I have 3 bare root fruit trees I’ll be planting in containers for the long-term. My thought is to have less-predictable fruits for my area as more predictable.
Am I better off with fabric or plastic pots? Does anyone make an insulated pot worth checking out?
Should I start with the ‘final size’ pot, or start smaller (10-12 gal) and upgrade after 3-5 years (15-30 gal)?
Thanks for any recommendations!
Some background
Weather: here in Colorado, sun is very intense (thinking fabric may be better for that, but UV also kills all plastics outside). It’s also arid and sometimes windy.
Use: Long term in containers. Roll in and out of garage on a dolly… sitting on concrete during the early spring/late fall, and possibly the grass or dirt for most of the growing season. I don’t mind if they get up to 9’ tall (have a high-bay in my garage), but pruning them narrower allows more to fit.
What else:
I wouldn’t mind if the pot was a little more forgiving on the moisture retention front, in case a watering is missed.
I won’t say weight isn’t an issue, but do have a tractor and forks to move further than the driveway, when needed.
Here’s what is here or on the way:
Harrow Sweet on OHxF87
Drippin’ Honey on OHxF87
WhiteGold Cherry on Gisela 5
I really like the roots in my 25 gal fabric pots. The figs I just removed after 3-4 yrs had no circling roots and seemed good for another 3-4 yrs. They are hard to keep wet outdoors in summer. I had to put saucers under them. My experience with plastic pots and fruit trees is they run out of vigor after about two crops. That means repotting and root pruning. I haven’t had fruit trees other than figs in fabric.
You might want to consider letting the trees root into the ground in summer and dig them out come fall.
I know the local growing shop has some 25 gallon fabric ‘smart pots’, I could give those a shot unless you think I should be checking out other pots. I had heard good things about the fabric pots and root management, just wasn’t sure about compaction and other things long-term.
Any particular recommendations on soil mixtures? I’m still trying to learn about that.
BTW - did you end up pulling the trigger on moving to Arvada?
All of mine figs are in plastic containers that have large square drain holes so that the roots easily root in mulch around the pot . Clipping the roots is easily when they grow into mulch. Bad part like fruit nut said, repotting every 3 year. Might go 4 years. Figs prefer roots going in the ground rather than staying in containers.
If you grow a lot of figs that becomes a burden. I grow 24 in containers. Yes it could be a pita for sure.
I think I have a lot more to learn about as it relates to rooting. It seems like even with the smart pots, one could cut a few holes near the bottom flaps you fold underneath, to let the roots out.
I was also reading that the smart pots might only last 4 years, but guessing that is conservative.
It sounds like root trimming is needed to reinvigorate… or is it more related to the usable life of the soil?
If you are concerned about plastic being abused, maybe look around for some used wine barrels to cut in half? They are probably far more expensive already cut at the box stores, although an end of season sale might make the price right. You could even put another plastic pot inside of the half barrel.
Alternatively, you could try feeding troughs or something like that made from metal. Aluminum is lightweight and won’t rust, I bet something good exists.
If plastic is the only option you can find, HDPE will probably last longer than PVC.
An example of the containers I use for fig tree’s, 20gl from AM Leonard, extremely light weight. I use squat containers, root pruning? About a 1/2 hr a tree. Flimsy but tough, about 10 years old now
I use a coarse mix. About 1/2 big bark chips and 1/2 similar to promix hp. Better too coarse than too fine. But that means more frequent watering.
If going plastic I’d go with half of a 55-60 gal drum. And if fabric go as big as you can handle. I’d rather have a big pot that drains well than a little one with a fine mix.
I’m still in TX.
In fabric I’d just start with a new plant in a new mix/pot before root pruning. I think you could get 6-10 yrs same pot same mix.
Part of the loss in vigor is that the plant just outgrows the pot. In that case a fig can be cut back to stumps to reinvigorate. A fruit tree can be pruned back very hard. Completely replace the top over 2-3 yrs.
Am I correct in saying that if you whack back the roots every few years, regardless of the species you usually want to whack back the branches too? I am betting there is an exception to the rule…
That’s probably a good rule. In a pot the top can only get so big. So it’s either have a few inches of new growth on a big top or cut back and get more vigor from a smaller framework.
Thanks - thick and heavy plastic that is UV stable isn’t so bad here, but it’s funny how strong the sun is here. I am very curious how long the bags will hold up here. I guess if they don’t last more than 3-4 years, it’s an opportunity to root prune!
That’s pretty nice poncirusguy! That tree looks great and health, and about the size I’m envisioning.
Where do you get your drums? I’m sure used is an option, just would have to know what was in it originally. I’m thinking plastic is best here to retain moisture, though I really like the root health coming out of the fabric pots.
Ok, I’ll have to dig into the soils more, as I’m not familiar with either, and this gives me a great start. Good to know about going coarse. I think I’ll have to figure out how to have some self-contained gravity drip system on a bigger pots… just to keep the maintenance factor lower, and in the event I miss some days.
Handles on the fabric pot sure would be nice, and I think the ones over 25 gallons or so don’t have them. 25-35 gallons seems reasonable if being rolled around on hard surface.
I do wonder if there is a concept of putting another something around the fabric pot (perhaps with a standoff) to reduce the wind evaporation and sun factor, but still keep the root benefits of the fabric pot.
6-10 years sounds great, whereas 3 years due to root pruning sounds like a lot effort Sounds like no root pruning for quite a while, less it is highly vigorous.
On your earlier comment about letting them root into the ground, for trees that have a later harvest (when temps start to get questionable), does the tree do OK if you cut the root before harvest, provided it is well watered? If not, I might not want to let the late bearers not root.
Have you had any experience cutting a hole in the fabric pot to allow rooting?
I went digging around on fabric pots and learned (as always) there is a lot to learn. Most importantly:
buying the chinese made versions are not a good idea, as some of the have been tested and identified to contain lead and BPA.
some are made of recycled water bottles (PET) and others made of PolyPropylene
It seems that PET can release antimony as it warms, and at least one study I saw showed that at 50C (122F), the levels were already about 15x the release at 77F.
So I personally will gravitate towards USA made (some are USA fabric as well), Polyproplyene based fabric pots for edibles.
I also found that grassroots, a made-in-usa company, now mostly sells their pots that have all but the bottom and bottom 4" lined. This effectively reduces the air root pruning in all but the bottom of the pot, but on the flip side, helps dramatically with the moisture concerns (especially in arid colorado).
From those who have used the fabric pots, do you all think there is much benefit to the fabric pot, if the upper 3/4 of it does not air prune? I am thinking that was the primary purpose of going fabric. Here is a picture showing the left half ‘classic’ model and the other ‘living’ model on the right.
After all the checking out fabric pots, as attractive as they sound, and with much deliberation, I think the barrels are going to work best for me. Makes me sad for root health and maintenance, but think that given how much they will get moved around and that it is so arid here, they are less likely to risk going fully dry or damaged.
I found the food grade barrels easily on Craigslist, and assume the semi-translucent white won’t be good for the plant in the sun, and that leaves the blue. I’m thinking to cut these around 40 gallons or so, to provide a little more space.
I like Drew’s idea of adding some DE to the pine bark and potting soil mix, as well.
@poncirusguy - what did you do for drainage in the bottom of yours? did you drill holes or cut openings, or add any different material beneath the potting soil?
Sounds like no root pruning for quite a while, less it is highly vigorous.