You could but I'm not sure why you'd want to :-) Containerized JM's look quite splendid when offered at ground level, especially if in a decorative container. And you will need to remove them periodically to root prune, repot and refresh the container soil. Seems like a lot of work and for what purpose? I can understand doing so to afford greater winter cold protection, but otherwise I'd be inclined to keep them above ground and where they can get the proper attention.

FWIW, container culture will offer naturally dwarfing characteristics to virtually any tree type, due to the confined root space.

I have enough JM's in decorative containers to keep at ground level. I have some other maples I want to plant to the ground. The space is limited, so I want to keep these large maples (Alpenweiis, Acontifolium, Ukigumo..) on smalle side (4-6'). JM's in containers are usually smaller. So, I am thinking to just bury the pots. Not good idea? Will it be better to just prune the maples to keep them at smaller side?
Thank you

I would prune them to keep them the size you want. Good time to sharpen your pruning skills and get to know your maples better. They are much more vulnerable in pots, in the ground or otherwise. They require a lot more attention in pots. At 4 to 6 ft. in the ground you can move them around each year and refine you garden design. They transplant rather well once a rootball is established.

Whether or not trees in pots that are set in the ground require more attention depends on what you're comparing them too. They require more attn than trees planted out, but less attn than trees planted in containers maintained above ground.

You will still get a dwarfing affect with shorter internodes and smaller leaves, but it won't be as pronounced as it would be with a tree in an above-ground container. A good guess is somewhere half-way between normal growth (in ground) and how it would grow under container culture. You would still need to lift the tree & root-prune/repot on a fairly regular basis though, to keep the tree growing with good vitality and close to its potential genetic vigor.

A couple of benefits: You'll be hard-pressed to over-water. The earth will act as a giant wick & pull any excess water from the container. You will also gain considerable benefit in the fact that the extreme temp swings associated with regular container culture are avoided because of the buffering effect of the earth.

I grow lots of woody stuff on for bonsai. If I get something that's really root-bound in a container, and CERTAIN to decline in the upcoming growth cycle because I was too lazy to repot, I often sink the container in a bed or garden until I can get to it the following year. It's an oft used strategy for bonsai practitioners.

Al

With all due respect to Mike (Botann), I believe I'd go with Al's methods before I'd plant them in the ground and then attempt pruning to keep these trees at a size less than half of what they want to be. You may have some success keeping them small when they are young, but eventually all that pruning will be counterproductive and could lead to some severe problems down the road. As will a lot of unnecessary transplanting.

Growing them in containers, whether sunk in the ground or maintained above, is much more similar to practicing bonsai, with the same attention to pruning and training and more importantly, root pruning that is unlikely to occur once the trees are planted inground - and the containers will keep the roots restricted and limit the growth.

One of the very reasons you put potted plants IN the ground is so their roots can grow out the drain holes. Primary benefits are found in the fact there is less ongoing maintenance and in more stable soil temperatures.

I'm not sure how you can make the leap that container soils, by nature, are inadequately aerated. That is painting with much too wide a brush, because it depends entirely on how soils are made and what they're made OF.

Plants might be happier w/o container walls, but in this case, the container is a TOOL, used to bend the plant to your will, much like a lead on a dog is a useful tool for bending the animal to your will.

Al

Thank you all for the info!!!
I will use Fafard 52 mix I was recommended. Should I add any granular fertilizer or water soluble will be better. What kind?

Marchela,

Fafard 52 with a single dose of nutricote 18-6-8 with minors (dynamite) seems to be a good combo. If you only do organic the bio-tone product from Espoma looks good but I'd guess you'll need to dose a few times.

I had a beautiful JM in a pot that I buried in the ground in the pot. It developed root rot and died. It didn't work for me.

I don't think you can blame that on the method. Blaming the method is something akin to blaming your car because it ran out of gas, and is something you, as a grower, should shoulder the responsibility for. ANYTIME you have a plant restricted by container walls, even if it's in the ground, you assume a much greater liability for providing the cultural conditions in which your plant can prosper, or at a minimum avoid decline.

Al