what size pots for trees

Hi
i am in need for some info about Eucalyptus gunnii tree and new to gardening, apparently it can be grown in pots/ containers and i need to know what size to use to make them grow more "bushy/side ways"at first, rather then taller,but all i find is about liter sized pots, meaning nothing to me, as my aunt many years ago told me as far as i remember, larger width and shallow pots, more bushy less tall, so is this true and what width should i use lol
Thanks

 

Eucalyptus gunnii is fast....I mean fast growing.....freeflow Its in their dna to do that

They are best grown in the ground and pruned annually.....pruning will produce the best blue foliage.

However, yes you can grow them in pots, prob for 3 to 5 years.

Ok, to make them more "bushy" prune back every stem to a pair of buds....this doubles the density. I also pinch back/prune 3 or 4 times during the summer for the same reason. I would do this first pruning in late March.

Size of pot? I would go for a minimum of 40 cm diameter and as much high. And preferably a reasonably heavy one rather than lightweight plastic. Choose a pot that is as wide at the bottom as it is at the top.....gives stability and enables easy removal.

Use a john innes (ask at the garden centre) compost. Not the multi purpose compost usually seen.

Grow in as sunny a spot as possible......no need to water too much; dont let it dry out too much.

When you plant it you might like to pop in one or two plants to cascade down the sides......aubretia, yellow perennial alyssum, white arabis, mesembryanthemum, etc., to provide a long period of interest.

Finally, I would grow another eucalyptus in a couple of years' time to replace the one you have

 

They can indeed!

There was one in my previous garden when I moved in. Below is how I came across it when I first moved into that property (2010). It is the pot in the centre of the picture behind the centre post of the "decking" structure. No certainty on how long it had been in that pot, but I'm guessing at least 3-4 years




I cut back the dead main stem, took out the top couple of inches of weedy soil and then left it to do its own thing.

Two years later (2012), I rolled the pot to another area of the garden where I had created my "Secret Garden" - still no trimming done to it, no compost replenished. No attempt at making it bushy or otherwise, just happy it had survived.



As you can see, that is a large terracotta pot, very heavy!

Mr "M" 'accidently on purpose' forgot to add it to the removal truck when we moved to this house. Pity, because I was quite fond of it.


Hope that helps, in some small way.

 

With trees it's best to get the largest pot you can. I favour the black plastic ones. So if at any time you decide it needs a larger one, the tree can be pulled out more easily than you would a terracotta one..

Also if they're on a patio they are easier to drag around. Some come with handles but if you don't like them you can cut them off.

We've a really big one which is on the main patio, home to our mimosa. Sorry no photo

Then we've one which did have this salix in it. But we didn't like that, so it got removed and replaced with our sambuca. But with plastic ones if there's a danger of the wind blowing it over, you can hammer dowel rods through holes drilled in the base into the earth.
We've handles on the ones with fruit trees in as it makes them easier to drag them around to rotate them on the small patio.