Although best known for their towering height ( Italian cypress can grow to 20 metres tall, Leylandii cypress to 40 metres), conifer trees come in all sizes, including extra small. A neat dwarf pine, cedar, cypress or juniper tree is perfect for popping in a pot to bring a calming evergreen presence to a patio. Place in part shade and avoid full sun to prevent the foliage from scorching. 5. Bay

Pruning a bay tree to maintain a good shape consists of removing any new shoots and inward-facing buds that are affecting the overall silhouette you are wanting to achieve. According to the proverb, ‘To be happy for a year, get married; to be happy for life, plant a garden'. A well-chosen tree makes the perfect finishing flourish, and by planting trees in a pot, it is perfectly possible for even a balcony-sized garden to enjoy its many benefits. Container-grown trees make an attractive focal point and add variety, height, colour and even fruit to the garden. For ‘Generation Rent’, a pot-grown tree has the added flexibility of being able to move with you. Best small trees for potsYellow leaves - older leaves will shed naturally in low numbers. Nutrient deficiency can be the problem in container-grown plants but is more commonly caused by waterlogged compost or cold weather damage.

However, if the growth above the damaged area is dead, remove the dead parts cutting to healthy wood (i.e. green under the bark) or to near soil level. Recovery from lower down or soil level often occurs. Add the head size to the stem size to get the overall height of the plant. If you are planting in a container, don’t forget to add that too, so a three-quarter standard Bay with a 50-55cm head planted in a 40cm pot will have a total height of around 180cm, or 6 feet.Potted trees can’t access nutrients in the same way that trees in the ground can, so feed regularly in the growing season Few gardens have room for a full-grown oak tree, so growing one in a pot as a bonsai might be the perfect solution. They are simply magnificent trees, and there are numerous varieties to choose from. Oak is famously slow-growing, and growing a bonsai from an acorn will take up to 15 years – the alternative is to grow one from a sapling or buy a ready-made bonsai. Prune pot-grown oak trees in early spring and apply a liquid fertiliser weekly throughout the spring and summer. Tips for caring for potted trees Shaped bay trees are most frequently grown in containers. They are often positioned as a duo to frame a door or create an artistic viewpoint on a patio. If you are growing your shaped bay in a container, select a large enough pot to allow for root growth. Add stones or broken pot pieces at the bottom for drainage, then add good quality multi-purpose compost. Carefully remove your shaped bay tree from its growing pot and position it in the container. Fill with compost so the soil in the container is at the same level asit was when it was growing in its pot. Water well. Pruning

Pruning: Prune in spring and summer for shape. Conduct any hard pruning in spring with lighter pruning in summer. An ideal evergreen topiary tree that can be clipped into a wide variety of shapes. Bay trees have had significance throughout history, particularly in Greek legend, where bay leaves were used to create wreaths given to honour heroes. In ancient Rome, Bay stems were woven into crowns for dignitaries, including the Emperor. Bay trees can produce tiny little yellow flowers. To produce any fruits, the female tree needs to be pollinated so if there is only one tree then it may never produce fruits.Given the right conditions, it’s technically possible to grow any tree, regardless of size, in a pot. The Japanese arts of bonsai and cloud pruning are the best-known and perhaps most effective ways of accomplishing this (Bonsai literally translates as ‘planted in a container’). Here are a couple of large trees that can be grown as bonsai or cloud pruned. 14. Yew Leaf spots - often caused by waterlogged roots, or wet weather conditions. Plants in containers are also very prone to this, usually indicating that the compost has become old and tired. Repot your plant in spring into fresh, well-drained compost.

Conduct the hard pruning of your bay tree in the springtime. This is the best time to get the initial shaping in for the tree. Once the tree starts in the growing season you may need to get another lighter pruning done in the summer just to neaten up the shape. Laurus nobilis is native to the Mediterranean. The botanical name derives from the Latin for “noble laurel.”Bay trees are the classic evergreen trees for containers. Nothing looks smarter than a pair of standard bay trees on either side of a front door. Bays clip well and can be trained as topiary, so you could equally well have pyramids, cones or spirals beside your entrance. The aromatic leaves can be used in cooking, so a container-grown bay is much more than just an ornamental tree. 6. Holly Lovely in their own right, a tree that flowers is just the icing on the cake. There’s no need to miss out on the floral fireworks if you have a small garden – here are some of our favourite flowering trees that can be grown in pots. 11. Star Magnolia If you live in a particularly cold area then we suggest moving the tree to an unheated greenhouse or conservatory to protect it from extreme temperatures and frost. Watering: Water regularly with well-drained soil during the growing season. Don't allow roots to stand in water. Less water is required in the winter months, but don't allow the tree to dry out.