I have a large very large container with sunny exposure (Vancouver BC), and have been offered an Acer griseum. I love the tree, but am concerened that it may be too large to be container-friendly. Any thoughts?
Actually, Acer griseum is not that fast of a grower. If the container is adequately sized for the rootball, then there is not reason you cannot grow it in a container for a bit. At some point it will want to be in the ground. Just make sure the very large container is not too large for the plant in its current state. MJH
Thanks for your response MJH. I am a bit confused. How can my container be too big for a young specimen (it is oval, about 42" in length, 30" wide at the middle, and 22" high) - compared, for instance, to the ground? Also, can the roots not be pruned back as the tree ages? Just trying to sort this out before I spend the bucks. Thanks so much for your help.
Too big meaning that the soil to root mass ratio will be toward the soil side--the more you swing the ratio, the greater the chance of the soil remaining too soggy and the chance of root rot setting in. Maples prefer to be somewhat snug in a container. This is an issue in smaller plants more so than larger plants. I always like to see my container to rootball work out something like having the container be twice the diameter of the rootball and and not too deep. Thereby the plant has room to grow, but the soil and humus around it will not be decaying and fermenting while we are waiting for the roots to infiltrate it. As the plant gets larger and stonger you have some freedom to try different things. Root pruning is a fine practice, as well as structural and maintenance pruning if you want to leave the plant container-bound for a long while. MJH
Hi, I have an Acer griseum growing in a 5 ltr pot, it has been there for nearly 6 years now it is root pruned every 2 years, and any of the branch structure that requires pruning is done during the autumn.I pinch out the growing tips to keep it in the desired shape through out the growing season. It is a very healthy tree, and does not object to being in the container, hope this helps. Ashizuru.
HI, This topic caught my eye because I have an acer griseum in the ground that I have had for about three years. Last year it died back and now looks like a shrub. I didn't do anything with it, yet, but need to either dig it out and be done with it, or maybe put it into a pot and try to shape it into some kind of bonsai experiment. Anyone have any thoughts on trying that? Thanks for any input. Kay Dye
Your question has a good point. If the soil and soil drain adequately, then the container would not be too big for it, even if it was just 8" tall - as long as the appearance was fine with you.
Hi MD Vaden, Too large of a container will bring upon poor conditions such as keeping the soil media evenly wet or dry as well as promote poor rooting where the specimen will be very wobbly or unstable. This very reason is why nurseries use containers that fit the current root system size, i.e. Dax
