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Fruit & Orchards

Size of container vs. fruit tree, bush or vine size

knoxvillegardener

12 years ago

Hello,

Does anyone know where I can find a set of guidelines for how big a container I should use for different types of plants and for plants at different stages of maturity?

For example, if I buy a fig tree about 5 feet tall in a 5 gallon container and want to put it in something big enough to stay there for at least one year (and hopefully two to be on the safe side), what container size should I use?

I'd like to grow some fruit trees, bushes (e.g. blueberries) and vines (e.g. blackberries, grapes) in containers for a year or two before transferring them into the ground. (We're redoing our yard quite dramatically and the final locations for the plants have yet to be determined. I would like to get a year's growth in on some plants so we'll get to actual fruit production earlier than if we waited another year to buy the plants.)

Thanks!

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Comment (1)

thisisme
12 years ago
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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