When I bought my Prunus Avium Stella Gisela 5 last year in May, it was in a very small pot. While the nurseryman assured me that it could grow for another year in that small pot, I didn't believe him and found that the tree was totally root bound, as dry as a bone, with very little growing medium visible. I bought a large
terracotta pot and planted the cherry tree in that. The idea was that the weight of the pot would stop the tree from blowing over, but it didn't, not when the cherry tree was in full leaf. After repotting, I found that the roots were soon filling the pot. Now, I know the idea behind stunting plants (like bonsai trees) is that you keep them small by pruning back roots and pruning back top growth, but I had also read that a cherry tree, even a small one, needs a larger pot than I had provided. Furthermore, I read that if you plant such a cherry tree in the garden soil, it does not like competition with the roots of other shrubs. A dilemma! So, I have bought a very large, strong plastic container and I have sunk it into my garden border by half its height. This way the large glaring orange-pink pot does not look so obtrusive in my small garden, sinking the pot will stop it blowing over, and it will also protect the roots against sub-zero temperatures in winter. The terracotta pot had been
protected with bubblewrap this winter .
Before setting the pot into the ground, I threw in some rough gravel to improve drainage. Inside the bottom of the pot, over the holes, I have placed flat rocks and broken terracotta pots also to facilitate drainage. The growing medium is non-peat compost mixed with a little garden soil and vermiculite.
While the pot still sticks out like a sore thumb at the moment, it won't when I get some plants around it. I'm really looking forward to a
crop of sweet cherries this year, if I can get to them before the birds.
How to prune cherry trees
