Planting Tiger Eyes Sumac in sunken pot to control suckering

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jhart Aug 10, 2008

I am planning on planting a Tiger Eyes Sumac in a pot in the ground (probably a 5 gallon pot) because I have heard from several people that have this plant in their yard that it does indeed sucker sometimes. In the book "Making the Most of Shade" by Larry Hodgson, he says you can put a plant in a pot and then sink the pot in the ground to prevent it from suckering and taking over an area. Does anyone have any opinions on whether this will really work and what are the advantages and disadvantages to doing this? I would prefer the Tiger Eyes sumac to get at least 5 to 6 feet tall and wide someday and am wondering how much a 5 gallon pot will limit that. Should I use an even larger pot? I consider myself a beginning gardener who has been doing a lot of reading but only a little experience here and there over the years with actually planting shrubs.
Thanks.

Jhart

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lbrabec (Lynn) Omaha, NE(Zone 5a) Aug 10, 2008

Usually 'Tiger Eye' doesn't sucker as much as the wild types.Burying things in large pots often works(I do this with my Gooseneck Plant),but make sure you use a large enough pot to begin with so you don't have to ever dig it up.FYI It is not considered a shade plant,although it may take some.
Lynn

Post #5395529
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jhart Aug 11, 2008

Thanks for the response. I am planning on putting it in full sun, just happened to have read about the sunken pot technique in the shade book. I hope a 5 gallon pot is big enough--anyone have any thoughts on the best size pot? Has planting your Gooseneck Plant in a sunken pot kept it from multiplying too much? I was thinking of maybe doing this with Bishop's flower also because I love the way it looks but have read it can be aggressive and invasive.
Anyone else have any opinions about planting Tiger Eyes sumac in a sunken pot?

JHart

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Little_Squirt Wayne, NE Aug 12, 2008

Okay let me get this straight-you just plant it in a pot, presumably you would have drainage holes in it and this would then in turn slow down the spread of the plant? Seems I have heard that somewhere but how do you know how big of pot to use? I have a few plants that I'd like to try this with but if I put it in a too small of pot won't it just stunt or kill the shrub? And won't eventually if there is a large amount of roots won't it crack the pot?

Post #5402226
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lbrabec (Lynn) Omaha, NE(Zone 5a) Aug 12, 2008

You cut the bottom out of the pot before burying.The roots can still grow downward and will not split the pot.I used 14 inch deep pots for the goosenecks.For a shrub it would depend on what size the plant is when it reaches maturity and whether it is a shallow or deep rooter.
Lynn

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