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Hi there, I've recently potted up two horse chestnut saplings. Below I've included a picture of one of them. I just wondered if people could suggest how best to thicken up the trunk. I wasn't sure if I should look to prune back some of the bigger leaves or leave them for the time being.

The best answer would be to plant in the ground. This seedling is tall and thin and will stay that way unless it is allowed to grow, In the meantime the leaves will get the size of dinner plates. Once you have a trunk, you can partially defoliate the bigger leaves to get them smaller, that will take 10 to 15 years just for the leaves. I was left one some years ago, I have been trying to give it away you are welcome to it.

Basically, what makes the trunk thick is water, etc., that travels through the bark to the leaves above. The more leaves, the more water, the thicker the cambium layer, the thicker the trunk. Keep it in a small pot and there is less water, less room for roots, and less water going up the trunk. Put it in the ground and it has lots of room for roots to grow, lots of water to pull up, and the trunk gets thicker.

So, put it in the ground, water it well, and let it grow. Leave intermediate branches there because that thickens up the trunk below the branches and improves taper.

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply, unfortunately I live in rented accommodation which makes it difficult to plant the sapling in the ground. But once the lock down has been lifted I could always look to re-plant the tree in my parents' garden. Thanks again for your reply!

Alternatively for the time being, find the biggest pot you have room for and put it in that.

Actually, that is not always the best approach. It would be better to go into a larger pot but only two sizes up, then once the roots have filled the pot pot on into the next size. The reason is because the soil can become too wet if the pot is too big compared to the amount of roots. In the ground this does not matter as water can disperse easier. I always pot up as the roots fill the pot, I learned this the hard way.

I draw Another conclusion.

I Always go for the biggest pots suitable for the space awailable. Bigger pots needs less watering. That I have learned the hard way . Same experience, just Another conclusion.

m5eaygeoff wrote: Actually, that is not always the best approach. It would be better to go into a larger pot but only two sizes up, then once the roots have filled the pot pot on into the next size. The reason is because the soil can become too wet if the pot is too big compared to the amount of roots. In the ground this does not matter as water can disperse easier. I always pot up as the roots fill the pot, I learned this the hard way.

This is the way commercial tree growers grow trees in pots, when using pot culture.

Too big a pot will lead to trouble.