By Bob1948
West Midlands,
United Kingdom 
Hi all, I need a little help in choosing a variety of ornamental tree or shrub for a couple of medium/large pots. They are to be situated at the front of my house which gets the sun full on from about noon onwards, so it gets hot. There is no protection either side so in the winter they will get cold and frosty. I'd like something that is evergreen with a long flowering / colourful season so they look good in the summer and look sturdy in the winter. I have Bay Trees but they tend to not like the extreme heat we sometimes get and the very cold winters we sometimes get. If you can recommend a particular shrub then something that looks 'grand' would be nice and if a flowering tree of some kind then one that won't exceed 4-5ft would also be nice. I am in the West Midlands. Thanks in advance for your ideas. Bob
24 Jul, 2012
Answers
We grow quite a lot in pots and would reccomend planting into a big plastic pot then in a ornamental which is large enough to put insulation between the two pots in the winter, the frost through the pots can kill the roots
25 Jul, 2012
Previous question
I have 2 Thujas either side of my allotment gate in ordinary garden soil. They stand the winter/hot weather well, although other shrubs died in the freeze-up last March. Have never watered them. Height promised is 5 feet, very slow growing. Spread a bit at the base, so would need large heavy pots if no protection from strong winds. They dont flower - I think they were £4 each. Good investment.
25 Jul, 2012