I have mine (a Seidei) in a 10" wide plastic pot. It was one of those young grafted bareroots that I bought from the Flower Show here last year. I carefully removed and rinsed off all the moss packed around the roots and potted it so that the graft would be about 6" down from the top. I used Promix potting mix. It leafed out the first year and by winter when the leaves had dropped off, I placed in a spot that would remain dry and covered the woody stems with pine needles to keep them from dessicating from the winter winds (not necessary where you are). It sprouted this spring and looks like this right now (in the clay-colored plastic pot):

I don't normally use terracotta, ceramic, or clay (except I have one clay pot with my prickly pear cactus) mainly because I keep my temperates out all year and those types of container can crack with freeze/thaw (I mainly use foam, plastic, or resin). However they can grow in any kind of container provided the container has some drainage holes. If the ceramic pot doesn't, you could always double pot by planting in a smaller plastic one with holes and then sink in the ceramic, allowing the plant's actual pot to drain into the bottom of the ceramic pot (like a cloche pot).

The size will be dependent on the size that you receive. My bareroot was about 6" of woody stem at the top and 6" of grafted root system on the bottom. If you receive a bigger plant, pot it up to a larger diameter (say 5 gallon or 12") and go up from there if it is even larger. You can always pot it up a size later or plant out when you move.

Hi and thanks....can i email you after i get mine? they shipped it so I'm not quite sure what to expect. I live in Sacramento so I think clay pots should be ok. I just want to give it a good soil mix and put it somewhere where it will like it. I guess the back yard which will get morning sun then shade in the PM...

steph

In Sacramento you will need to be sure the sun does not shine on the pot. I think afternoon shade will be a must for the whole plant and I would heap mulch on thr soil to help keep it cool. Al

They just came....basically they are 2 sticks coming out from some soil in a plastic bag...LOL the sticks are maybe 12-18 inches high. My back yard has not been landscaped yet so i don't want to put them in the groud yet, as the concrete guys will mess the place all up. I will just put them in pots for now, althought the instructions say they don't like pots and don't like to be moved for 5-7 yrs. LOL i hope it doesn't take me that long to get my backyard done!

They just came....basically they are 2 sticks coming out from some soil in a plastic bag...LOL the sticks are maybe 12-18 inches high. My back yard has not been landscaped yet so i don't want to put them in the groud yet, as the concrete guys will mess the place all up. I will just put them in pots for now, althought the instructions say they don't like pots and don't like to be moved for 5-7 yrs. LOL i hope it doesn't take me that long to get my backyard done!

It's ironic about the instructions considering that whenever I go to the well known, award-winning nurseries around here I see tree peonies - both Japanese and Chinese, many priced at hundreds of dollars a piece, growing and blooming in a mysterious vessel.

Why... it's a POT!!!! Imagine that. ;-)