Eucalyptus tree in a pot

[laurap74]

I bought a beautiful Eucalyptus coccifera in a 20 litre pot, the tree is about 1.40m tall. I would like to grow it in a pot, what pot size do you suggest?At the moment I have potted it in a 40cm pot but it seems too small,what do you think?Will it survive in a pot?

[David Hare-Scott]

How much do you want it to be stunted? It naturally grows to about 6-10 m so it idn't going to reach anything like that in a 40cm pot. Some eucalypts manage quite well in odd situations with very little room for roots, they can be seen growing out of cracks in cliff faces etc so it maybe OK. My guess is that the aspect and environment will be as important as the pot size. Don't expect it to do well indoors for example.

David

[Jeff Layman]

that this is potentially a 15+ metre tree. By keeping it underpotted you will slow its grow rate. For the time being a 40 cm pot is adequate. Your problems will start when the plant gets to 3 or 4 metres high and has top-heavy foliage which will catch the wind. At that stage you may have to repot, but unless you are willing to to cut it back the problem will just recur eventually. In any case a heavy stoneware pot will be preferable to a plastic one as it will act as a counterweight.