Semi-dwarf fruit tree in wine barrel

[ninnymary]

I have a half wine barrel that I would like to plant either a seckel pear or white nectarine in the spring. I've talked to the nurery and they said neither a dwarf or sem-dwarf would do well there. They said both get to big and would always be stressed. Needless to say, I was bummed out.

I supposed I could plant it in the ground where the barrel is but I'm concerned with it getting too big and shading my veggie plants. I plan to prune it annually and keep it around 6' tall.

What are your opinions? Can I plant in the barrel? If so, should I go with a dwarf or semi-dwarf? The nurseries around here seem to carry mostly semi-dwarfs so the selection is better.

I know the ground is always better but it would be very close to my shady garden and I'm afraid the roots might start to interfere with the plants there.

Mary

 

[journey11]

I've seen patio varieties of apples that bear on spurs that can be barrel planted, pruned to grow straight up on a single main trunk, no limbs. Not sure about pears or nectarines in that category though.

Your's probably won't bear if they aren't in the ground. But on the bright side, you can prune to your heart's content. You'll get bigger fruit too.

 

[897tgigvib]

I really think a FULL DWARF would work, but not a semi dwarf.
There are also some new COLUMNAR apple trees that grow with no long branches, just short branches. (Columnar apple trees are actually old news. There are heirloom columnars. Nowadays they can graft them with buds and spurs.)

Make sure you use a drill with a big bit, like an inch woodboring bit, to make a lot of holes on the bottom. Barrels also get more air to the bottom if you set them on 2 or 3 2X4's