Big tub needs a tough plant

I find blueberries easy to grow in tubs/half barrels. They need ericaceous compost and watering with rain water, and will provide you with blossom in Spring, berries in Summer and beautiful autumnal colour. 😊

How deep is it - and is it near a building? I'm thinking it would do for a tree.

A bamboo?

I have euonymus, acer, flowering cherry, photinia, hydrangea, fig in very large pots all growing nicely with very little input from me. They are mostly in full sun for a large part of the day. I had dwarf fruit trees in half barrels in a previous house.

Hetty58 said what I was thinking, where is the tub in relation to your house? Do you want something tall in it, or if you plant a tree will it shade a window so you need something lower growing? With such a large pot you have space to do a mixed planting scheme if you want to, with some bulbs as well as shrubs.

Thanks all. It/I have already killed off an acer and a eucalyptus I’m sad to say. I’m told both are easy so …🤷‍♀️ A blueberry sounds a good idea if I removed the soil and began again.

Thank you.

Both acers and eucalyptus are not reliably frost hardy if it gets extremely cold Sidelined, that could well be why you didn’t succeed. Not all blueberries are fully hardy either, so make sure you check before you buy. Another option is a lace cap hydrangea, which are pretty.

raspberries? Not so fussy about soil as blueberries.

A mix of heuchera should do it, evergreen, flowers, and a mix.of leaf colours and patterns. Infil with winter pansies for instant impact.

Sedum- so easy to grow and fabulous source of autumn food for bees, and colour when there is little else.

I have 6 blueberries in very large pots, half barrel size. Three are 9 years old and 3 are 6. They are thriving but do need a bit of tlc. They are in full sun from first thing to 2 pm

I also have some modern agapanthus in large tubs. three to a tub and they are in full sun the whole day. They hardly need any water, whereas the blueberries get stored rainwater. These are fully hardy and they survived through extremely cold winters here. They are twister and so beautiful with sturdy statuesque stems and big flowers that the bumble bees love

Normal agapanthus did not survive winter. I have 9 twister and every one of them did when ground was frozen solid

www.jparkers.co.uk/perennial-plants/by-variety/agapanthus?page=1&limits=12&sort=RELEVANCE

I have a pot of similar size at the side of my summer house/ shed, it has several mixed agapanthus and a star Jasmine in the middle which is huge. It's been there for years now and is doing very well. The Jasmine is evergreen and the flowering season is good, otherwise the pot would look very bare for most of the year. The foliage on the Jasmine is very attractive with various shades of green and pink.

A bay tree?

You could always screw a set of casters (£3. 99 from Amazon) to the underside of the box, then it would be easy to move into sun or shade depending on what plant you decide to put in it.

This is the tub earlier this year. To the left is the side of the house and to the right (about 5’) is the shed. The box is facing east and gets in for most of the day plus a whistling wind from between the two houses. The pots aren’t there all the time.

I would have said we have mild winters but I lost several much loved old friends thanks to one extremely cold spell last winter. I like the sound of jasmine, it smells wonderful doesn’t it. Lots of lovely ideas, thank you all 😀

Gets sun…

Sidelined

Thanks all. It/I have already killed off an acer and a eucalyptus I’m sad to say. I’m told both are easy so …🤷‍♀️ A blueberry sounds a good idea if I removed the soil and began again.

Thank you.

A good choice. I have three very healthy ones and will send photos to you. 🙂

I have a Portuguese Laurel tree in a large tub. Evergreen with flowers in spring and berries in summer. Leaves right from the base upwards. It's about 7' tall. I'll keep it pruned to this size. I have it underplanted with nasturtiums each summer. Just the occasional Fred and water.

Georgesgran

You could always screw a set of casters (£3. 99 from Amazon) to the underside of the box, then it would be easy to move into sun or shade depending on what plant you decide to put in it.

Good idea, Georgesgran

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202309/medium-395210-fatsia.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202309/medium-660947-fatsia-spiders-web.jpg

I would recommend a Fatsia Japonica, which has glossy tropical-looking leaves but is hardy through our winters. There is also a variegated version, called Spider's Web which stands out against a dark fence.

That’s rather lovely shysal, thank you.

And thank you for all the suggestions, all gratefully received 😁

I would agree with shysai a Fatsia Japonica is evergreen and has interesting golf ball type flowers in the Autumn. They are very hardy, mine’s been growing in a large pot for about 10; years.

I agree a fatsia japonica or we have an olive tree in a tub that size. Olive trees do stand freezing temperatures & need very little care. I would invest in a large tree as it will be there for many many years.