The tree(s) may develop root problems and like someone told you they can potentially fall over or not have any foliage on that side or have a poor appearance. The trees will probably look fine for a few years until that mesh becomes a problem. Italian cypress and related species are drought tolerant but you can't expect them to be drought tolerant without a well developed root system. There may be natural obstacles like rocks but this isn't a natural obstacle and don't bet on it biodegrading in the soil. By the time that happens, we'll all be long gone. I'm not surprised the nurseries tell you the trees will be fine because they're trying to sell you the trees and will say whatever it takes. The people onthe internet like myself really don't know what you're trying to do because we can't see the mesh or really understand what you're talking about. But what I can say with certainty is nature doesn't always find a way.

"Papers published in refereed Scientific Journals: 70+ Technical articles in assorted Journals and Technical publications: 330+ Technical papers presented at Professional Meetings: 400+ Patents granted: 20 USA, numerous foreign patents. Professional organizations: American Society for Horticultural Sciences, Â International Plant Propagators Society (President Southern Region, 1989), Â International Society of Arboriculture, Â American Society of Agronomy, Â Weed Science Society of America, Â Ecological Society of America, Â Southern NurserymenÂs Association, ÂOklahoma Nursery and Landscape Association, Â American Nursery and Landscape Association, Â Texas Nursery and Landscape Association. Awards: 1977, Henegar Aware given by the Southern NurserymenÂs Assoc. for excellence in research. 1983, Chadwick Award, presented by the American Association of Nurserymen, "To an exceptional educator for superior teaching, guidance and motivation of students in the nursery and landscape arts and sciences". 1985, Outstanding Oklahoma Nurseryman. 1986, Wight Memorial Award given by the Southern NurserymenÂs Assoc. for Outstanding Contributions to the Nursery Industry. 1987, Outstanding Industry Person Award, by the Florida Nursery Assoc. 1988, Award of Merit from the Garden Writers Assoc. of America. 1993, named Fellow of the International Plant Propagators society. 1999, Meadows Award given by the International Plant Propagators Society" Here is a link that might be useful: bio.pdf

I would think it would depend upon how large the tree is; how large the container is; and what material the container is made of. Hopefully, your container is not terra cotta or ceramic as both of those are cooking utensil materials. If your container is wood, foam or concrete, these insulate the soil/root ball much more efficiently than many other materials. Other, less efficient insulators can be improved by wrapping their interiors with either several layers of bubble wrap or thin sheets of styro foam. You'll effectively be insulating them as you do your roof and house walls, creating an "ice chest" out of them. The air layers created by the wrapping material will help prevent the heat transfer from the pot sides to the soil ball and roots. How root bound the tree is plays a significant part, too. The more soil you have between the roots and pot sides, the better the crown and roots of the tree are insulated. Soil can be an excellent insulator, but root material pressed right against the pot interior absorb the heat from the pot material, literally cooking them. The larger the pot, the longer it takes for that heat to be transmitted all the way through the soil ball, too. I think when the highest heat hits, if you can shade the pot to prevent it from cooking from direct sun, the tree should make it OK with appropriate water. I would definitely wash the upper parts of it when I water to rinse out the dust and debris and reduce any chances of spider mites which can stress the tree, reducing its chances. Water on the foliage and limbs can also help rehydrate the plant. I can't suggest how frequently you should water nor rinse out the tree, but I would do it in the evening so chances of being burned by sun are reduced. Once the worst of the heat passes, as long as the potted tree seems fine where it's grown, you should be able to move it back to its former position. I wouldn't shade the foliage of the tree. Though it will tolerate quite a bit of shade, growing much more slowly in reduced light, it will alter the ability to tolerate more intense, direct sun, so you'll need to gradually harden it off to the hotter, brighter sun. That can be more difficult than just shading the pot from the direct sun, and may easily result in foliage burn. Though your conditions are significantly more severe than mine here in Los Angeles, the issue of overheating the potted root ball and gradually acclimating shaded foliage to brighter, more direct sun, are common in any hotter area. I hope it helps. Kim

Well, it's been a while since I contributed to this thread. I tried planting the Tiny Tower Monshel Italian Cypress trees and they were doing fine until the temperatures reached 115 degrees. The problem in my case is that there is so much concrete and the heat reflected from the water from the pool literally baked them in just one day. It was like they were freeze dried but more like "oven bake-dried" when the summer came. God, I was do upset over that. I planted them in the Fall and they did so well throughout the Fall, winter and Spring. After that failure I got a hold of some Skyrocket Junipers and was hoping I could trim them and keep them skinny and columnar-like in their narrow space. I was assured by the nursery owner that they would do well and that they grow just fine out in the desert. But the same thing happened. I planted them in the Fall and they did great but come the following summer, all but four of them fried in the heat. It's because of all the concrete and reflection of heat off the water from the pool that did them in. No one was able to teach me this. What a burning hard lesson to learn about how hot it is here and "reflected heat" from concrete surfaces. The four that did not die were the ones that received afternoon shade next to a fenced wall that is eight feet tall. I was even more upset and in tears the second time around. Actually I cried both times. I love planting tries and have done so in other parts of the country. I have never had one die on me. So to lose seventeen Monshel Tiny tower trees all at once and about eleven Skyrocket Junipers in a similar way was a lot to lose. Not to mention, since the Junipers were spaced differently due to their growth habits I redid the entire irrigation system a second time before planting them. So, I tried to really think about what could handle the extreme heat and reflected heat around all the concrete and also handle the reflection of sun and heat off the water from the pool. Then I thought of some of the boulevard type streets here in the desert that have plants and trees that are surrounded by asphalt and get direct hot summer sun all day long. Most of the plants these areas have are different types of agaves which I didn't want because the space is too narrow and I wanted something with some height and something that I could shape and trim. Not to mention, agaves tend to have spiky points which can pose as a hazard along a narrow sidewalk. Getting back to the planted boulevard streets, I noticed how well pencil cactus plants were popping up and being planted in these areas on highway streets exposed to rock, gravel and asphalt and all day long with no shade or relief from the sun. And they all looked great. Then I remembered I also had two pencil cactus in large pots that I bought from the nursery that I was neglecting for two summers that were doing well and growing and thriving in full sun all day long with the pot sitting directly on concrete. I bought them at a nursery but wasn't sure what to do with them yet. So I thought to give them a try around the pool. I had to redo the irrigation yet AGAIN due to their spacing being different but I was fine with that. So far, all but one survived over a year's time. I think the one that died might have struggled due to the metal pool shed reflecting way too much heat back at the furthest pencil cactus planted to the right. I plan to drape some shade fabric over that area come summer to eliminate the reflected heat from metal; which is more intense than reflected heat from concrete/stone. I'm pretty sure that's why that one died. And now you see a new smaller pencil cactus I just replaced this past winter to take it's place in the photo below. Today is April 1st in fact which is when this photo was taken. What I like about these pencil cactus is that they turn a bright orange pink salmon color in the Fall, winter and Spring. Come summer they will turn a bright chartreuse green from top to bottom. I have to admit I wish they'd stay orange-pink all year long. But it's cool to watch the colors change throughout the year. Here are some photos: With the exception of the one I replaced they have grown nearly twice in size. I read somewhere that they can grow two feet a year in the beginning but their growth will start to slow down as they mature over the years. The more water I give them the faster they grow. During the summer I give them a good drink twice a week and in the winter I give them water once a week; all through underground drip irrigation on an irrigation timer. I just recently trimmed up the bottoms of all of them because they were so bushy and branches were falling over the flagstone edge. I had tons of trimmings which filled a large compost garbage bin completely. I tried to give them away for free as cuttings on craigslist but no one wanted them. :-( I'm going to trim them regularly so that they take on a somewhat columnar shape. I don't want them to completely cover up/block the wall. I look forward to them reaching 6'-8' tall by about 2'-3' wide which is easily doable. I see them around Palm Springs quite a bit and they all seem to thrive anywhere they're growing. I think they're really attractive. I have two growing in my front yard that I am letting grow naturally. They are nearly 5' wide and tall in just three years! I just wanted to share my experience with planting around lots of concrete. "Reflected heat" in the desert is a real thing and the temps around all concrete can actually be hotter than the ambient temperature. I can feel it when I stick my hands close to or stand right next to concrete walls. Not to mention, the concrete can still hold a lot of heat even as the sun starts to go down. This is something not even the most knowledgeable nursery grower could have taught me to save me a ton of grief and heartache. And getting back to my comment earlier about seeing Italian Cypress trees doing well out here throughout the area, as I inspect them more closely I see that they are planted far away from concrete walls and/or are surrounded by grass which obviously helps tremendously to keep the trees cooler and protected. I hope my long-winded rant here helps other people in the desert who are eager to plant something but not waste time, sweat, blood tears and a lot of money like I did. And to be thorough, yes I know that the sap can be an extreme irritant to eyes and skin. Just wear gloves and a long sleeved shirt when trimming pencil cactus up. Don't touch your face ever and change and wash your clothes immediately after you're done. In fact, take a complete shower afterwards. Like I already mentioned, I did a serious pruning on the bottoms of my pencil cacti and had no issues. The sap touched my skin and didn't cause me problems. I think it's more of an issue if you have scraped/injured skin or open cuts. You don't want the sap to get into open wounds