How To Plant The Bios Urn® In A Container or Planter

We often receive many emails from individuals all over the world, who love the idea of the Bios Urn® but would prefer to have an indoor tree or plant the Bios Urn® in a garden planter, due to land restrictions, or because they live in temporary locations. The Bios Urn® can be planted in a normal container, or in the Bios Incube®. If you intend to use your own container or tree pot – we recommend choosing a proper tree species, and good soil to accompany it.

Choosing your tree species

If you intend to keep the tree or plant indoors indefinitely, we recommend using one best suited for indoor or container life. You can choose an indoor plant or tree species, a Dwarf species of any tree, or a tree which is suited for container life. On top of the indoor tree species listed in this post, a few other options include:

• English yew
• Dwarf camellias
• Holly Dwarf
• Japanese maple
• star magnolia
• river birch
• crepe myrtle
• Zelkova Serrata
• Olive tree
• Bay tree
• fiddle leaf fig tree
• Fiddle Leaf Fig
• Amur Maple
• Dwarf Conifer (any dwarf species)
• Citrus trees

If you intend to keep the tree in the planter or container for a short time period (2 years or less) than any tree species can be started in it, and transplanted to its final location. If you intend to keep it for a long period, any of the above suggestions as well an indoor plant would also work perfectly.

Choosing an appropriate planter or container and soil

We have created a planter specifically designed to plant the Bios Urn® in, and grow a tree. The Bios Incube® is a self-sustaining tree planter for your Bios Urn®, which comes with technology to enhance the overall experience. The Bios Incube® comes with sensors which monitor the environment, soil moisture, and temperature. Alongside these functions, it automatically keeps your tree watered for up to 3 weeks.

For regular planters or containers, we generally recommend waiting to purchase a garden pot or planter until you have the Bios Urn® with you, so you can measure it out. It is also advised to choose a planter which has a drainage hole at the bottom, allowing for any additional water to seep through the bottom. It is best to choose one that is around 16/18 inches (40/45cm) or taller. Your Bios Urn® can tree can either be planted and kept in a regular moveable container, or in a large permanent container (depending on the setting and your preference.)

If you live in a cold region or area, frost proof terracotta pots are heavy, providing extra stability to prevent trees blowing down in windy weather. A popular choice for planters or containers are made of terracotta or ceramic. For a lightweight choice, you can opt for plastic. Metal, wood and stone pots are also available. Keep in mind that when soil is added, the weight of the container will increase dramatically so you should choose a planter that fits your overall needs, and the location you intend to keep it in.

Choosing soil or compost

Containers and planters require good soil. You cannot use soil from your garden or surrounding landscape, as this is not well-suited for the container, and will not drain well. It is best to use soil-based compost. Most trees will thrive in a loam-based compost, or nutrient rich compost. These can all be found at nurseries, hardware stories, and garden supply stores.

How to Plant the Bios Urn® in your Planter

You can fill our full instructions for planting your Bios Urn® on our website. To plant your Bios Urn® in a planter, please be sure to follow the instructions outlined below.

1. Prepare your planter by adding a portion of compost to the bottom. To avoid the compost from draining, you can use some broken ceramic or terracotta, which will help keep most of the soil intact.
After placing the soil on the bottom of the planter, measure it with your Bios Urn®. The Bios Urn® should be able to sit comfortably on top of the soil, and close to the surface of the planter.

2. Place the ashes in the bottom capsule of the Bios Urn®. If the ashes do not fill all of the Bios Urn, be sure to add additional compost to the Bios Urn until it is completely filled (it will biodegrade and therefore no room should be leftover.)

3. Remove the seal from the top capsule, and unpack the components (soil expansion disc, growth medium, and seeds.) Place the growth medium inside the top capsule and leave the expansion disc at the very bottom of the top capsule. We recommend adding additional compost on top of the growth medium. Place the seeds on the very top of the Bios Urn®.

4. Fill in the side gaps of the planter with the remainder of the compost.

5. Cover the seeds with only a small amount of soil ; 1/4 inch (1cm) is generally sufficient. Make sure you don’t plant the seeds too deeply! None of the Bios Urn® should be exposed, it should all be covered by soil.

Caring for your tree

All living trees will require some amount of TLC. Proper sunlight and watering care is an absolute must. Some trees are more low-maintenance than others, so we suggest looking into the specific needs of the tree you choose.
Trees in containers or planters tend to dry out quicker than those growing in the ground, so regular watering is a must for healthy trees. The soil should always be moist, but not soaking wet. It is also recommended to replace the top layer of soil annually, generally during spring time.