By Janey
Lincolnshire,
England 
Hi Everyone.
After seeing Michaella's great Prunus buys from Morrisons, I couldn't resist going today and getting two Crab apple trees. Malus Red Sentinel and Malus Butterball. As usual with me I then have to find a place to plant them in my small walled garden. Do you think they would a) be okay in large pots and b) be okay to prune to keep them on the small side?
2 Mar, 2013
Answers
Malus Butterball should be fine in a large pot as only grows to about 1.5 metres, Malus Red Sentinel will be more of a challenge as it gets to about 4 metres in 10 years. I've never a malus but the RHS recommends only a light pruning.
2 Mar, 2013
Thanks girls, I think I'll try them both in large pots and see how they go for a couple of years. The Red Sentinel is on MM106 semi-dwarf rootstock and checking this out, it should be okay at 2 - 2.5 mtrs. Thanks once again.
2 Mar, 2013
I think it depends what rootstock they are on. If they are on dwarfing stock they will be fine in a large pot or tub but if they are full sized trees you can't really keep them small by pruning for more than a few years.
2 Mar, 2013