[barbarella]

I've been given a present of a camellia in a 7" pot and I want to pot it on into a proper container.  However, I''ve read that you shouldn't go up more than one pot size at a time - is this the case when you are putting a container grown shrub into its permanent home?  I hope not as I want to put it in a half barrel or a large terracotta pot which will give it some stability.  At the moment it would topple over in anything more than a slight breeze.  Maybe I could plant things around it to start with, eg spring bedding or bulbs?

Any advice please?

[Yorkie]

My instinct is that I would go with the usual guidance of not dwarfing the plant in its new pot.  However, I'd prefer also not to disturb its roots.  Perhaps you could pot it up into a slightly larger porous (not plastic) pot and put that into the big pot for the meantime - means you can plant round it with annuals, whilst not disturbing its roots.  Pot up gradually until it fills the larger pot.

Someone else may have a different opinion, though.

[barbarella]

Sounds okay, but the roots may wander outside the inner pot and then it would be difficult to get the plant out when it does need repotting.

[sunshineband]

I think the reasons it is suggested not to 'overpot' are

1. Some plants flower better potbound - not camellias
2. The soil/compost might stay too wet if there is too much around the roots in relation to the leaf area of the plant (if you se what I mean)

Yorkie's advice deals with both these issues very neatly, imho,and if you keep the rim of the inner pot above the soil level, there will be no danger of roots wandering. You cab pot on again before roots get out through the drainage holes.