Hi Folks,
I have a newbie question which I can't find an answer to anywhere else.
We have a three-year-old Christmas tree in a pot that we keep outside and just bring in at Christmas it is approximately a meter high from the top of the pot we re-potted it last year. I would love to carry on using it but don't think it will survive another year unless I do something to it. I don't want to turn it into a really small Bonsai that does not look like a Christmas tree so should I put it in an even larger pot and let it grow to say 1.5 m and then trim it back to 1m before pruning the roots? Or am I barking up the wrong tree ?:lol:

Without pictures it is not possible to help.

I already posted a picture with the question but it hasn't appeared. Here it is again.

you are doing something wrong, there is no picture

Uploading a picture is not enough. Mark a place within your post where you want the picture to be and press the insert Button under the picture. When it is visible within the post it will also be visible for us when posted.

Mostly we think in the Japanese model which produces trees mostly smaller than a meter.

We went to a bonsai place in Hong Kong that has trees in very large pots that looked from a distance just like most bonsai. I have a picture somewhere of a tree being worked on by three workers, all three standing in the pot. That one tree must have used more soil than my 40 trees.

Go for it. I would be concerned about winter dormancy, but around here we have week long spells of weather above so it might handle it OK.

I worked my magic again: here it is

I am not sure about your goal here. Do you want to transform this tree to a bonsai or do you just want to grow a small and dense christmas tree?

Hi, Thanks for sorting my photo out lucR.

Tropfrog- Ideally I want to have a Christmas tree that is around 1m tall, doesn't die, looks like a Christmas tree as much as possible, and grows at the rate of an average Bonsai, by keeping it clipped and the roots pruned in whatever way works best.

Sounds like trunk cutting is not an option. Every time you cut the trunk it will take several years to look like a christmas tree again.

Yearly bud pinching is your way to keep it looking as a small christmas tree. The problem here is taking it indoors in winter. Look at the candles on the tree now. They are fully extended in february. If you are in the northern hemisphere that is a serious problem for the tree. Proboably grown while you had the tree indoors and it did not get enough sun during this time. It severly weakens the tree. If done every year this will not only make it look very thin and not christmas tree like, it will kill it.

We never repot week trees. They must always be strong and healthy before repotting. However it is possible to up pot to a bigger size pot without touching the roots. That can be done any time of the year. If done now and the tree is left to grow outdoors it needs time to recover. Left outdoors for two flushes of growth, bud pinching can start on the third.

This is a video I have made long time ago about bud pinching on christmas trees:



Good luck!