I’m looking for some easy to manage, potted plants and small trees for my loose stone border: Any recommendations?

The odd fruit tree might be nice, too.

Skimmia is really low maintenance and looks cheery and smart all year round
Japanese maple needs a little bit of tlc but worth the effort
I used to have a crabapple tree in a pot which was very pretty
Lavender is pretty, easy to grow in a pot and bee friendly

Easier to link than type it out!
rhs container fruit trees

What aspect are you? Shady NE facing corners need very different plants to southerly full sun walls.

Thanks for the suggestions and link.

The garden is on the West-facing side of my flat, but it can be pretty shady as there are some large (20m+) trees nearby to the West.

Second vote for Japanese Mapes, can be very colourful too.

A family apple or pear tree on a dwarf root stock?

I planted a flowering Cherry tree in a shaded area of my garden two years ago and is doing remarkably well considering the conditions.

Ferns worth considering, but better in the ground than in a pot.

The awkward question – do you have someone to do the watering when you’re away? Because you don’t want to return to sad, droopy fruit trees. Pots get hotter than soil in the ground, root runs are restricted.

What do you mean by loose stone border?

I was about to ask the same as rockape, do you mean gravel or stone chip? Is there membrane down? Any plants at present? Or it it rockery style with large boulders placed among soil? Is it raised?

This type of thing, but with different rocks, and possibly larger plants:

And yes, a membrane will be down.

Tree fern perhaps?

I was hoping for something a bit more interesting.

Blueberry – something like blue gold would be good in a pot and you’d get flowers and berries. If I ever have a garden again I want a magnolia in a pot because they are so lovely.

How about Alpines?

Don’t get a bloody Killy willow, everyone thinks they’re lovely and buys one and wonders why it looks terrible 3 years later!

Pieris would be a striking colour amongst the stone. A birch would be lovely. Pyrus. In pots try an Acer, I don’t like skimmia as it almost looks fake but it’s evergreen at least. Witch hazel.

A leaf blower will help keep it all clean. Next thread – which leaf blower for 30m2.
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