Your thoughts please

Im considering buying a large pot and placing it in my back garden ( south facing) I want height and large foliage .The wall its going against is red brick so i was kinda of thinking of lime foliage - maybe. Any ideas?

Thank you.

I've got a fabulous Fatsia japonica (castor oil plant) that I think meets your requirement. Large shiny leaves, not quite lime green but bright green. Even has candelabra-like flowers in October. Grows to about 10 ft. There is a variegated type available. I love mine , it's big and bold!

Oh why thank you, it has wonderful large leaves on it. I will certainly seek out one at the garden centre. Is it hardy and ok to just be left in the same spot all year round?

Fatsia is an excellent choice, for what you want. Although it's not particulary original, or novel.

I have one in a large pot.

The top growth, and expecially the young shoots, can be damaged by frost.

I bring my pot under cover during Winter. The is evergreen and likes to have some light during the Winter. I put mine near a window in an unheated shed. It simply protects the plant from the worst of the weather.

A large pot full of soil is heavy, and not easy to move.

I have seen Fatsias planted in the ground, and left out all Winter. They seem to survive, and can become quite large. Though their survival may depend on the severity of the Winter.

Thank you Gary - it all helps.

If you wanted something a little hardier - it's a big job moving large pots inside for the winter as I know - then perhaps a Spirea would suit. The foliage is small though.  I love the lime leaves on this one in my garden and it is just about to flower.  It is as strong as old boots and will grow up and out.  I don't know its exact name though.  Took this just a few minutes ago to show you. Picture quality suspect as the sun is at its height. The leaves are a bit limeier than shown.  (Is "limeier" a real word?)

Oh my thank you for going to so much trouble. Its a bobby dazzler isnt it!

I wonder who lives within it - the local cats. It looks a super place for a hideout.

I will google the name and see what comes up.

Thanks again Robot.

P.S.  I noticed you asked about a good book earlier.  I use, and have used for many many years, The Reader's Digest Plant Encyclopedia.  I'm on my second copy as the last one fell to pieces.  It's a bit pricey new but you can pick up a secondhand one easily - or put it down as an early Xmas present. 

What it doesn't tell you in that book isn't worth knowing.

We have a Fatsia in the ground & it suvived the 2 severe Winters we had. I just took off any damaged bits. I suppose it's different in a pot though.

Mine is in a pot and I just move it from it's summer place to a spot against the house. I used to fleece it when it was younger but didn't this last winter as it's now 4 years old. To help with the weight I keep the plant in a plastic pot and lift it out and move the planter separately. It's only 3ft tall at the moment but I'm sure in time I'll have to find a space for it to be planted in the garden.

diggingdoris wrote (see)

.... To help with the weight I keep the plant in a plastic pot ...

Interestingly I used to have mine in a terracotta pot. But I changed the pot to a plastic 'terracotta looking' one, precisely because the terracotta pot was so weighty, even before putting any soil in. Using plastic pots does reduce the weight.

I prefer to use John Innes compost. It's soil based and is heavy.

A supplementary question is whether one plants anything in the soil around the plant, or leaves the soil bare. I'm actually trying wild strawberries.

If you want something a bit different and, I think, quite exciting and giving a tropical effect, then I recommend this one.  Obviously it's for foliage purposes, not flowers.

It's worth paying more for a larger container plant as it's a bit slow for a couple of years then takes off.  Non invasive, quite beautiful, and very hardy. 

There are many choices, it's a difficult decision to get right. 

http://www.scottishbamboo.com/Fargesia_Rufa.htm

Thank you all for your helpful replies.

Salino i will check out the site you list.

Thanks again guys. The proof will be when i get the other half to get his wallet out.