Vinegar trees are suitable for container planting if the conditions are right. Pay attention to the substrate requirements and proper care. Pot cultivation has many advantages over planting outdoors.
How can you successfully cultivate a vinegar tree in a pot?
A vinegar tree in a container thrives if it receives regular water, stands in a well-drained substrate with sand and is placed in a sunny or partially shaded location. Planting in containers prevents uncontrolled growth and protects the native flora.
Substrate
The vinegar tree feels comfortable in the pot. Here it should be watered regularly, but not too wet. A substrate mix with sand ensures permeable conditions. As drainage, you can place pottery shards (€11.00 on Amazon) or expanded clay on the drain hole. The adaptable tree grows in both nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor soils. The vinegar tree is not averse to fertilization. Pay attention to the lime content in the substrate. The sumac, as the vinegar tree is also called, does not tolerate very calcareous soils. Place the pot in a sunny or semi-shady location.
Care measures
Regular topiary ensures that the vinegar tree retains its aesthetic shape. As the crown grows denser, the inner crown branches become bare. This is normal because hardly any sunlight and air reach the crown. Cut the bare branches as deeply as possible. If you repot the plant, you should shorten the roots a little. This creates a balance between the root system and the foliage to be cared for.
Benefits of container planting
The vinegar tree cannot multiply uncontrollably in the garden when cultivated in a planter. Make sure that the bucket is placed on a coaster or solid surface. Otherwise, the roots can grow through the hole on the bottom into the soil and form runners there. The plant is mobile in the pot, so you can move the tree if necessary with a little effort.
A vinegar tree planted in a container remains comparatively low, because the shallow-rooted plant only has limited space in the planter to develop roots. Thanks to its extensive root system, the vinegar tree is able to use the nutrients in the soil over a large area. While outdoor trees can grow to be more than seven meters high, potted plants can reach heights of between two and three meters.
Why planting in a container makes sense:
- Free-growing trees spread over large areas via root runners
- growing vinegar trees are difficult to get rid of
- As neophytes, they endanger the native flora
