Best Trees For Containers: Create A Potted Grove On Your Porch With These 8 Compact Varieties

Just because you have a small backyard, that doesn’t mean you can’t love natural landscaping just as much as gardeners with 40 acres! But growing trees in a small area can present challenges for their growth. This squeeze can be exacerbated by hardscaping elements like patios, decks, pools and sidewalks. Still, there are several options that work well in smaller spaces if you are willing to think creatively and factor in smaller scale trees for container gardening.

Believe it or not, trees can make some of the best plants for container gardens. Being willing to grow trees for containers, pots and planters allows you to expand your landscaping choices. Here are some of the best container trees for even compact corners…

Choosing the Best Trees for Containers

There are a few obvious limitations when choosing trees for a pot. You won’t be able to grow a 100-foot oak tree in a terracotta container. You do have to be mindful of your desired tree’s natural growth habits and how this will likely be affected by container gardening culture. Still, there are a variety of small trees that grow happily in containers. Personal preference ultimately plays a large role in determining the best trees for pots, but here are eight worthy container contenders.

1. Boulevard Cypress

We love ‘Boulevard’ evergreen trees for pots because of their naturally more compact growth habit and their slower rate of growth. This particular false cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera) cultivar has delicate soft blue leaves and a dense form. Boulevard is relatively short in stature, topping out at between 10 and 20 feet (3.3-6.6m) tall.

The pliable, blue-green needles of Boulevard by Green Promise Farms, available in the Gardening Know How Shop, hold their color right through winter. As if all this wasn’t compelling enough, this tree’s exfoliating, reddish bark is another showy feature.

2. Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar

You want drama in your small backyard? The graceful, expressive shaping of the weeping blue atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca Pendula’) is truly a sight to behold – and incredibly, this cedar form thrives in a generous container. As small trees for pots go, a weeping blue atlas cedar cultivar makes a big splash in any yard, no matter how compact, thanks to its slow-growing nature.

This weeping evergreen boasts ice-blue needles that will cascade from a container like water. Once established, caring for a blue atlas cedar is straightforward and it requires little ongoing maintenance. However, you can prune in late winter or early spring to help maintain shape and size.

3. Japanese Maple

The Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) is a small but extremely ornamental member of the Acer clan. These striking ornamentals make gorgeous small trees for front yards and restricted spaces, thanks to their diminutive stature and slow growth. They are also remarkably adaptable to the confines of pot living. All offer lovely maple foliage and many will light up your back yard with a brilliant fall display.

Make sure your container is able to both nourish and support your Japanese maple, and consider eventual height when selecting a pot. Ideally, the pot diameter should be around a quarter of the potential height of your maple. Japanese maple trees generally top out between 6 feet (2m) and 12 feet (4m).

4. American Fringetree

You may not have room for lots of olive trees in your yard, but you should be able to care for a fringetree (Chionanthus Virginicus), a small, deciduous tree in the olive family. The native Fringetree from Green Promise Farms, available in the Gardening Know How Shop, tops out at around 20 feet (6.6m) tall, depending on the container.

The fringetree delights in spring with its fragrant snow-white flowers, followed by showy blue-black fruits in late summer, providing an essential food source for wildlife. These potted lovelies also manage an extremely showy autumn display as leaves turn brilliant yellow, lighting up the fall landscape.

5. Kousa Dogwood

Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) is a handsome, small tree with several exceptional features. The white dogwood flowers (actually pointed bracts) decorate the tree in late spring. Its leaves are shiny and change from green to blazing red in fall.

In late summer, this unique specimen tree also produces peeling bark that develops into an interesting tan and brown pattern, along with red or pink drupes. Alongside these appealing features, the kousa dogwood is a delightfully easy-care option, making it one of the best container trees around.

6. Black Chokeberry

Chokeberry trees (Aronia Melanocarpa) are welcome in any garden, providing excellent cover for native wildlife. If you are looking for an option that is ideal for containers, consider compact cultivar ‘Iroquois Beauty’, available in the Gardening Know How Shop. It tops out at about 3 feet (1m) tall, but spreads almost twice that wide over a decade.

This black chokeberry develops showy white spring blossoms that transition into dark berries – edible to humans and attractive to wild birds and mammals. Then in fall you can enjoy the vibrant, fiery foliage. What’s more, few cultural requirements are required to keep this lovely potted tree happy and thriving.

7. Winterberry

Winterberry trees (Ilex verticillate) are lovely native flowering shrubs and deciduous hollies. They make great small trees for pots, since they grow slowly and top out at 6-12 feet (2-3m) tall. Their toothed dark green leaves are attractive and may turn purple before falling.

While the flowers are tiny, they develop into the showy berries that give this tree its name. These berries are bright red and appear in late summer and fall, but can persist throughout the winter. You’ll find winterberry holly care couldn’t be simpler, and these trees are very happy in pots once established.

8. Southern Magnolia ‘Little Gem’

Magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora) are some of the most attractive flowering trees you can grow, with their iconic blossoms, huge and often fragrant. Yet while you may associate magnolias with mass, heavy branches of large flowers, there are varieties that can grow happily in generous-sized containers.

‘Little Gem’ is a dwarf cultivar that develops deeply fragrant blooms in spring, before the shiny leaves appear. Don’t think of it as a tiny tree, though! It has the potential to grow to 25 feet (7.6m) tall over time – but with a compact, narrow form. These are great low maintenance trees for large, well supported pots if you want a narrow hedge or screen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Great Container Garden Ideas

• Looking for easygoing ornamental trees that can delight all year round? Try these four season trees for stunning displays of foliage, flowers and berries.
• Would you like to cultivate a cut flower garden, but worried about space? Here’s how to grow a cut flower container garden for even the most bijou growing corners.
• While we all have our favorite, there are a few hardworking trees that should be in every yard – check out the shortlist of surefire winners for gardens great and small.
• Do you want container plants to look good no matter what the season? Make sure you grow the best plants for pots year round to keep containers happy and healthy.

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