Planting Thuja Occidentalis Smaragd - in pots or in ground near house?

I have 2 new Thuja in pots. They're 120cm high and clipped into spirals.

I'd like to have them either side of the front door but not sure if I should keep them in the pots or if it's safe to put into the ground.

I'm happy with the size of them and don't want them to grow much bigger so will keep them clipped.

The pot size is 17L.

Would it be safe to put them in the ground, maybe 30cm or so away from the wall so the branches don't touch the wall, or do I need to keep them in pots. If the latter, can the pots be sunk in the ground to hide them?

There are no drains nearby so it is only the foundations I'm concerned about.

many thanks

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Hiya cedarwood
30 cm is too close to the house......for a few reasons. The soil be very dry there, there is little room for plants to spread fully, the plants will be hungry there and they will look crampted too in my opinion.
A metre away, as a minimum, and if kept pruned would be ok. Better for 2 metres
Conifers are usually much better in the ground but your thuyas would be fine in pots if of decent size. Yes, you can plunge them in the ground....I do this occasionally with various plants to good effect.
You need suitable compost if in pots....the usual multi purpose composts are simply inadequate. Always use a john innes soil based compost for such plants

 

Hello Verdun, thanks for your post. A metre away from the house won't look too good, and 2 metres would look bad. Maybe I should think about putting them at the end of the path near the pavement instead?

What is the likely root spread and depth of these trees if kept pruned? One complication of potential sites is that one border running the length of the path is next to the drive, but raised above it, with a retaining wall made of paving flags on their edges. I'm worried that if the roots spread too much, they may put pressure on the wall and cause it to bulge.

Thanks every one for reading, and if you have any comments, expert or not, don't be shy. The more ideas I have, the more confident I'll be that I'll get it right. I didn't think they'd have to be at least a metre away from the house as Verdun posts.

If I decide to keep them in pots, will the roots need any protection in the winter? Also, what would be the best size? The 17 L pots are already bulging, but I would rather not be disturbing them every year, but at the same time, don't want them growing too much, they're the right height already.

 

Better at the end of the path I think cedarwood
No, wont need protecting over winter but repotting every couple of years or so will be required
Check out taxus Standishii though for your pots near the house......can be pruned as hard as you like and will respond; reasonably slow growing but not too slow; fantastic foliage colour, more yellow in summer and more olive in winter; easy care, the only thing they hate is waterlogging; upright and neat; disease, windburn and pest resistant; the very best of conifers. Will look superb as a pair by a front door. It

 

I'll answer this from my own experiences of using these as hedging. Many metres of it!

I have two hedges that run north-south and butt up against a south facing wall. The one closest to the wall is no more than 50cm away. Obviously, the part of the tree that is against the wall has died, but only in the centre where it cant be seen. The oldest of these to hedges is now 2 metres wide. The roots spread out to this width, but are not very deep. I know that because I could actually dig under them without disturbance when a laid in new heating pipes a few years ago.

Another north-south hedge is planted about two metres away from the gable end of a building on its east side. Although all of them are healthy on the west side, and tops, immediately behind the building is dead wood. It follows the shape of the building almost exactly. Its just a little smaller

From this, my conclusion is that its shade, or something touching them (such as a big bush) that tends to damage them. I see this also from the dividing hedge between my neighbour and I. On his (north side) there is very little green left other than at the tops.

From this, my suggestion would be plant them where one part does not get in shade, and where they cannot touch anything that may damage them. Remember that they do tend to move quite a lot in high winds.

 

Ok, thanks both of you for your advice, its much appreciated.

Sandy Ground, those must be impressive hedges! Sadly, I don't have the room for hedges like that, and my needs are much more modest. You make some interesting points though.

Verdun, I had a look at that Taxus, and yes, it looks lovely, but I'm running out of space for trees/shrubs, and a decent size one (or two) is pretty expensive. A bit hard to justify when there are both front and back gardens to sort out (new house move).

I already have a new Taxus, I had a look at the label after your post and it doesn't give any cultivar and I bought it expecting it to be the native yew. It's about 120 cm high, and I was intending to prune into a pyramid, or maybe a cone. I could get another one, and put those outside the front door, and put the Thuja round the back near/on the patio where there are more options.


Ok, the trouble is with the front door option, the door is raised above the pavement, and because of disability access legislation, there is a ramp rather than steps to the door. This leaves the path higher than the drive. Between the path and the drive is a flower border about 35 cm wide, level with the path, retained on the the drive side by paving flags on their edges as mentioned above.

My concern is that that border isn't wide enough for any kind of shrub this size, and the roots will push the retaining flags over. Any advice on that from anyone? Obviously, if that border is too small for the roots, then whatever goes there will have to be in containers.

The Thuja are about 30cm diameter, the Yew is about 50cm. I think the Thuja could go maybe 60cm away from a wall without looking strange. Maybe slightly further away at a push but not much more.

The containers obviously solve a few problems - restricting roots, soil type etc, and can be rotated every few days so all sides see some sun, but won't look as neat next to the door, making it look a bit cluttered, and will require watering etc (as well as paying for).

So the crux of the matter is, as my first choice is to have the Thuja outside the front, what size pot will they be happy in, will they be happy in a 35cm wide flower border with the house wall behind them and the retaining wall on one side? Secondly, as an alternative to Thuja, what about Yew, would that be happy in that location, and what about pot size for that?

Thanks for your help, I am sure whatever solution I come to, the results will look good, but this is turning into a tangle of spaghetti. I should've planted Coryline or something!

 

Cedarwood, post a picture. Doesnt have to be Standishii; I have some different varieties, all good. Makes sense just to get another of what you have and, yes, you can shape however you want. (I have a dark yew standing over 6' and I intend to "humanise" him for some fun!)
Yew is very adaptable......copes with shade, sun, draughts, salt winds and drought. If more people grew yew as a conifer choice there would be far less conifer problems!
Cordyline is good in a pot too but too near a wall and it will spoil the shape