Plant to put my Fathers ashes in

[grahamb88]

Would my Fathers ashes mix ok with compost. I would like a plant or tree to remember him by, in a pot approx 12" high and a diameter of about 16". Can anyone recomend a nice plant or tree that is easy to maintain and survive the winter and will blossom every year. But I don't want it to grow too big for the pot.
I am not particularly green fingered or knowledgable about gardening apart from doing the odd hanging basket etc, so I need help.
thank you. Graham

[skiking]

Sorry to hear about your loss

The ashes, I would have thought, would be a very good fertiliser due to the carbon.

All plants will be limited by the pot they are in. Are you able to grow in the ground as that would be better.

What was your Dad fav. plant. Perhaps if you can grow from the garden rather than the pot a fruit tree may be good so you can remember him every time you try the fruits. Only a suggestion

[Geewizz]

It's not a good idea to put the ashes in a pot. The concentration of ash would be harmful to most plants in that concentration. A more conventional approach is to plant a tree somewhere and mix the ashes with the soil when backfilling the hole.

[grahamb88]

Thank you both for your advice. I haven't enough space in my garden to plant a tree and I would have prefered a pot so that I could take it with me if I ever moved house. The ashes have been in a container for two years and I am now ready to do something with them and this was an idea. So, I am glad I asked the question because I wouldn't want the plant or tree's life shortened or growth to be stunted by the ashes. I thought that if the pot was a big one, the ratio of compost and ash would be something like 6:1 and would be sufficiently diluted. in fact, I thought the ash would make a good compost. What if I put the ashes near to the top of the pot so the roots will be in 100% compost and the ashes just covered by an inch of compost at the top. Dad didn't have a favourite plant as for as I know. He used to enjoy mowing the lawn and trimming the hedge.
Graham. Thank you.

[thescruff]

If the pot is a large one, why not leave the ashes in the poly bag, or even a vessel of some type.

You could even put a couple of personal things in with it, like a time capsule.

[grahamb88]

Thank you the scruff. That has got me thinking now! The ashes are actually in a sort of canvass, sort of hessian bag at the moment. Thank you for the idea.