I have recently bought an aralia elata for a large container in my shaded but sheltered patio where it seems to be happy. I don't have much experience with them and can't find much info online.
They are quite rare here in Ireland and I do wonder why. Do they not like the cool, wet climate? Maybe they are just not popular. Friends of mine have had some for about 15 years now and they have survived and suckered (as they do) but not grown to much more than 10' high. We think the site may be too windy.
My main questions are:
- are they suited to life in a container? what sort of root system do they have and does it allow for underplanting? I currently have foxgloves under them doing well but it's early days...
- I don't want them too tall (about 7' max), so will it be possible in time to cut the stems back and do the heads then regenerate at whatever point you cut back to? Or should one let the odd sucker grow up to replace a stem that has got too tall?
Any info and advice much appreciated, thanks!
