It depends ..... From another post: "How large a container needs to be, or CAN be, and how much soil a planting needs/will tolerate before drainage & saturation is an issue depends on the 3-way relationship between plant mass, container size, and soil type. We often concern ourselves with "over-potting" (using a container that is too large), but "over-potting" is a term that arises from a lack of basic knowledge about the 3-way relationship noted, which should logically determine appropriate container size(s). It's often parroted that you should only move up one size in containers when "potting-up". The reasoning is the soil will remain wet too long and cause root rot issues, but it is the size/mass of the material and soil type/composition that determines both the upper & lower limits of appropriate container size - not consecutive volume progression. Plants grown in slow soils need to be grown in containers with smaller soil volumes so that the plant can use water quickly, allowing air to return to the soil. This (smaller soil volumes) and the root constriction that accompanies it will cause plants to extend and gain o/a mass much more slowly - a bane if rapid growth is the goal - a boon if growth restriction and a compact plant are what you have you sights set on. Conversely, rampant growth can be had by growing in very large containers and in very fast soils where frequent watering and fertilizing is required - so it's not that plants rebel at being potted into very large containers or volumes of soil per se, but rather, they rebel at being potted into very large containers with a large volume of soil that is too slow and water-retentive. We know that there is an inverse relationship between soil particle size and the height of the PWT in containers. As particle size increases, the height of the PWT decreases, until at about a particle size of just under 1/8 inch, soils will no longer hold perched water. If there is no perched water, the soil is ALWAYS well aerated, even when the soil is at container capacity (saturated). So, if you aim for a soil composed primarily of particles >1/16", there is no upper limit to container size. The lower size limit will be determined by the soil volume's ability to furnish water enough to sustain the plant between irrigations." You can grow a very small plant in a very large container if the soil holds little or no perched water (saturated soil). Al

At the moment I am working with cuttings off some of the tree varieties - they are 4 to 6 inches. Some varieties I will grow by seed such as the willow. I have started the cuttings in 3 inch disposable peat moss cups - the kind compiled of peat moss that you simply transplant then the roots grow through. I live in Nevada. The first winter they will be stored in my basement. But thereafter I hope to keep them outside and permit them to go dormant so that by the time I plant them in the ground they have experienced a winter or two. After probing a flirty nursery attendant I found out this is the way the two major chains of nurseries near me do their trees. Trees that are 3-4 years old in most of these varieties will run me $60-$120 each. At the middle of the road - $80 - with enough trees to shade a driveway, yard, and pastures on 40 acres I probably need about 200. The supplies to take 1000 cuttings or seeds (some combination of both), the pots, soil (I use my own sand here and later use a compost I make myself with some help from my horses) and finally the pots - most of which I can get for free by asking local nurseries for their extras they plan to throw out - the cost is a mere fraction. So, I have set out to learn this skill:) Thanks for any help!

Yes you can. I would use at least a half whiskey barrel size planter unless you are able to water them multiple times a day in August when they are mature and it is very hot.

BUMP Plant out time is here. I like the older threads rather than starting a new thread. There are already some useful information there. This thread dates back to 2011. Since then there has been quite some changes in container growing medium concept. In the past MG potting (and similar brands) used to be the potting soil option. They are mostly pet moss based. Al (Tapla) has made a significant contribution by developing and introducing 5-1-1 mix, It is 5 parts pine/fir bark fine , 1 part peat moss and 1 part perlite. The amount of peat moss really depends on the structure of the pine bark one uses. I, myself, get finer pine bark that does not need any peat moss. So I skip PM and instead I add DE (floor dry) for better moisture retention. DE also facilitates drainage after it is saturated. I have experimented and found out that one pound of dry DE absorbs one pound of water. So my 5-1-1 is 5 parts pine bark, 1 part DE and 1 part perlite. ABOUT CONTAINER SIZE As mentioned bigger pot is better. That is especially true if you have a long growing season, like in CA and FL where growing season can be 8 to 9 months. But in our PNW practical pepper growing season is about 5 months. Last year I used pots ranging from 2.5 to 5 gallons. Most did ok. This year I will use no smaller than 4 gallon nursery pots (= 5 gallon liquid). I got some of those for free from a landscaping crew in my neighborhood.. I also got reusable grocery shopping bags which also are 4 gallons in volume. I prefer these 4 gallon containers over the 5 gallon HD /Lowes buckets which are not very nice looking. Those buckets actually hold no more than 4 dry gallons. Are you ready to pot up ? Seysonn