Temporarily planting fruit trees in containers

10 years ago

I ordered some fruit trees in February which should be coming today. Hurray! They are apple (5), pear (2), cherry (3), peach (1 self pollinating) and a black current bush. The trees are all dwarf or semi-dwarf. The Dh and I are going to have some drainage work done in our yard later on this summer. I wanted to wait to plant the trees until the drainage work is done. So I probably won't be able to give them their permanent home until this fall.

Can I temporarily plant them in containers until the fall or would they be better temporarily planted in the ground and then moved? How big of a container will I need for a temporary home (I imagine the trees will be 3' to 5' high)? Any other helpful advice?

This post was edited by booberry85 on Thu, Apr 24, 14 at 8:51

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Comments (10)

Bradybb WA-Zone8
10 years ago
They can be done either way.I use a basic mix of Conifer bark,Peat moss and Perlite,about 60/20/20 in a container.Maybe10 gallon pots for the trees and 3 for the shrub.Just get something big enough for the roots to fit in comfortably,if using containers. Brady
curtis
10 years ago
Look for the topic "air pruning". If you can do that you would have a better root structure when you plant.
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many fruit trees will do well containers on the west facing side, but will also need protection from the hot summer sun with shade cloth for many years until a fuller canopy develops. the pot itself should always be shaded in our summer climate to avoid overheating roots. you'll need a larger sized container if you expect to hold a decent Amt of fruit. I've nectarines , citrus, cherry and blueberries both standard & dwarf stock in containers. You could add more citrus, like any of the 4winds 'dwarf' trees (most retail ones are on trifoliate). Or true dwarf peach, nectarines, or apricot on from Dave Wilson nursery (nectazee, honey babe, pixiecot, etc). you could buy new 'standard' full size trees & they tend to dwarf naturally dropped in the container, but the trees listed above are a little easier when you're starting out.
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knoxvillegardener I don't think there are any reliable set guidelines but there are lots and lots of opinions. I am never at a loss for an opinion so I will give you mine. I put fig cuttings in 5 gallon pots. The next year they go into 15 gallon pots. The size of the pots for blueberries depends on the size of the plant. Blueberries like damp well draining acidic soil. I purchased 5 gallon size 3-4' plants from Willis Orchard and put them right into 15 gallon pots. If you are planing blueberry plugs I think you could get away with 3-5 gallon pots. MY BLUEBERRY SOIL MIX 1 Part Perilite. 1 Part Potting Soil. 2 Parts Small Pathway Pine Bark. 2 Parts Sphagnum Peat Moss. 1 Tablespoon Cotton Meal per gallon. 1 Teaspoon Granulated Garden Sulfur per gallon. Could be more if the pot is small but mine are in 15 gallon pots.. 1 Tablespoon Granulated Ironite per gallon. 1 Tablespoon Down To Earth All Natural Fertilizers 4-3-6 Acid Mix per gallon. After they start leafing out I fertilize every 2-3 weeks with Miracid For Acid Loving Plants at about 50% of the recommended dose. I give them a small drink of water just before and just after I fertilize so I donÂt shock the roots. Not sure how necessary that is but thatÂs what I do and it works for me. If the leaves start to turn red-ish I water them with a mixture of 1 Tablespoon white vinegar to one gallon of water and that usually does the trick. To stay on the safe side stay away from fertilizers with nitrates and donÂt add any calcium or lime to your soil mix. I plan on adding a small hand full of Granulated Garden Sulfur and Cotton Meal under the mulch each dormant season to maintain the PH. The plants are nice and healthy growing well and producing fruit so I guess they must be happy.
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I was reading about muscadines and found a reference to Jaboticaba. At first I did a double-take, because the webpage was describing what muscadines tasted like and said they tasted more like a Jaboticaba fruit than a regular grape. I looked further and realized the website was for Austrailian gardeners. Then I thought, "What is a Jaboticaba?" and searched for the word. The first thing I saw was a picture that showed the fruit stuck to the trunk of the tree rather than on the tips of the branches, which really peaked my interest. After reading about the Jaboticaba on wikipedia, I immediately went to google shopping, because I had to have one if at all possible. I found an Amazon merchant, Hirt's Gardens, that had them for $15, so I ordered it. The tree is small but darling. Since I live in Zone 7, I may never get it to bear fruit, but it will make a great looking houseplant during the winter for years to come. It can provide company for my ficus tree that I've had for 30 years. The place where I ordered it, sells them for Bonsai growers. It would make a great Bonsai because it has tiny leaves the size of my fingernail. From what I've read, they grow very slowly and make great Bonsai specimens. I'm planning to let it grow as fast as I an get it to grow by keeping it outdoors until frost and then bring it indoors for the winter. My tree from Amazon/Hirt's Gardens is a small leaf variety of Myrciaria Cauliflora. It's funny that the Latin name is "Cauliflora", because when they bear fruit, they remind me of Brussels Sprouts. The one I got is actually prettier than the picture they have online. It is about 9 inches tall and really bushy. They had it pruned to look like a little oak tree or something. How much has yours grown in the past year? I got mine about 2 weeks ago, and it has already put on a new set of leaves over most of the top. It has about 2 inches of fresh new growth this season. Here is a link that might be useful: Jaboticaba Fruit Tree Plant - Bonsai or Houseplant
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alan haigh
10 years ago
Trees that small may be handled either way- I'd plant them in the ground in a well drained spot then move them to the permanent location bare root in a year or even two in early spring or when first dormant in the fall.

Just make sure whatever you do that trees are well cared for in the mean time. In containers you have to be much more mindful of water.
fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
10 years ago
While I've grown many trees successfully in containers I'm inclined to agree with harvestman. Because I've also moved many successfully ground to ground after a year or two. You'll end up with a better root system if properly moved ground to ground. Most I've moved I tried to move a rootball. But bareroot during dormant season works very well.

Maybe harvestman can fill us in on how much top pruning is needed bareroot ground to ground.
alan haigh
10 years ago
I probably gave you bad advice by not fully considering the range of fruit you are talking about. Pears would do significantly better if you pot them- they have difficulty developing fine roots and don't transplant well. Apples would also do better in 10 gallon pots if you use a good mix and don't let them dry out. Stone fruit will generally do better if you plant them temporarily in real soil based on my experience managing them in my nursery.

You can also plant the pots half way into the soil and let the roots escape as the trees grow then carefully dig them up to keep the roots when you transplant them by cutting away the pots from the roots. This would allow stone fruit to do much better then if confined to pots- particularly peaches..
ztom
10 years ago
I started getting shipments this week but am waiting on a berta rotary plow to help me build long raised mounds to deal with drainage issues. I should get that next week, so I have to keep the trees somewhere for another week to 10 days. I've put them in containers with either peat moss or potting soil. I also got a few shipments yesterday that are still in the box and two more coming in a few days. (peach,plum,cherry,gooseberry,grapes,currants and raspberries). I figure even in the garage they won't stay dormant now. Many are budding out. Should I keep them in the garage or put them in part sun once they start to show some green?
fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
10 years ago
Keep as cool as possible but don't worry about light. Just get them planted asap.
alan haigh
10 years ago
Fruitnut, generally I don't think balancing top to root is necessary if you are talking about vegetative wood, but with peaches I want to keep energy in the interior, so I would prune them back to make sure I wasn't encouraging die back in the interior just for the sake of starting with a wider spread.

No fruit on moving year! Pick off the flowers.

If the apples are starting to spur up by the time they are moved I would prune for vigor and remove all pendulous growth and most of the spur wood, cutting back to small uprights where possible.

Japanese plums laugh at root damage from transplant so I would simply prune them as I would anyway.

My second statement went out before yours appeared- I hadn't even considered BandBing but that is especially useful for pears, from what I've seen, and if someone wants to go to that trouble they could put pears directly in the ground instead of pots.

I never ball and burlap anything, and I don't even have experience doing it. If I was anywhere near the craftsman you are I'd probably do it more. It is too tedious for my disposition.
fireduck
10 years ago
some good advice above...it is difficult to predict the size of container needed because different growers dig their trees differently. Larger caliper trees can have smaller root systems than smaller trees from other growers. It is beneficial to keep all the healthy roots intact, and not prune or crowd them (even for a season). Replanting to ground in the Fall will be easier from pots...but may sacrifice a bit of root growth/size (as stated above).
tandempam
9 years ago
We impulsively bought six small apple trees last spring not knowing that circumstances would not allow,us to,start our orchard this year. I plan to plant them in one of my garden beds until next Spring. Should I rootball them?

Temporarily planting fruit trees in containers

Comments (10)

Bradybb WA-Zone8

curtis

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