Potted Christmas tree (Norway Spruce) outdoors

andy1977

I'm planning on keeping my Norway Spruce outside, either in a pot indefinitely or planting in the ground at the end of winter.

The advice tag from B&Q is not very helpful - see below. 

#6 - does it mean a tree kept in a pot outdoors should be brought indoors, if there is a frost overnight?

#7 - any reason why it can't be planted before March if there is no immediate frost expected?



Thanks

Fairygirl

They're a million percent hardy [slight exaggeration  ] so no need to worry about frost. They're grown as a crop for the Christmas market mainly, and this is a relatively new way of selling them in bigger retail outlets - supermarkets, DIY stores etc, rather than cut trees. 
However, you wouldn't plant out into the ground if it's frozen, or if freezing conditions are forecast. Anything in a pot can be planted at any time of year as long as you stick to that. Autumn and winter are best  for shrubs and trees simply because it's colder and damper, and easier for them to establish their roots. If you're planting it out - bear in mind that they make very large trees eventually. 
If it's staying potted, you'll need to pot it on at various intervals as it grows, and it'll need a suitable soil mix - not compost - to keep it thriving. You'll need to be very vigilant with watering too, especially as temps warm up. Potted plants need far more care than those in the ground.
 
If it's been inside, you'd be best to let it acclimatise a little though. All you need to do is put it outdoors during the day and in at night for a few days, and then it'll be fine. Again, just avoid any serious cold conditions to do that, just to ensure the best result. 

andy1977

Fairygirl said:

They're a million percent hardy [slight exaggeration  ] so no need to worry about frost. They're grown as a crop for the Christmas market mainly, and this is a relatively new way of selling them in bigger retail outlets - supermarkets, DIY stores etc, rather than cut trees. 
However, you wouldn't plant out into the ground if it's frozen, or if freezing conditions are forecast. Anything in a pot can be planted at any time of year as long as you stick to that. Autumn and winter are best  for shrubs and trees simply because it's colder and damper, and easier for them to establish their roots. If you're planting it out - bear in mind that they make very large trees eventually. 
If it's staying potted, you'll need to pot it on at various intervals as it grows, and it'll need a suitable soil mix - not compost - to keep it thriving. You'll need to be very vigilant with watering too, especially as temps warm up. Potted plants need far more care than those in the ground.
 
If it's been inside, you'd be best to let it acclimatise a little though. All you need to do is put it outdoors during the day and in at night for a few days, and then it'll be fine. Again, just avoid any serious cold conditions to do that, just to ensure the best result. 

Thanks Fairygirl.

When you say soil mix, do you mean mixing soil from the garden with some compost (e.g. John Innes 2 or 3) or would JI2 or JI3 be OK by itself?

Also is there any reason not to re-pot it straight from it's original plastic pot into a very large 'final-size' pot and then renew the soil/compost around the rootball every so often? Or is there a need for the pot to be only marginally larger than the rootball as it grows?

Fairygirl

John Innes is just a formula - different ones for different purposes, so you can use that if you have it, or if your garden soil isn't suitable in some way - if it's very light and sandy, or too alkaline etc. Most of these trees/conifers prefer neutral to acidic soil. You can  certainly just add some compost to your garden soil to give a reasonably friable mix. You're aiming for something that will retain moisture, but will still drain well enough. Although these trees all cope with loads of water, they don't appreciate sitting in permanently wet, soggy conditions. It's always easier to achieve a balance in the ground, and they can be quite drought tolerant once established. 

You can use a pot that's a few inches bigger all round initially. That should be fine. It does become a bit trickier as they grow, but they're fairly slow growing for the first 5 to 10 years. To be kept very long term in a pot, you'd eventually need to do root pruning etc, and keep the canopy regularly trimmed as well to maintain a balance   

Uff

There's one other thing to know or remember andy1977 and that is that spruce grow to be a very big tree and they grow quite quickly, they are grown for timber (you've seen them growing in huge plantations) as well as Christmas trees so if it's planted in a garden it could overwhelm it's situation quickly and you could be letting yourself in for having it felled in a few year's time. 

Fairygirl

Yes - that's what I said too @Uff. The best solution is to plant it, and then cut it down for a Christmas tree when it's a suitable size. Much easier than dealing with them in pots long term 

Uff

Sorry, I missed that Fairygirl. 
After the advice that andy has received I'm sure he will plant it in the right place but I can't help thinking about a friend who planted one in her garden too close to the house and after 15 years it was blocking out light and the roots were causing damage to walls.

Fairygirl

It's a common problem with conifers of all kinds @Uff. I've lost count of the number of houses I see with conifers planted near the front door. They'll have looked fine for many years - until they start growing more rapidly  [as they're rather inclined to do  ] and you just know the folk in the house are sitting with their lights on all day - even in summer 
The trouble is - they often just hack the tops off, which usually looks dreadful, instead of just taking them out, and putting something more suitable in. 

Uff

Quite so Fairygirl and then there's the bill to have it taken out as is what happened in my friend's case. And she just happens to live on the busy narrow road running through a village.