By Greenwoody
Oxfordshire,
United Kingdom 
I have a small pine tree in a terracotta pot. The leaves are turning brown, almost half of them have now turned. I re-potted it about 6 months ago but the base of tree seems to have lifted slightly and the pot now seems too small. Our house is rented so we cannot plant the tree in the garden and would like to keep it in a pot. Will it thrive in another, bigger, pot or will a pot always be a problem for it? I'm thinking that it needs deeper roots than the pot can give it. I'm also not sure about the soil. It's currently in a mix of organic potting compost and clay. I really don't want to lose the tree and would be grateful for any advice you could give me.
27 Jul, 2010
Answers
Thanks Bamboo for your advice. I'm reluctant to bin it, so I'll re-pot this one and see how it goes.
13 Aug, 2010
Previous question
You don't say which conifer it is, but unfortunately, most of them do not regenerate on old wood, growing on at the tips instead, so you'll always have those dead, brown areas present. Sounds as if the pot wasn't big enough, which always means its impossible to keep it watered enough because there's not enough compost to hold the water, so you've not been watering sufficiently well. You can either bin it and buy another one, and this time keep it well watered and give it a decent sized pot, potting on as it grows, or repot this one and give it a good soak.
27 Jul, 2010