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Fruit & Orchards

Growing dwarf fruit trees...

13 years ago

Hello everyone,

I've cross posted this post in the container gardening forum as well - my apologies to anyone who is reading this again!

I'm wondering if someone can give me a few basics for growing dwarf fruit trees in a container on a balcony. I've been looking around online and it seems pretty confusing. Some sites talk about dwarf trees that stay between 3 - 5' tall (which is what I want), and others talk about dwarf trees that get upwards of 15' tall (which don't seem dwarf to me!), some sites say you need to prune the roots, others say you don't, because the pot is what keeps the tree dwarf. That seems weird to me, because pots most definitely don't keep my tomatoes dwarf lol!

I've also had a hard time finding a list of varieties and the plant hardiness zones they can live in (I'm Zone 6A).

Any tips/variety names would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Kathryn

Comments (6)

franktank232
13 years ago
What kind of fruit do you want to grow?

Just remember you're going to need a big pot...i'd say 20 gallons.

Water often, feed often...

I'd start with a peach or nectarine. A pot will dwarf a tree, or at least from what i've seen with my peaches in pots. If a tree only has x size root system, the top is going to be held in check.
kippie
Original Author
13 years ago
I'm thinking either a peach or a pear - are peaches generally easier to grow? I originally wanted an apple tree, but I don't have space to provide a partner or two for pollinating =0)

As for the pot - my DH is going to build me a large wood box. My plan is to line it with landscape fabric and put drainage holes in it.

What sort of nutrient levels do you usually fertilize fruit trees with? For my container veggies I usually fertilize with an 18 - 18 - 21 fertilizer.
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You might find this thread, and particularly the one that came before it, of interest. Al Here is a link that might be useful: About trees in containers
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Ditto what Alex said. In most places, you're likely to find a crabapple close enough for pollination, but you may get better fruit set if you provide a pollenizer near by. The tree's precocity will depend on variety and rootstock, but most dwarf trees are fairly precocious. Growing in a pot is fine if you can provide proper soil moisture. As Alex said, its a lot more work than growing them in the ground. How often you have to repot will depend on your soil mix, but typically it will need to be done once a year or every other year. Here's a link to a very valuable thread concerning container soils: Here is a link that might be useful: Container Soils - Water Movement & Retention
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what bboy meant.. was that you probably will not get pretty tasty apples from seeds .. unless you are willing to wait 10 years ... and grow 100 of trees .. hoping for one good one .. if you want to do fruit.. buy some fruit trees ... at the links.. they offer dwarf trees.. and that is what you will want ... check out the link compare prices at this link: http://gurneys.com/apple-trees/c/28/ whiskey barrel ... yeah it can be done.. but a similar sized plastic pot is probably better ... you will get a ZONE APPROPRIATE tree ... and you will ONLY need to protect the pot from winter sun ... to avoid the pot thawing or heating in the dead of winter ... most important will be the media you use in the pot ... as soil/dirt wont work .... if you actually get as far as ordering trees.. we can help you work up a good media mix ... trees will not appreciate you digging around near the base of the tree.. to plant something like carrots.. especially in a pot ... some shallow rooted lettuce would probably work ... but even that is not the best idea ... ferts... if you get that far.. we will worry about it then ... read all the info at the links about the tree types offered.. sizes.. flavors.. etc ... and then narrow down your general questions.. there is a fruit forum.. and i have never seen those peeps here ... and they may do things different than we tree peeps do ... since you seem to be a newbie.. i would STAY AWAY from anything that is not compatible with your zone.. and even better if it is z4 or 5 ... its just a complication a novice doesnt need to deal with ... to do it right.. i am thinking about 40 for the tree ... and 20 for media.. and 10 for a pot ... this isnt going to be cheap .... and i would not expect a crop for 2 to 3 years .... why cant you plant them in the ground???? where trees belong ... is this some balcony project???? ken Here is a link that might be useful: link
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nullzero
13 years ago
About 75% of my garden is container edibles. From my experience here are some fruit trees that produce well in containers.

-Peaches (One of my favorites for a container setting, highly productive for their size)

-Grapes (Produce well in a nice sized container)

-Berries (including blueberries)

-Apples (Had great results with dwarf apple varieties)

-Mulberries (Must be a dwarf variety ex. Weeping or Geraldi Dwarf)

-Pomegarantes (These will produce in a container setting as well.)

The rest of my edibles are experimental in a container setting or have not reached optimal fruiting age. I think dwarf cherry varieties would perform nicely as well.

My best recommendation for varieties and types of fruits would be to browse the bay laurel nursery dwarf plant selection. That whole list should be compatible with your zone. I would say most of those fruits/varieties will give a you decent yield of fruits in a container setting.

In conclusion, I would try dwarf apples, dwarf peaches, and dwarf cherries in a container setting.
kippie
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for that list Nullzero! I wonder how hard it would be to import a tree to Canada from that nursery....
nullzero
13 years ago
Its going to be a little harder to obtain dwarf fruit trees in Canada. I would actually work on obtaining dwarfing apple rootstocks, and graft nice apple varieties onto it. I would also work on obtaining genetic dwarf peach pits and grow it from seed. It may be hard to get stuff from U.S. nurseries if there is strict enforcement of plant material entering the country.
franktank232
13 years ago
Sweet cherries do just fine. I have a Stella (that is getting too big) in a whiskey barrel (half) and it has done fantastic and set a pretty good crop this year:

{{gwi:20791}}

Its still young and i need to hack it down some since its getting too tall. I have no idea what rootstock, but i don't think its dwarfing.

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