Well all my best-laid plans to hold out on buying the dawn redwood went down the pan when I found a little one on eBay for a fiver. So at some point in the next few days, I have arriving a 4ft high Metasequoia in a 3l pot. By parcel post!!! I have never ordered a plant on the interwebs before, so I'm nervous, but the seller had a 99.8% positive feedback rating and just sells plants, so the shipping method must work. My long-suffering husband has offered to buy it for me for my birthday, along with the pot to put it in. So this may be better on the container gardening board, but how big a pot do you think I'll need? I'm planning to keep everything in a pot for at least five years, but of course am prepared to upgrade the pot from time to time. I have a tendency to plunge in head first on these things, and my husband nearly fell off his chair when he saw the Wikipedia entry saying "fast-growing" and "40-45m", but oh well!
They are BIG, you know! The one up the road from us is probably in the region of 30 metres and nothing grows under it! Hope you have a big garden!
If you intend keeping it small, and I know you do, then I would only pot on when its really pot bound and then only a pot a couple of inches bigger at a time. Regular feeding will obviously be required during the growing season along with plenty of water. Hope this helps.
I agree with Pete, potwise just go one size up, and you will probably have to repot every two to three years. Also, by keeping the plant potted you are automatically Bonsaiing it so tell your husband not to worry.....Yet. :D
You will need to root prune it when you repot as David said treat it as a bonsai,you will need very strong pots or the roots will split them.
Thank you everyone for your advice and tips - feeling less nervous now! We're reasonably sheltered - pretty much everything goes near the wall or the fire escape otherwise my husband can't get to the washing line! Walnut - how strong? Would a thick terracotta pot be good enough or should I be looking at a plastic one? I have a Nordmann pine in a large black plastic tub (about half barrel size), and it seems quite tough, but I don't know if a plastic pot would simply burst!
Okay, it arrived yesterday, in a poster tube! I was a little surprised (I'm so naive!), but one of my workmates has shown his hidden knowledge of all things plant-related, and assured me that it was fine, and what I'd been sent was a "whip" with all the side branches removed. This has been quite an eye-opener! Got it home on the most crowded train I've ever been on, with my fellow commuters seemingly deliberately trying to kick or stamp on the root ball, but it survived. It's almost my height, 5'6", rather than the 4' advertised, but that's fine by me. It's in the teeniest pot I own very temporarily, until the weekend. It spent last night in the bath, having had a really good soak, and now it's in the back hall next to Matildus the wollemi pine. I've got a 6' cane ready to support it as it's a bit spindly. Workmate says keep it out of the frost for a bit, so I'm planning to keep it in the back hall (we don't heat it) until mid-late March when Matildus goes back outside. Do you think a pot the size of the one Matildus is in will be okay or do I need a bigger one so it doesn't get top-heavy?
I would think, because of the height, you would probably need a 3 litre or 4 litre pot,Julia.What size do you have it in at present?
I wouldn't repot now, myself. I'd wait until early summer when the new white roots are forming. I dont think stability will be much of a problem until it leafs up, although it is very long and spindly. If it was mine I'd cut it back by half and then train the new top shoot up a cane, and with some careful pinching back through the summer you could have a well shaped plant, by autumn. I should add that this approach is different to what I would apply if planting in the garden.
David - I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think the little one it's in at the moment is more than a 2 litre. Pete - I've not seriously cut back any of my plants before (nothing more than trimming a few straggly branches). Should I cut above a new bud? It's thin enough that my secateurs should make a clean break. And halfway up the trunk?
They usually have buds all the way up Julia, its only a suggestion, but it would help it to thicken up perhaps and you would end up with a shorter stockier plant eventually. They are pretty tough plants and you will not kill it, although it does sound a brutal thing to do. It should cut easily. Any thoughts David?
Julia as regards to the pot you use depends on the final size you are prepared to let it grow to,terracotta is fine but when you get to the 18" mark they do get heavy but at least the don't blow over,plastic this size and above are more durable but can be distored by strong roots,once you decide a final size to grow it to knock it out occasionaly and trim the roots put in a bit of fresh compost.
Yes Pete, there are buds all the way up - was just wondering if I should do it literally just above, or if it doesn't matter if I leave a bit more. It does sound brutal, but I do understand why it would be good for the plant. I'm going to take Walnut's advice and go to the bonsai workshop with my husband to pick up tips, as I can see this guy's going to be high maintenance for a bit, but it'll be worth it. Of course it's only just occurred to me that trimming the roots is precisely what my husband is doing with his teeny bonsai! Really grateful to everyone for taking the time to advise me on this. It's quite a challenge for me - especially as I'm used to my well-behaved, easy-going ferns and palms!
