Winter shrubs small pots outdoors

Hi there,
I'm looking for some advice about purchasing some small to medium sized (approx 2ft high), Winter hardy shrubs or bushes which can be planted in approx. 12 inch diameter pots please. These are to be placed outside througout the Winter in a relatively sheltered area which receives sunlight up to around midday/ 1pm. Am I maybe asking too much?

Many thanks for any advice.

 

Topiary? Box balls and the like?

If you have room to store them "off season" then a variety of pots that can ring the changes - so you might have some bulbs planted and then bring those round when they are in flower in the Spring.

A 12" pot is quite small, so will need careful monitoring for water. The plants won't need much water in the Winter, but the pot won't have much "reservoir" so keep an eye on it as we move into Spring.

 

Thanks for your reply Kristen, but you're speaking to a complete novice.
I'm looking for the names of something suitable, maybe similar to the small conifer in this photo:



Thank you

 

That looks more than 12" diameter? I reckon you will only get one plant in a 12" pot - unless you plant it more like a hanging basket - but that doesn't really work for the Winter - normally Winter "tubs" would be planted with flowering bulbs

"Topiary" is a bush trimmed to shape - a bit like the ones in your picture, although your picture looks like they have not been trimmed and are probably "dwarf" varieties instead - but a similar concept.

"Box" is an evergreen plant with very small leaves particularly suited to being trimmed into "Topiary".

Here's an example (but that's just the first one Google came up with)



We have Topiary Box outside out house, and some Holly too (they are clipped to look like lolly-pops on sticks) and then in the Spring we put out a different set of tubs that we have bulbs in - and come the summer we have yet more tubs with bedding plants (the sort of things you see in hanging baskets) plus we have a few others with specific plants that we wheel out for the couple of weeks that they are in flower and look spectacular. As you can probably imagine we have quite a lot of space around the back where the "spares" are being groomed for their season!

 

Yes, as I said, I'm looking for something similar to the small conifer, not the whole arrangement.

Great, that's very helpful, thank you.

 

A quick Google turned up these.

http://www.gardini.ie/plants/conifers.htm - some good advice on looking after them!

http://www.dobbies.com/Advice/How-toGuides/Conifers/C - Respected seed company, but you'll have to dig out the Container advice from that page

 

Very helpful, I'll buy some small conifers - possibly dwarfs - (although a little late in the year) and give them a shot.
Thanks again.

 

The do need to be dwarf varieties - otherwise they will be trying to grow anything up to 3' a year!

One thing I forgot to mention. Many conifers are trimable too - they are often used for hedges, for example. They are often sold trained into Spirals and the like. Depends what you want of course, but there is choice of "fluffy" / untirmmed and "formal / shaped" Topiary / trimmed. Good job you want something small otherwise they are horrifically expensive!

 

Good advice! Dwarf untrimmed it is.
Thank you.