Potting on seedlings (trees)

[Darwin.]

Last year I gathered up some seeds in the local forest and put them in pots in the garden. A few came on for me and are about 4" - 6" tall now, I have 2 x Hazel, 4 x Sycamore and 1 Horse Chestnut.

They're in very small pots at the minute and I was going to transfer them to bigger ones tomorrow, should I go slightly larger and go again next year, or go to much bigger pots now, that will last a few years until they can be planted in the garden?

I'll stick up pictures in the morning.

[roitelet]

Go for pots a bit bigger than they are in now and pot on again next year. If you go for pots that are too big you could get a lot of stagnant compost round the edges that will contain no nutrients as they will all have been washed out by watering.

[Darwin.]

Here they are in the smaller pots and slightly bigger ones. There were 3 sycamore in together in one pot so I now have 5 of those, 2 hazel, one chestnut and an apple. Hopefully they all survive.

Any idea how long until they'll get to the size I'd buy in a garden centre, like 4'+ tall and 1"+ thick?

I'll have to find somewhere to plant 5 sycamore in a few years, they tend to get rather large. I suppose the chestnut will be big too.

[FaeLLe]

You could pot them on directly into the soil in your allotment.
Prune the top every couple of years and the bark will keep growing fatter.

When its nice and thick you could choose to uproot it with a decent sized rootball and it might make an attractive patio display... you could bonsai it too!