Altitude, lack of water, poor soil and swampy conditions are all things with which the gardener is familiar, and which influence the size of the plants we have in our garden.
The dwarf pomegranate, the dwarf bamboo and the dwarf golden apple are good examples of plants which have evolved to take account of their natural state thousands of years ago, or which have been selected or developed by man to make harvesting or marketing easier. The dwarfing rootstocks used for apple trees are a good example.
Pruning is also a means of restricting the growth of particularly attractive plants to fit them in certain situations by pruning the roots and also the branches, but there is also a
