We love displaying conifers and plants in pots as it allows you to create a manageable and creative display you can keep evolving throughout the year no matter how much space you have.

Conifers don’t just have to be your bog standard Leyland they come in a variety of shapes, colours and sizes. They can grow as much as 1m a year or down to 1cm per year depending on the variety, so there is one for every garden and pot size.

Most conifers are evergreen so you can have colour and texture all year round amongst your pot display as they make great feature plants.

Here at Lime Cross our conifers are grown in pots which they happily live in for years before being potted on. You just have to water them well throughout the summer and feed with a slow release fertiliser in the spring and mid-summer.

To bring out the most of conifers planted in pots we also recommend either adding into the same pot or separately some bedding plants as the seasonal colours they bring will highlight the main tree.

Bulbs also make great seasonal combinations in pots with conifers, for example Cyclamen, Hedfolium, Narssissus, Tete a Tete, and alpines to name a few look beautiful throughout the year.

The beauty of having conifers in pots means you can move them around and create different planting displays. This can give height and texture to a dull corner or create a focal point, changing seasonally.

Combining upright conifers with low growing forms can also be very effective for example planting something like Picea Glauca Var. ‘Albertiana Conica’ with Juniperus 'Carbery Gold' alongside seasonal bedding plants will create a colourful and joyful display.

Another added bonus of using conifers in pots is unlike bedding plants which only last for one season you have a plant that will last for years with the correct care, and when or if they get to big for the pot they can be potted on or planted in the garden. Failing that, why not gift your conifer to a special friend.

Conifers in pots can also look very effective in a Japanese garden setting and some can look like Bonsai’s as you can prune most conifers very easily and effectively either by lifting the crown or by cloud pruning and creating little balls on the end of branches.