acer willbe fine in a large pot of good potting compost- will need protection from strong winds and likes some shade will grow slowly to around 5 foot depending on size of pot and plant type - some grow low and speading others taller good luck and don`t neglect watering it

arr sorry computer problems your lovely pic has just appeared obviously not short and spreading

Thank you! I'd like to put it on his patio in a large pot - but maybe not if it's 5 feet across...I'll put up a leaf pic. in case that helps with size?

Looks like it might need a bigger pot shortly - it is Acer palmatum of some variety (there are so many hybrids now) but by the look of its growth habit, I'd imagine it'll be a larger variety, perhaps reaching 9 to 10 feet eventually, but not for some time. It also looks like one that gets taller than its width, so may well not spread out to five feet. I say this because I had this one years ago, and it did grow tall and not spread out, I kept it in a tub for about 8 years, then planted it out, and now, five years on, it's 9 feet high. Beautiful colour.

Thank you! We've got a larger pot, and if you are right about the shape I can put it on his patio. It's sheltered there but there's not space for 5 ft across! Five years, we can think again! I thought it might not be small because it had such a large, strong root...I suspect there was more of it as some was broken.

Could be Acer plalmatum 'bloodgood' or 'Atropurpureum', i hjave 'bloodgood' but mine looks a little darker, the trouble is there are so many varieties and they do look similar, they are lovely trees though, probably fairly slow growing aswell

Thanks!