The Best Small Trees for Pots

Naturally small trees and semi-dwarf or dwarf tree cultivars are best for growing in pots. Growing in containers restricts trees' sizes, but, nevertheless, larger trees outgrow their containers quickly, and large potted trees are heavy and difficult to move, which may be necessary to protect them from freezing temperatures. Small trees are less likely than larger trees to become top-heavy and be blown over in heavy winds.

Select trees that are hardy in your U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone and that provide year-round interest if the trees will remain in place all year. Another option is to place potted trees in a prominent position when they give their best show, such as when they display fall color or spring blooms, and keep them in a more concealed part of the garden the rest of the year. If a tree isn't hardy in your USDA zone, then it must be overwintered where temperatures never fall below its lowest USDA zone's average annual minimum temperature; if the tree is in leaf, then it also needs a bright spot.

Trees in containers may need special care during freezing weather because their roots are more exposed to temperature changes than in-ground trees' roots. Those container trees should be moved indoors, or their containers should be protected with burlap, blankets, bubble-wrap or another insulating material.. Trees in containers also need water on a regular basis because they can draw water from only their containers' soil.

Grow trees in pots with that have bottom drainage holes.

Evergreen trees in pots provide year-round interest. They can grow on patios, decks and other areas of the garden, and some varieties can be taken into homes for winter.

Large-flowered magnolia 'Little Gem' (Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem') offers fragrant, white, summer blooms up to 4 inches wide and evergreen leaves that are a glossy, dark green on top and pale green to gray-brown on the underside. Slowly growing to 20 feet tall over 20 years, 'Little Gem' is hardy in USDA zones 7 through 9, though it isn't reliably evergreen in USDA zone 7.

Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) features aromatic, glossy, dark-green leaves that are 2 to 4 inches long and used as a culinary herb. Hardy in USDA zones 8 through 10, bay laurel overwinters well indoors in a bright, cool room and can spend summer outdoors in a spot sheltered from strong winds. A female bay laurel has purple berries in fall when it is pollinated by nearby male bay laurel. A bay laurel naturally grows into a pyramidal shape, and its size can be controlled by pruning.

Before and after pruning bay laurel and other trees, sterilize pruning tools by wiping their blades with a cloth soaked with rubbing alcohol.

Deciduous trees lose their leaves in fall, but many provide eye-catching foliage throughout the rest of the year.

The Japanese maple cultivar 'Katsura' (Acer palmatum 'Katsura') offers pale yellow-green spring foliage with orange-tinted margins. The leaves mature to bright green in summer, and in fall turn soft yellow and orange. 'Katsura' naturally grows into a vase-shaped form 4 to 6 feet tall in 10 years without pruning, and becomes 10 to 12 feet tall with a roundish form. It is hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9.

In some areas of the United States, 'Katsura' Japanese maple is invasive.

Smoketree Green Fountain (Cotinus coggygria 'Kolcot') grows to a compact, rounded shape 4 to 6 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide. Named for the billowy hairs that emerge from its faded flowers in a smokelike haze during summer, Green Fountain also features dark-green leaves that turn red, orange or yellow in fall. This tree is hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8.

Trees covered in blooms are show-stoppers, and those in pots can be moved into the limelight for their peak flowering time.

'Corinthian Pink' flowering peach (Prunus persica 'Corinthian Pink') is smothered in double pink blossoms in spring. As the flowers fade, shiny, reddish-green leaves with serrated edges emerge. 'Corinthian Pink' is hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8. When grown in the ground outdoors, 'Corinthian Pink' reaches 20 to 25 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide, but being in a container would restrict its size.

Chilean fire bush (Embothrium coccineum) is named for its fiery-red flowers, which are attractive to hummingbirds and appear from late spring through early summer. Also offering deep-green, evergreen foliage, Chilean fire bush is hardy in USDA zones 8 through 10. As an in-ground tree outdoors, Chilean fire bush grows 15 to 35 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide, but a potted Chilean fire bush wouldn't reach those dimensions.

Growing fruit trees in containers makes it simple to move the cold-sensitive ones indoors when frosts threaten. If your yard has poor soil, then growing fruit trees in pots also allows you the opportunity to provide them with rich soil mixes without amending the yard's soil.

Meyer lemon tree (Citrus x meyeri) is a small hybrid that can grow in a container year-round indoors or be placed outdoors during frost-free periods of the year. Bearing thin-skinned fruits up to 3 inches in diameter, Meyer lemon also offers fragrant, white flowers and shiny, dark-green, evergreen leaves. Meyer lemon is hardy in USDA zones 9 through 11 and grows 6 to 10 feet tall and 4 to 8 feet wide.

Angel Red pomegranate (Punica granatum 'Smith') produces its orange blooms from late winter through early spring, when the flowers are in danger of being damaged by frosts in cold USDA zones. Overwintering this small tree indoors in a container, however, provides it protection. Angel Red's fruits are vivid red and mature in early fall. Hardy in USDA zones 7 through 11, this deciduous tree grows 10 feet tall and wide.