Dwarf Fruit Trees in Lg. Containers

[ninnymary]

I didn't really know where to post this so I hope this is the right place.

I have 3 big (23" tall with 22" diameters) containers that are located in sunny places. They are hugh glazed pots that were seconds and a steal.

Last year I planted scarlet runner beans in one and Blue lake beans in another. I soon found out that they were too high to harvest. I planted perenials in the other but I didn't do a good color/plant combination.

Needless to say, I won't be planted beans in them anymore.

I would like to plant dwarf trees in two of them and try growing butternut squash in the other. Because they are so far from the ground, I will have to figure out how to hold the squash up. Maybe put chairs around it to hold them up?

My problem is that I don't do to well with container gardening. Do any of you have fruit trees in large containers? If so, how do you maintain them?

Any other ideas would also be appreciated!

Mary

 

[thistlebloom]

Mary, your pots sound like a great find! They would make good dwarf tree containers IMHO. And if you wanted to plant squash in one you could grow it vertically on a trellis, like, say using some of that concrete re-wire . Maintaining trees in containers isn't so very different than trees in the ground, except of course you should use the best potting soil you can afford and container plants dry out a LOT quicker than those grown in the ground, so need to be checked very often. I would fertilize with a good organic fertilizer, liquid or granular and follow the recommendations on the package. Compost tea is also excellent for containers. You may find that the roots need to be pruned after 4 years or so ,( give or take) so that you don't end up with root bound trees. It sounds like a super fun project tho. I think you should go for it! Keep us posted. :coolsun

 

[CrimsonRose]

I grow several citrus trees in containers... it's much too cold here to grow citrus trees so I put them in pots and bring them in in the winter... I have tangerine lemon orange pomegranate and banana all in pots! I started about 2-3 years ago and I'm already harvesting lemons tangerines and pomegranates... still waiting on that darn banana to show signs of fruit though... I seen some colonnade apples a few years back in a catalog and have thought of planting a few of those in pots since our soil is so bad here... I have a few apple and peach trees out front but the apple just won't grow... it's still the same 2 feet tall as when I first put them in the ground 2 years ago... :/

 

[GrowsLotsaPeppers]

What kind of dwarf trees? DIL just planted an apricot in one here this week. We'll see how it does.

In a past time, we had a dwarf lime in a container. It's now in the ground, since we bought the house 12 years ago, and doing well. So are the lemons, oranges and other citrus. They get Christmas lights in them for the predicted freezing nights we get in the East Bay, but we haven't lost any of them. Well, the clementine died, when I put walnut shop shavings around it as compost. Black walnut can do that to other plants.

I have some of those similar pots I got in San Leandro some years back with roses in them.

Hubbard squash should not need a trellis. Just let the runners run.

 

[ninnymary]

Thanks peppers...Glad to have input from someone in my climate. I checked with the Berkely Horticulture nursery and they told me not to grow any fruit tree that were decidious in pots. I don't know why. But they did say to grow any citrus in them.

They also recommended Sunshine Blue blueberry. Said it would grow nicely in a pot in our area. They also had a picture of someone who had it in a large pot. So I bought one. I like the fact that I'll have flowers in the spring, fruit in the summer, and fall color. I also believe it's evergreen here.

The other pot, I transplanted a dwarf Burgess lime that was not doing so well in another pot and different location.

I have one pot left to plant and I will try growing butternut squash. I don't know if they do well in our area but I'm gonna try.

Mary

By the way, I'm in Alameda, where are you?

 

[vfem]

You're in the place for some dwarf citrus maybe? That would be nice