Question about Empress Wu

[NancyL]

On a long trip from the UP of Michigan to Kalamazoo I stopped at Kirby's in Lake City Michigan and found an Empress Wu. It has been in its' pot all summer awaiting the return to MD. Most of my hostas are planted in plastic pots with large drainage slashes buried in the ground because our vole problem is terrible. That works for ones even as big as Komodo Dragons. Does anyone have an idea how big the root ball of a full sized Empress Wu would be. I am going to dig a large hole and backfill with 1/2 soil and 1/2 crushed limestone but I need to have an idea how big it should be to provide enough protection for the roots. I have one bed at the side of our garage that was backfilled with crushed limestone left from the garage construction and it does a wonderful job keeping the voles out of hostas and tulips. Thanks so much!

[Linda P]

I'm not really sure how big a hole you would need, but probably as big as you can manage to dig it. I have some Empress Wu f1 seedlings (first generation seedlings from Brian and Virginia's plant) that are just way, way big. I donated a piece of one of them (which I've named Princess WuWu) to the Skaggs Benefit auction earlier this year, and had to dig up the plant to get a division from it. I wanted to dig early in the year, before the leaves were unfurled, so I could see what I was doing. I started far outside the area where the leaves had extended last year, and spent a couple of days digging; removing soil as I went, and trying to get as many roots as possible. It proved to be beyond me. I had to get a friend to come help me lift the rootball out of the ground once I got it loosened, and even with leaving probably 1/3 or more of the roots behind, it would not have fit in a big tree pot.
It will take a few years to reach the mature size, probably at least 5 or 6 years or so??? (Wild guess!) My Empress Wu is in the 3rd year in the garden, is still just a few eyes, but is really starting to fill up the space.

Linda P

[NancyL]

Thanks for all of the information Linda! I will dig a wide, wide hole. Fortunately, voles don't go very deep in the soil so it will not have to be a major dig. Thanks for all of the information on the growth rate also. Luckily, I have a big empty spot in our entry garden! Have a wonderful Labor Day!

[Mark Raw]

Wouls E W grow well in a large pot I love it for it's size alone. However it is a somewhat expensive plant here I don't know if it would be worth the time and shading to bother with for me.