Growing Trees (Oaks) in a Pot

[makushr1]

My fiance and I thought it would be a fun idea to plant a red oak from an acorn around the time we get married and watch it grow throughout our marriage. Kinda a cute symbolic gesture... or something, whatever, lol.

Anyway, we just bought a house that we only plan on living in for maybe the next 5-8 years, 10 max. That being the case, we don't want to plant the tree at this house, we'd like to plant it at our next home, the one we will probably live in for a couple decades.

So that bring me to my question, how long can I keep it in a pot? You can buy some large trees from a nursery in a pot, so I assume there's no reason why mine can't stay in a pot for 5-8 years.

I read something about trimming the taproot if it starts coming out the bottom... is that true? Do I start it in a smaller pot and in a couple years transplant it in a larger one? Should I only transplant from pot to pot once, or should I do it multiple times as it gets larger?

Thanks in advance!

[Gnome]

makushr1,

You might wish to do some research in the bonsai section of the forum. Yes it is possible to keep a tree alive in a pot for many years or even decades. The age of some bonsai are measured in centuries.

In general, start in a small pot that will not allow a mass of soil that is constantly wet and up-pot only as necessary. Bonsai growers utilize a very open, free draining medium to help avoid root problems. Root-pruning and re-potting are indeed part of the process.

[url]https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jI07RPVEgbI/SCsM-rum6DI/AAAAAAAALgc/uVie3SYfdlI/s1600-h/NSC_5229ofv.jpg[/url]

Norm

[rainbowgardener]

However, you will notice bonsai are miniature trees. They are kept in very small pots. If you use a big pot you can have a bigger tree. But you still will be stunting the tree's growth compared to being in the ground.

If part of the point is to someday be able to look at a 40' oak tree and say we planted that back when we got married, you will slow down that day, the longer you keep it in a pot.

[bullthistle]

One thing about oak trees they have a tap root unlike a maple which means as the tree grows the root travels down towards China.

[!potatoes!]

in my experience, most of the bigger oaks (like red oak) don't like being in a pot (regardless of size) for very long.