Don't turn your back on it, it will overtake your children and pets ;o) . . . . . . . and you can grow about any tree in a pot you've a mind to. The Salix genus is full of plants with rather amazing vigor, so you'll be pressed hard to keep it small w/o some considerable pruning skills and the will to do what needs to be done. You'll need to prune the plant hard, annually, both above and below the soil line to keep it in bounds. Nothing special about it's soil requirements, it should do well in any old potting soil, but a well-aerated soil will be best. You'll completely change the soil each early spring though, if you want it to remain in peak health. The plant is a heavy feeder, but you can help keep it compact by feeding a 3:1:2 or a 2:1:2 ratio fertilizer (this is the RATIO - not the blend, so if you don't understand this - please ask). The plant will better resist the various diseases and insects it's susceptible to if you are able to keep vitality high. Al

Lisa- Willows are messy plants that will drop a lot of small branches, leaves, and catkins to clog your pool filter. So never a good choice near a pool. And I doubt that they would survive the first winter in a container in zone 5a. (See below) I don’t know of any bamboo that will survive in a container in zone 5a. There are a few types of bamboo that will survive in the ground, but not many. A container is exposed to air temperatures on all but the bottom, rather than being surrounded by a huge mass of soil from the ground around it like with in-ground plants. Because of this, the container soil will freeze solid in cold weather and will have many cycles of freeze-thaw over the course of the winter. Based on my experience as well as what I read, few plants can survive this. The ground, because only the top surface is exposed to air temperatures, may freeze a few inches down, but doesn’t freeze below that unless it is in an area that is without plants, mulch, or snowcover, and even then there won’t be the kind of temperature extremes and swings that happen in even the largest containers because it takes a long time for in-gound soil temperatures to change due to the enormous mass. Year-round container growing works for warmer areas, but not zone 5. I have found one plant only of many tried that will grow and survive in a container, ribbon grass, something that is too much of a thug to let loose in a garden. However, it isn’t tall enough to votive you much privacy, perhaps 2’ tall. So plant large, quick-growing annual vines on trellises in your pots, something like some of the larger cultivars of mandevilla vine or Black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia) or scarlet runner beans. Add some groundcover or draping plants like wave petunias or golden creeping Jenny and you will have a colorful set of pots for your pool that will offer privacy. Be sure to read up on container soils and have some type of irrigation system to keep them looking good. Or consider freestanding screens that can be moved into place to provide privacy.

Pat, Scully has a point. Plastic pots do work well but it won't insulate the plant. Your best approach if you wish to containerize a tree is to find or build a concrete planter and line it with styrofoam insulators (the ones used for houses). Scully if you intend to go through with such a plan, obviously you will need to build the planter in place. Or if you wish to purchase the planter and have it delivered to the precise area you wish to set the tree. Any tree can be containerize and I have had experience in miniaturizing trees (like bonsai). Make sure the drainage holes are located on the side of the planter and not beneath. The reason is that willow roots will try to seek water and could escape through the hole. If the hole is located beneath, there's no chance you will be able to lift that planter to cut it off. However this will be able to do if the drainage holes are on the sides. Willows are very hardy and they can withstand cold temps. But I have a feeling plastic pots will not be enough to keep the plant healthy. I presently have the corkscrew willow potted in terra cotta and it's been with me for the past 7 years. However I have it on a porch and so not as exposed as what you plan to do. Oh, and the width of the crown of the tree would be approx. 2x the size of the planter. The height would be something like 3x or more the height of the planter. Basically the smaller the planter, the smaller the plant and the more you'd need to water them. another thing, when you are ready to plant, take a pipe and sink it in the soil. Use this to water the plant since the pipe could reach the roots deep below. This is especially important when the plant starts to get root bound. Otherwise when you water, most of that will simply roll out and not reach the roots within.

Vanillalotus, I rec'd some cuttings of corkscrew last fall and rooted them in water - probably 14 of them rooted and I felt so excited! Here I'd heard it was so difficult to deal with these things and I had 14 of them growing in bottles and glasses of water in my kitchen. :-) Then I potted them up, and over the ensuing 2-3 months I watched as one by one they died. By January they were all gone and my grand experiment was over. One or two of them had a root showing out the bottom of the pot before they got sick, but most didn't. Every time, the leaves would look sick, and then from the soil level the stem would start turning brown and then black and this would extend all the way to the stem tip with the leaves falling off rather suddenly at intervals. When I was certain there was nothing more I could do, I'd pull out the stem and there would be *nothing* attached - no roots or anything. So I am pretty certain it had to do with what was going on beneath the soil, and perhaps it was root rot - and I had never let the soil completely dry out either. If your stems are showing any black or brown, yours *may* be doing what mine did. Is there any way you can pull back some soil and see how the roots are? I don't think the plants necessarily want constantly wet feet; it seemed that humid air was what they liked best. In retrospect, when I had them in my homemade greenhouse, they would even perk up briefly after turning sick, but then always died. I think the roots were probably gone by then but the leaves got some moisture from the humidifier I was running in the greenhouse. I understand your distress, and I hope the problem is resolved soon for you. Best wishes. Terri