Growing trees in containers gives us so much more freedom to plant creatively on our patios and terraces
You will be able to find the perfect tree to add to your patio, front porch, courtyard, or other parts of your backyard among the best trees to grow in pots. Potted trees are a flexible way to garden in containers because you can get evergreen and deciduous trees with a wide range of leaf colors, fruit, and flowers throughout the year.
Growing pots in trees offer so many benefits. Flowering trees can add color and scent, and citrus or olive trees are great for making a Mediterranean-style garden. An outdoor patio idea is to separate a seating or dining area from the rest of the yard. There are also plenty of low maintenance trees for pots so that you can grow them with ease.
One of the best things about it is that you can grow tree species that wouldn’t normally do well in your hardiness zone. Over the years, I’ve grown many types of trees in pots, mostly because I rented and wanted to take my plants with me. During the winter, I bring many of them inside, including a big olive tree and a lemon tree. Here are 16 of the best tree types to get you thinking about what to plant in your containers this spring. ( credit: Getty s/marg99ar).
Does your front porch need a touch of natural beauty? Potted trees are a wonderful way to bring life and greenery to welcome guests. From flowering varieties that pop with color to evergreens for year-round interest, trees in planters lend charm and personality to porch decor.
Read on for our top picks for the best potted trees to grace your front porch or entryway.
Benefits of Potted Porch Trees
Before deciding which potted tree is right for your space, consider the many benefits they provide:
-
Curb appeal – Trees instantly boost the visual appeal of your home’s exterior and landscape.
-
Seasonal interest – Many varieties flower or produce colorful fruit. Fruit trees like citrus offer seasonal harvest
-
Fragrance – Trees like gardenias, jasmine, and citrus blossom and perfume the air.
-
Privacy – The right tree can create a screen between your porch and the street,
-
Shade – Trees in planters cast dappled shade, cooling your porch Deciduous trees allow sun in winter.
-
Wildlife appeal – Flowering and fruiting trees attract pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds.
Choosing the Right Tree
Keep these tips in mind when selecting a potted porch tree:
-
Deciduous or evergreen? Deciduous trees drop leaves in winter while evergreens maintain their foliage. Choose based on your climate and preferences.
-
Mature size. Consider the tree’s expected height and spread at maturity to ensure it fits your porch and container size.
-
Sun exposure. Choose a tree suited to the sunlight levels in your entryway. Some require full sun while others accept shade.
-
Hardiness zone. Select a tree rated for your USDA zone to ensure it can withstand winter lows in your area.
-
Soil and watering needs. Fruit trees and natives are lower maintenance choices if irrigation will be difficult.
Best Potted Trees for Front Porches
Here are 15 beautiful trees perfect for porch planters:
1. Crape Myrtle
These summer bloomers come in colors like pink, red, white, and lavender. They have striking peeling bark and elegant shapes.
2. Japanese Maple
Valued for brilliant fall color and delicate leaf shapes, these graceful accent trees thrive in containers. Select slow growing dwarf varieties.
3. Citrus Trees
Dwarf citrus like lemon, lime, orange, and kumquat fruit well in pots. The glossy leaves and citrus blossoms are a bonus.
4. Flowering Dogwood
Dogwoods are a native treasure known for abundant spring blooms and red fall foliage. Look for disease resistant cultivars.
5. Gardenia
This Southern porch classic has intensely fragrant white summer flowers. Some dwarf cultivars work well in smaller containers.
6. Magnolia
Magnolia trees captivate with huge, fragrant blooms in a range of colors. Try little gem or teddy bear varieties for pots.
7. Japanese Snowbell
Snowbells produce clusters of bell-shaped summer flowers. They have a graceful, tiered branching structure perfect for pot culture.
8. Fruit Trees
For small harvests, dwarf apple, peach, plum, and cherry trees are productive in containers. Provide adequate sunlight.
9. Podocarpus
This hardy evergreen has dense needles and can be shaped when pruned. It tolerates shade, heat, and wind.
10. Olive Tree
Olive trees lend a Mediterranean vibe with silver green foliage and gnarled trunks. Sweet varieties bear tasty fruit.
11. Japanese Maple
Maples dazzle with laceleaf foliage that turns vibrant shades of orange, red, and yellow in fall. Dwarf cultivars work best.
12. Birch
Birches are loved for their striking peeling white bark. Select slow-growing varieties suited to your climate.
13. Star Magnolia
Star magnolias bloom in late winter before the leaves emerge, with cup-shaped white flowers along bare branches.
14. Holly
Hollies like yaupon and dwarf Burford stay green year-round. Some have showy red berries for holiday cheer.
15. Flowering Almond
One of the first trees to bloom, often in late winter, with abundant pink or white flowers covering bare branches.
Decorating with Potted Trees
Place your containerized trees in galvanized metal, ceramic, or wooden planters to complement your porch’s style. Here are some decorating ideas:
-
Flank the entryway with matching trees in symmetrical planters for a formal look.
-
Use your tree as the anchor to a container garden by underplanting with flowers and greens.
-
Elevate smaller trees on plant stands or pedestals so they can take center stage.
-
Weave fairy lights through branches to create a magical glow during evening hours on the porch.
-
Add a trellis next to your potted tree for vines like clematis to climb and mingle.
Let your potted porch tree shine against a simple backdrop of white walls and minimal furniture. Or make it the focal point of a more layered, eclectic decor scheme.
With the right selection, care and creative display, you can welcome guests with the beauty of trees on your porch or patio. Bring life to your outdoor spaces this season with planters and trees!
Rhododendron (Image credit: Clive Nichols / Corbis Documentary / Getty Images)
As well as the popular shrubs, rhododendrons are also available in tree form – R. arboreum. Rhododendrons are slow-growing trees that will happily live for years in a pot, so it is worth learning how to grow them. After a few decades, they can grow to be over 40 feet tall.
As an evergreen tree, it has beautiful dark green leaves all year long. It also does well in shallow, acidic, or stunted soil.
Be sure you know how to prune rhododendron to keep your potted specimens under control.
USDA hardiness zones 4 – 9.
Bay tree (Image credit: Brent Darby)
Bay trees are both sculptures and aromatic herbs. Their leaves have a wonderful scent and can be used in cooking fresh or dried.
Bay trees look especially beautiful when planted in pairs on either side of a doorway. They can also be put next to patio furniture for ideas on how to eat outside. They thrive in containers and can be clipped into attractive ball or pyramid topiary shapes.
Aaron Bertelsen says, “A bay tree is very easy to take care of as long as you put it somewhere sunny and feed it often.” ‘Prune every spring, both to keep it at the size you want it and to reduce any congestion. ’.
Every few years, you should move bay trees to a new pot to keep them healthy and help them grow new leaves. Bay trees are an excellent choice for planter box ideas.
Eucalyptus trees are similarly fragrant which will grow well in pots.
USDA hardiness zone 7 (grow indoors in cooler climates).
7 Best Trees To Grow in a Pot – Container Garden Ideas
What are the best trees to grow in pots?
1. Acer (Japanese Maple) Acers will grow well in pots and add a splash of color to patios and decking With delicately shaped leaves, elegant form and stunning autumn foliage in shades of red, orange, yellow and plum, acers, also called Japanese maples, are top of our list of the best trees to grow in pots.
How do I choose a potted tree?
In larger gardens, potted trees add drama with their stature and act as striking focal points on the patio or when placed on either side of an entryway. When choosing your tree, use the same criteria as you would for choosing any other plant: Select a variety that will thrive in your climate and with the light exposure and moisture of your site.
Can trees grow in large pots?
However, growing trees in large pots comes with a few special considerations — not all trees are happy to grow in containers. There are plenty that tolerate it just fine, though. Read on for our top 10 choices. 1. Citrus
Are potted trees right for You?
Potted trees are the ideal solution for space-strapped gardeners who still want vertical accents in their gardens. Choose the right container and location, and these 21 trees are bound to thrive. Learn about trees perfect for growing in outdoor pots and containers!