Greenhouse Gardening – trees

People often fear that a tree will take over their garden, or they are worried about knowing which tree to choose – it is a big decision to pick the right one, but there is a way of getting around the problem, by growing trees from seed and keeping them in containers

By growing your own trees from seed you can restrict and shape their growth to suit your needs. If a tall thin tree is what you want, you can begin to pinch out side shoots from the time the tree is twelve or fourteen inches tall. However, if what you want is a low bushy shape, you can work on this by taking out the top growth (known as the crown) when your seedling tree is sixteen to twenty inches in height. It’s equally easy to restrict the root growth of your tree by potting it into only marginally larger pots each time. Limited root growth means restrained top growth – but this does mean you need to keep the trees in a sheltered place, or indoors, in winter.

This is because while most tree seedlings do well outside in the summer, especially in a semi-shady area, but in winter they can be prone to frost because they are sappy and their roots are close to the edges of the pot. So until your trees are robust enough to survive such conditions, bring them into the unheated greenhouse for the winter.

Greenhouse gardening tree photograph by jeffschwartz , used under a creative commons attribution licence