Displaying Potted Birch Trees on My Summer House Terrace

May 18, 2026

Displaying Potted Birch Trees on My Summer House Terrace

I love beautiful urns filled with lush, green plants.

Now that it's spring, many of my ornamental pots are taken out of storage and filled with beautiful plants and small trees for display around the farm. I try to use different specimens every year. Behind my Summer House, I decided to plant four handsome vessels with dwarf river birch trees, Betula nigra 'Little King.' These trees will remain on the terrace until they are moved to more permanent locations in the fall.

Enjoy thee photos.

: I have four of these dwarf river birch trees from nearby Hardscrabble Farms, located in Westchester County, New York, a family owned and operated wholesale dealer that specializes in native species, ornamental conifers, evergreens, and perennials.

: The leaves of Betula nigra ‘Little King’ are leathery, diamond-shaped, and medium to dark green in summer, becoming a rich dark green before the fall.

: But what’s really striking on this tree is the ornamental exfoliating bark. It peels away in layers exposing different colors from salmon pink to reddish brown, and textures.

: A birch is removed from its plastic pot. This is the root ball, or the dense, mass of a tree’s roots and the surrounding soil. A healthy root ball is essential for the tree’s stability, nutrient absorption, and transplantation.

: Phurba scarifies the sides and trims the bottom slightly. Scarifying a root ball is a pruning technique used to encourage root growth outward into the surrounding soil. I do this with all my plants and trees.

: Phurba also scarifies the bottom of the existing root ball.

: Meanwhile, the pot is filled about a third with potting mix and fertilizer.

: I use Miracle-Gro Organic Outdoor Potting Mix. This potting mix also contains nutrients and feeds for up to two months.

: And for these trees, I use Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed Extended Boost for season long feeding.

: The tree is placed into the pot – it fits perfectly. When planting a tree in a decorative container or in the ground, the key is to match the planting depth to how deep it grew in its original pot — and to keep the root collar, which is where the trunk meets the roots, level with or slightly above the surrounding soil.

: Here, Phurba also looks to see that the trunk of the tree is straight from all sides and makes adjustments where needed.

: Matthew backfills the container and adds a bit more food. These trees will be well-fed for the entire season.

: The containers are from Lunaform. Lunaform is a pottery studio in West Sullivan, Maine where they create extraordinary garden planters and urns. This is the Asticou planter, a reproduction of a vessel once made by Eric Soderholtz in the early 1900s. I have a collection of both Lunaform and Soderholtz planters.

: Dwarf birch trees typically range from two to four feet tall, but this variety, ‘Little King,’ can grow from five to 10 feet tall at maturity.

: After planting, Matt uses this battery powered handheld blower from STIHL to clean around the pots and blow away any dirt and soil left on the terrace. This blower is less noisy and perfect for around my homes.

: Matthew removes any tags before giving the trees a good watering.

: Out in the garden, the ginkgo biloba trees are leafing out beautifully. The ginkgo biloba is one of the most distinct and beautiful of all deciduous trees. It has a cone-like shape when young, and becomes irregularly rounded as it ages.

: The focal point is the great old ginkgo tree at the back of the space that is original to the property.

: In the garden beds, the Leucojum vernum, or spring snowflakes, are still looking beautiful. This flower is a perennial plant that grows between six to 10 inches in height. The plant produces green, linear leaves and white, bell-shaped flowers with a green edge and green dots.

: And so many of the tree peonies are blooming. Tree peonies are larger, woody relatives of the common herbaceous peony, growing up to five feet wide and tall. They are highly prized for the prolific blooms.

: It’s so nice to see all the gardens come to life this time of year. We’re all still very busy around the farm, planting, mulching, and grooming, but everything is looking spectacular.