I just had too..:-)

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For me it is a matter of preference...Lot's of plants seem to grow better in the ground for me than in a pot..Then there are some that grow better in a pot..It is reasonable to think that a plant grown in ground is going to grow larger and produce a bigger yield if conditions are just right. A plant in a container will be suppressed from growing much bigger than one wants. As long as the roots are small and suppressed, so the above matter will be also..

There are ones that prefer containers because they like to be in full control of their plants needs and growth instead of being at the mercy of nature.

Do you want your plant to grow huge? Do want want the plant to absorb nutrients from the earth? Do you like the convenience of putting your plant where ever you want, when ever you want? Do you like to water easily. Do you fear frosts? Do you like to fertilize easily? Do you fear soil born diseases?
Do you want to bring your plant inside for the winter?

There are many pro's and con's to planting in ground verses pot. I would sit and consider all, then decide which I would prefer.

I personally would have two plants of each, and see which does better than the other..If I lived in an area where planting in ground was possible. I would do both..But then of course, I have trees planted in ground in the Caribbean that don't do half as well as the ones I grow here in pots..Crazy ha?

Mike..:-)

That's an awesome tree with a fat trunk...!
Thanks for posting it, Mike! ;)
Good to see ya,

Josh

May I make one more suggestion?

I would make sure that your hot sun does not beat directly on the black pot. I would find a way to keep the roots from over heating..:-)

Mike..:-)

Here is a link that might be useful: protecting containers from hot sun

That's a beautiful Kumquat tree!

I agree with Mike...I've had a container Kumquat for around 4 years...I decided to plant it in the ground a few weeks ago to replace a few plants that froze this winter. Since I read it can take it down to 18°, I think it will like its new home. I'm hoping and counting on getting much more fruit by next year. So far its been doing very well and has put out new growths.
Good luck with your decision!

The little plant directly underneath is a little volunteer tomato plant, probably a bird dropped it,lol...didn't have the heart to pull it out.
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Thanks for all the responses.

Mike, in answer to some of your questions, no not scared of frost, I live in Southern California, so it won't get too cold any time if it's planted outside.

I guess my primary desire is that it would produce a lot of fruit. I don't know anything about Kumquat trees, i read that the Nagami kumquat tree grows fast, but seems like it's not really growing much, i see a little new growth, but not that much. I wonder if it grows faster in certain months than others.

I don't think this tree could grow huge, the tag says that the mature height is 10-12', so I think that might be semi-dwarf? i don't even know. But I hear what you're saying about the pot restricting the growth, I was considering getting a bigger pot and putting it in a bigger pot.

Not sure if I really care about the trellis, although it does look kind of nice the way it's growing like that. I got the tree by 'accident' - was only inquiring about the cost of the tree and home depot didn't know, so they gave it to me for the 5 gallon price ($24) so I felt i coudln't pass up that offer, i knew it had to be more than that...later I found out it was $79!

Some of the leaves look yellowish green, is that bad?

Oh, so hot sun on a black pot is no good? i never would have thought of that. I guess I should wrap it in white paper or something. Might look cheesy. haha.

puglvr1 has a nice tree there, how old is that puglvr1?

Thanks again for your guys' input.

How are you?

If you should decide to go to a big pot, you might not want to transplant often, and you might want to leave it in there for quite sometime, right?

I would make a mix that is durable for a long time to come, free of insects, does not accumulate salts, drains well, and does not compact around the roots over time. If it compacts, you will be asking for a host of problems in such an oversized pot.

Make your soilless mix right the first time, and you will encourage a plant in a container to please you for a long time to come..:-)

If the leaves look yellowish green, it can be from several causes..

First thing I would make sure of is that I am not over or under watering.

Then I would make sure temps are stable enough for the plant to benefit from your fertilizers..If it is too cold, to hot, or if there are huge temp swings, this will affect the ability for your plant to respond well to fertilizers.

Then, I would attack the Ph thing if you are providing nutrients already.

After that I would make sure my fertilizer is providing all the nutrients possible, etc....

Mike...:-)

Thanks Scuzzynutty! I think my Kumquat(nagami) is appx. four yrs. old? I bought it in a one gallon pot. Just a few weeks ago I decided to plant it in the ground.

Here's a picture taken a four months ago(Dec.'09) in the container.
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I made some really delicious Kumquat Marmalade. No one likes kumquats in my family except me. But they loved the K.marmalade!

Mike, yeah i wasn't planning to transplant it often. I'm even scared to transplant it thinking it might die or something.

Not sure what is considered overwatering, i read that somewhere too that if you overwater it, the leaves might turn yellowish. I probably water it every 3rd day, is that too much?

puglvr1, that's a lot of fruit on the picture from dec'09. how big is that pot that it's in. wow, i guess it still produces a lot of fruit, even in that pot huh? so do you only get fruit from dec to march? I read some people saying they have fruit all year around. how big is your tree now? If you bought it in a one gallon pot 4 years ago, it's grown pretty quick huh? when did you start getting fruit?

Hi ... I have a kumquat I got a few weeks ago. I'm a container gardener. I'll never grow in ground again LOL. Anyway .. mine is flowering already and I water it deeply once a week. It's still a "Shawty" but that's alright ... so am I. I'm also in SoCal ... and am impressed at the price you paid for your kumquat!!

Hi crystalardelle.
Do you have any pics of your plant?
So far everything is in pots and I like it that way, but i'm debating whether to put some in the ground once spring comes.

Here is a link that might be useful: sunroomgardening.blogspot.com

That's a fantastic looking tree. I like the trellis on it.