I couldn’t decide whether to start a new thread or comment on an old one…went with the latter.
I’ve read a lot about plastic pots overheating in the summer and to paint them white to keep them cool. I went to a local tree nursery wholesaler and was talking to them about their experience growing in containers.
Interestingly, the guy said that the black plastic pots were worse in winter because they warm up and cause the roots to come out of dormancy, which then causes problems when it gets cold again. He said they would get 30% winter kill sometimes because of it.
Now they’ve converted entirely to above ground fabric pots, which are still black, but it eliminated the problem. They have quite ornamental trees in them - 10-15’ or more sometimes for both deciduous and conifer…or paint your plastic pots white for the winter as well.
Hi Drew, is there a reason that for your mix, you suggest you might skip the compost for trees? The root benefits sound pretty good for root rot. In my case, I’ll be starting bare root pears and cherries in their final containers (30gal)
It’s not recommended to be used for transplant of trees. That mostly concerns in ground trees. Some feel they should not be fed at all, and compost has some nutritional value. Apparently shocked tree roots can be damaged by uptake of nutrients. At least that’s the theory. Some believe you should wait a year, others say after they start growing and are established. Like later in the summer.
When I say they or others I mean info mostly from University extension sites like MSU, but almost every state has it’s suggestions on how to plant trees.
I also enjoy the advice of real nurseryman. A couple have podcasts, and one in Ohio helps let me know what works and what does not in my area. Very informative.
Also some PhD horticulturists have podcasts or blogs which offer research based advice besides their own hands on experience. Such as Lee Reich.
So my comments are usually based on current techniques. The times are a changing.
I suggest all do their own homework and inform us here what you found.
Gardening is so broad, and so much is going on. I like to try and concentrate on specific subjects as so much info is out there. One can get lost in it all. You can take all kinds of courses from numerous places if that works for you.
I could post one hundred links, but I’m too busy today. My peppers need to be up potted!
Here’s some examples of what I’m talking about. Myths are a good place to look what current thinking is.
As far as I know, only direct contact to nitrogen salts can be damaging to transplants. The reason for recommendations for holding off fertilization has more to do with wasting fertilizer and causing contamination when it isn’t taken up by the trees. Commercial peach growers tend to provide supplementary N the first season in late spring into summer, Sometimes through fertigation.
Apparently, there is a range of response to early fertilization depending on species, but I’m unsure of the current state of the science. When I was engaged in latest research there was some controversy about early N supplementation. Whitcomb suggested that species that don’t respond to nitrogen the first season after transplanting absorb it into roots and buds for more rapid growth the following season based on experiments with a limited number of species. He recommended using N once new roots are rapidly developing in spring, as I recall. He also recommended it in very late summer-early fall for the same purpose of giving trees a jump-start the following year from N already in their tissues. This recommendation was for all trees when the goal is maximum vegetative vigor, which for fruit trees would be before meaningful harvests.
The benefit of compost in container mixes is more about getting better retention of water than about nutrients, although the latter is helpful as well. However, care must be taken to be sure any planting mix has proper drainage and how compost drains varies- all compost is not equal. Holding more water than peat moss, perlite and/or sand is going to restrict drainage to some degree. The smaller the pot, the more likely for this to be a problem.
Reviving this thread rather than starting a new one so i can discuss container trees .
I use osmacote plus every 5 months or so and will add some organics as well. I might hold off during the middle of winter if it runs out and add more at Spring.
Here’s a pic of my Mid Pride peach in a 15g. I bagged the tree and had no losses on that tree. I have a Red Baron and August Pride that the squirrels went after instead
The taste on the mid pride was quite bland, actually. But the Red Baron was delicious, better than any store bought fruit I’ve tried. Does a peach tree need to have a minimum trunk caliper before it produces good fruit? It is a much smaller tree than the Red Baron. Or maybe not enough heat during ripening?
Nice tree, I am interested in seeing few other trees you’re growing in the containers if you don’t mind posting/DM’ing pictures.
regarding the blandness, I have read flavor gets better as the tree ages, that could be it. Also, I think this tree is very sparse on leaves to support that many fruits. There is some research on apples where a dozen plus leaves are needed to support a fruit. I haven’t seen anything similar for peaches. It could be that there weren’t much sugars photosynthesized to improve the flavor, would you be able to test BRIX on any of the fruit? How does your red Barron peach tree compares to mid-pride in leaf density?
Thanks. I don’t mind sharing at all. It’s great to have a place to discuss my trees .
I do recall that leaf to fruit ratio, now that you mention it. It could definitely be it. I thinned all 3 of my peaches to the same amount of fruit, but the critters helped me thin the other 2 further since they were not netted so maybe that is it. You can see the foliage of the Red Baron behind the Mid Pride, it’s the un-netted tree on the left. Quite a bit more leaves than the Mid Pride.
I will take some more pictures later when I take a break from work.
Both trees purchased last year from 5g containers. Up potted to 15g after purchasing and up potted again during dormancy. I think they could have stayed longer in the 15g pots but they are on citation rootstock so I’m always worried about them drying out
GA866 in a 25g grow bag putting out a lot more fruit than last year. The rats have found it so I picked a couple. Still not ready. I have found they are best when brown all the way around in my area.
Absolutely incredible I am so impressed. I did not think it was possible. I am sure I’m gonna have some more questions. As time goes on. I only have a goal of raising a few trees in pots for about a year. I have a source of trees of some of the varieties I would like to plant in my orchard. The problem is there what I considered poor quality, not nursery trees. They get them in bare root stick them in the ground a couple of months and then sell them. So I really need about a year to nurse them since my orchard is about 90 miles away and can’t properly care for them until they get a little larger.Thanks
Thanks for the kind words! What kind of trees are you looking to grow? They can grow at very different rates. Also, what size are the trees that you are buying?
I have bought some small bare root trees and stuck them in 5 gal containers for the whole season this year. They quickly outgrow the container and are now just sitting there with no growth, but no big decline. They are definitely not happy, but not dying either.
Most likely pears or apples. I am going to do some more research on it, but at least I know it’s possible after seeing your post.
The nursery trees that I planted that were 6-8 tall with good scaffolding all did well .
So that’s going to be my goal take about a 4 foot tree Keep it at my house for a year And hopefully get it to thrive thanks for the help
One year shouldn’t be a problem. A 4 ft tree might be ok in a 5 gallon pot for the year but might dry out quickly. I grafted some pluots this year that I left in the tree pots because I’ve been lazy lol. I’ll take a picture when I get home.
My container soil is different than most as it’s mineral and peat based. No compost or woody material so nothing goes anaerobic in the roots. I add osmacote plus on top for fertilizer and a small amount of organic as well.
Feel free to ask as much questions as you like. I love talking about container gardening!
Here’s a couple of trees I’ve had in pots since spring. They’ve basically just sat there all year after growing to a certain height. They are quite rootbound at this point.
I’ll probably up pot them soon or when they go dormant. Not sure if there are issues with them waking up after dormancy if they’re rootbound as I have no experience with that in these species, yet. I have had mulberries survive, they just don’t have much growth the next year as they are limited to their container size.
Have 9 Albion strawberrries in 3g containers that I started around January they have basically been putting out berries all year. Just harvested some more today.
First Feijoa of the year! Variety is called Unique and was sold to me as self fruiting and appears accurate as I didn’t do any hand pollinating. Growing in a 15g pot. Surprising how big the fruit is.
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