them. You might want to consider standing
the pot
on a tray that can be kept topped up with water from time to time.

Dave.

Trees in pots
 

The last thing you want is for them to be standing in water.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.


Several people have commented that if the pots are standing in water it will
rot the roots, etc. I thought it went without saying that the pots should be
deep enough, and the water level low enough for the compost/soil to draw up the
required amount of water to prevent the plants from drying out, while not
becomming waterlogged. It appears that it should have been said, and I
appologise for not saying it in the first place. Most medium to large sized
pots stood in an inch of water or less will not become waterlogged and it will
prevent the plant in the pot from drying out.

I hope things are a little clearer now (?).

Dave.

Trees in pots
 

"Gadget Git" wrote in message
...
I have purchased a few small trees. Some of them are evergreen
(Eucalyptus).
Is there any harm in leaving them in their supplied black plastic pots in
a
wind-sheltered passage way over the winter where I can look at them out of
the kitchen window?




You don't say where you stay, but up here in the frozen north (Aberdeen) I'd
be worried about the pots freezing as some others have pointed out - if they
are at all root bound, you could at least give them another size up for a
pot - and thus add some protection to the root ball.

Chris S

Trees in pots
 

On 16 Nov 2002 20:20:53 GMT, (DaveDay34) wrote:

The last thing you want is for them to be standing in water.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.


Several people have commented that if the pots are standing in water it will
rot the roots, etc. I thought it went without saying that the pots should be
deep enough, and the water level low enough for the compost/soil to draw up the
required amount of water to prevent the plants from drying out, while not
becomming waterlogged. It appears that it should have been said, and I
appologise for not saying it in the first place. Most medium to large sized
pots stood in an inch of water or less will not become waterlogged and it will
prevent the plant in the pot from drying out.

Yes Dave, I understand what you are saying but be careful because
"osmosis" is stronger than gravity. I know it depends on how open the
structure of the soil is, but you can waterlog all the soil in a pot
by continually adding water from the bottom. Even if the reservoir of
water only reaches only half and inch up from the bottom of the pot
and the pot is nine inches high.

Have you ever noticed that when you water a pot and the water runs out
of the bottom of the pot into a tray, you can be surprised when you
look moments later to find that the tray no longer has any water in
it? Osmosis will operate until all the soil is truly saturated.

Respect

Hussein

Trees in pots
 

"DaveDay34" wrote ..
The last thing you want is for them to be standing in water.
Regards,
Emrys Davies.

Several people have commented that if the pots are standing in water
it will
rot the roots, etc. I thought it went without saying that the pots
should be
deep enough, and the water level low enough for the compost/soil to
draw up the
required amount of water to prevent the plants from drying out,
while not
becomming waterlogged. It appears that it should have been said,
and I
appologise for not saying it in the first place. Most medium to
large sized
pots stood in an inch of water or less will not become waterlogged
and it will
prevent the plant in the pot from drying out.
I hope things are a little clearer now (?).
Dave.

Standing the pots in reservoirs in summer is a brilliant idea, but
maybe not so good during the winter months :~))

You can wrap the pots in bubble wrap to decrease the risk of the
rootball freezing. I then wrap an old bamboo type beach mat around the
bubble wrap. this gives even more protection and looks nice too :~)

Jenny

Trees in pots
 

On Thu, 14 Nov 2002 20:01:39 +0000 (UTC), "Gadget Git"
wrote:

I have purchased a few small trees. Some of them are evergreen (Eucalyptus).
Is there any harm in leaving them in their supplied black plastic pots in a
wind-sheltered passage way over the winter where I can look at them out of
the kitchen window?

Sink the pots into the ground for the winter, someplace that
isn't soaking wet. Don't leave them too long in the ground come
spring, or roots will find their way out of the drain holes and
into the surrounding soil.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Trees in pots
 

Have you ever noticed that when you water a pot and the water runs out
of the bottom of the pot into a tray, you can be surprised when you
look moments later to find that the tray no longer has any water in
it? Osmosis will operate until all the soil is truly saturated.

Respect

Hussein


Osmosis doesn't operate until all the soil is saturated. Different soils will
hold differing amounts of water (Field Capacity). I think the advice I gave
was accurate given that it was general advice. To give specific advice I'd
have to know hugely more about the trees/pots involved and their position, etc.
than I do at present. The original concern was about water requirements, as
far as I can remember. If there are concerns about freezing, then that's
another point entirely.

If osmosis is going to lead to waterlogging, then you've got serious problems
with your growing medium. Most soils/growing mediums that are any good at all
will not become waterlogged when a large pot (it is a trees/trees we're talking
about here) are stood in shallow trays with a little water in. Osmosis just
isn't that efficient, and has it's limits. Unless the pot receives rain or is
watered from the top, the top layer of soil/growing medium is unlikely to be
wet, let alone waterlogged.

Watering in the way I suggested has several benefits. It doesn't wash
nutrients through the soil/growing medium and out the bottom of the pot
(leaching) as watering from above does. The plant is encouraged to send roots
downwards and should therefore have a better root structure. The plant is
unlikely to suffer from fluctuations between drought and having plenty of water
that can occur with sporadic watering.

If someone wants further details I'd be happy to answer any questions. If I
don't know about something, I don't give answers. If my answers are not
detailed enough, I'll happily give fuller explanations. A good start for
gardeners who want to better understand plants would be to invest in a copy of
Principles of Horticulture, published by Butterworth Heinemann. They have a
web site at www.bh.com. The book is very readable and easy to understand. It
explains many aspects of plant biology and soil science and I'd recommend it.

Dave.

Trees in pots
 

On 19 Nov 2002 20:36:25 GMT, (DaveDay34) wrote:

Have you ever noticed that when you water a pot and the water runs out
of the bottom of the pot into a tray, you can be surprised when you
look moments later to find that the tray no longer has any water in
it? Osmosis will operate until all the soil is truly saturated.

Respect

Hussein


Osmosis doesn't operate until all the soil is saturated. Different soils will
hold differing amounts of water (Field Capacity).

Hey, thanks for that. You learn something new everyday - or understand
more completely something once only half understood in a classroom
many years ago!

Hussein

Trees in pots
 

On 19 Nov 2002 20:36:25 GMT, (DaveDay34) wrote:

it? Osmosis will operate until all the soil is truly saturated.

Osmosis doesn't operate until all the soil is saturated.

You are both confusing osmosis with capillarity.

It's capillary attraction that causes a pot standing in 1/2" of
water to become waterlogged, not osmosis.



--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Trees in pots
 

"Rodger Whitlock" wrote in
message ...
On 19 Nov 2002 20:36:25 GMT, (DaveDay34) wrote:

it? Osmosis will operate until all the soil is truly saturated.

Osmosis doesn't operate until all the soil is saturated.

You are both confusing osmosis with capillarity.
It's capillary attraction that causes a pot standing in 1/2" of
water to become waterlogged, not osmosis.
Rodger Whitlock

Fascinating stuff this and I think you are right Rodger :~))

Found the folllowing at various places :

Capillarity is the ability of a soil to draw water upward into tiny
spaces between soil grains; water moves upward against the force of
gravity because of the attraction between water molecules & the
surfaces of the soil particles.

osmosis :
http://www.tvdsb.on.ca/westmin/scien...ls/Osmosis.htm

And just to confuse the issue even more there is also reverse osmosis
.....http://www.howstuffworks.com/question29.htm

Jenny :~)

Trees in pots
 

In article , Rodger Whitlock
writes
On 19 Nov 2002 20:36:25 GMT, (DaveDay34) wrote:

it? Osmosis will operate until all the soil is truly saturated.

Osmosis doesn't operate until all the soil is saturated.

You are both confusing osmosis with capillarity.

It's capillary attraction that causes a pot standing in 1/2" of
water to become waterlogged, not osmosis.

To expand on that - osmosis is what happens when you have something -
for argument's sake, say salt - dissolved in water (or other liquid). If
you dump some salt in water, it diffuses across the whole lot so that
the strength of the solution is the uniform - you don't get a strong
salt solution where you dumped the salt and pure water elsewhere.

But if there is a barrier dividing the water into two, and this barrier
is such that water can get through but salt can't, the tendency is still
to try to even out the strength of the solution across the barrier, but
the only way this can happen is for water to go through the barrier from
the dilute side to the concentrated side. This is osmosis.

Capilliary action is the tendency for water to seep from wet area to dry
area - which can happen upwards if the route for seepage is small - eg
it's between the particles of soil.



--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/

Trees in pots
 

"JennyC" wrote in message
...

"Rodger Whitlock" wrote in
message ...
On 19 Nov 2002 20:36:25 GMT, (DaveDay34) wrote:

it? Osmosis will operate until all the soil is truly saturated.

Osmosis doesn't operate until all the soil is saturated.

You are both confusing osmosis with capillarity.
It's capillary attraction that causes a pot standing in 1/2" of
water to become waterlogged, not osmosis.
Rodger Whitlock

Fascinating stuff this and I think you are right Rodger :~))

Found the folllowing at various places :

Capillarity is the ability of a soil to draw water upward into tiny
spaces between soil grains; water moves upward against the force of
gravity because of the attraction between water molecules & the
surfaces of the soil particles.

osmosis :
http://www.tvdsb.on.ca/westmin/scien...ls/Osmosis.htm

And just to confuse the issue even more there is also reverse osmosis
....http://www.howstuffworks.com/question29.htm

Jenny :~)


Reverse osmosis is what was used to turn sea water into potable water, when
I worked offshore. Cunning stuff them osmosis.
Chris S ))

Trees in pots
 

On Wed, 20 Nov 2002 12:36:24 +0000, Kay Easton
wrote:


But if there is a barrier dividing the water into two, and this barrier
is such that water can get through but salt can't, the tendency is still
to try to even out the strength of the solution across the barrier, but
the only way this can happen is for water to go through the barrier from
the dilute side to the concentrated side. This is osmosis.

Capilliary action is the tendency for water to seep from wet area to dry
area - which can happen upwards if the route for seepage is small - eg
it's between the particles of soil.

Yup, I got the wrong term. At school I believe they called it
capillary action. Anyhoo, I wouldn't want to stand a pot in water
unless it there was some charcoal or something else to sweeten the
water. It could get very fetid otherwise and full of nasties.

Hussein

Trees in pots
 

Sorry about confusing capillary and osmosis. I think I understood the jist of
what Hussein was saying and carried on using the same term, when I should have
corrected the term.

Dave.

Trees in pots
 

In article , Hussein M.
writes
On Wed, 20 Nov 2002 12:36:24 +0000, Kay Easton
wrote:


But if there is a barrier dividing the water into two, and this barrier
is such that water can get through but salt can't, the tendency is still
to try to even out the strength of the solution across the barrier, but
the only way this can happen is for water to go through the barrier from
the dilute side to the concentrated side. This is osmosis.

Capilliary action is the tendency for water to seep from wet area to dry
area - which can happen upwards if the route for seepage is small - eg
it's between the particles of soil.

Yup, I got the wrong term. At school I believe they called it
capillary action. Anyhoo, I wouldn't want to stand a pot in water
unless it there was some charcoal or something else to sweeten the
water. It could get very fetid otherwise and full of nasties.

Blanket weed is what I get, in the water surrounding my posts of sundews
and butterworts. But they don't seem to mind :-)
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/

Trees in pots
 

On Wed, 20 Nov 2002 16:33:42 -0000, "Chris Stewart"
wrote:

...Cunning stuff them osmosis.

I have a slightly used osmosi that you can have for a song if you
want it...

ObReportFromTheColonies: After a week or so of pretty steady
rain, varying in intensity from drizzle to downpour, the
temperature has gone up and the sun has come out today. It's
shirtsleeve weather, it's so mild.

Galanthus reginae-olgae is coming into flower. Crocus speciosus
'Albus' is providing surprises under a now leafless canopy of
Ribes sanguieum and Chaenomeles, while other crocus species
(longiflorus? niveus?) pop up here and there. A single stray,
late Nerine bowdenii, and a few stems of Nerine crispa. The first
flower of Iris unguicularis. A few seed pots sown last January
are showing signs of germination. The Quercus robur continues to
shed its leaves in a sedate and repeatedly eavestrough-filling
manner.

In the crocus frame, Cc. laevigatus, goulimyi, caspius (?), and
tournefortii are doing their thing.

Four of five seedlings of Cyclamen rohlfsianum have sent out new
growth; Cc. cyprium and creticum in pots are leafing out also.


On the whole, an extremely pleasant day!


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Trees in pots
 

On 20 Nov 2002 20:15:08 GMT, (DaveDay34) wrote:

Sorry about confusing capillary and osmosis.

Nothing to be sorry about. Mistakes happen. No apology necessary.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada