So if you do; what size pots? And what type of pots do you prefer. Plastic? Peat? Clay? Concrete? Fabric? Lastly how long until you put them in the ground?
I use the smallest size that fits the rootsā¦as I have collected hundreds of black nursery pots over the years. You donāt try to force roots into a pot they donāt fitā¦though you can snip off tip of a long one. Then, Iā'll ābumpā to the next bigger size as I think the tree needs it.
Or plant the tree next season.
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Why do you want to Pott up your grafted treeās? And what species/rootstock? And for how long?
from your bio, you seem to have space outside/inground. So i would advise against putting treeās in pots. (Unless you have to put stuff in pots, due to lack of unfrozen ground/space or animals)
between grafting and planting stuff out in itās final position. you can bunch up multiple treeās and either put them in a bucket with some potting soil. coco choir or damp sawdust until planting them out inground in a few weeks. Or if you need to āstoreā them longer. You can make a bundle and dig a hole outside and plant in there. (maybe in a fenced off spot if you have animals that eat your tree)
if you plan on growing them for a season or longer in a pot. It depends on the species/rootstock etc. But your likely wanna get a large pot if the tree has to stay in there for years.
Bigger pots also need to be watered less regularly.
If put grafed treeās in pots temporarily. (7 liter ~2 gallon, and 14 liter ~4 gallon) But lost a bunch of them when a sprinkler got stuck during a heatwave and no longer watered them for a few days. The ones that barely survived where almost exclusively in the larger pots.
Unless you absolutely have to put them in pots. I would always plant in ground. Unless itās for commercial purposes where you need to sell plants during growing season etc.
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I use 3 gallon fabric āgrow bagsā. I graft about 100 heirloom apples a year to sell locally. Raise them in my nursery for 1 1/2 years and sell them in the fall. Usually grow to be 4 to 6 feet tall. At my age 
itās easier for me than planting in the ground and easier for customers to transport home. Iāve been doing this for 10 years with good results.
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I use oversized plastic pots that i drill extra holes into the bottom. I also often use a watering pan that they sit in. Still I try to plant things as soon as possible even though often in ground they donāt get as much attention as in a pot and donāt grow as well if they are non vigorous growing. but after 3 years in the ground that usually inverts to being better in ground than a potā¦ besides maybe blueberries or something needing specific PH.
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We have 5 acres but there are a lot of tall Pines and understory plants limiting decent sunny areas. Nearly an acre of that is a pond. And animal pens take up much space. I have plenty of room to grow out in pots until I plant them on better property. My main aim is to grow Georgia origin apple trees to sell at low prices. And then prove out various apples from abroad to see if they can take the heat .As well as some breeding projects.
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Yeah. Iām no spring chicken apart from being surgically disabled to a degree. Those reasons sound good. One concern I wondered about; do fabric pots require more watering? Do you add more calcinated clay , peat or vermiculite to compensate?
My wife acquires various pots from Estate Sales she conducts. Of course they are various sizes and types. And tends to steal the nice ones for her ornamental plants though.
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I like the fabric pots, but they do dry out much faster in my use of them, so I donāt plant trees in them for that reason. Just veggies
I like to buy large 17-20gallon plastic tubs from walmart, Loweās etc they are varying degrees of thickness but the thicker the better and they have handles for dragging around. I used to get 17 gallon on walmart.com for $7 but I wouldnāt highly recommend those pots if youāre moving them ever as they tend to break after being sun baked. However you wonāt find a cheaper option, I just drill drainage holes on them and they do well. The 20 gallon ones from Loweās are $14 and are much thicker/heavy duty. Crazy that if you try to buy something similar in Loweās that was intended for planting itās like $80
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A local landscaping business sells a mixture of top soil and mushroom mulch that I buy by the cubic yard. The only thing I add is a healthy scoop of perlite to help drainage. I water once or twice a week depending on the rainfall. After a year in the pots I give them a capfull of slow release Osmocote fertilizer.
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Thatās very interesting. I actually just emailed MOFGA to look for this very information. I grafted my first apples in spring of 2023 and planted them in the ground. I want to transfer them into pots as I have only so much space. Do you pot them up from the start? Or do you grow them in the ground and then transplant into pots?
Iām new to this forum and lots on it!
Thanks for any direction you might provide.
Drew
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After grafting I place 10-15 in moist sawdust in 5 gallon buckets for about a month in the basement to begin the āhealingā process. Then they go into pots.
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Thatās helpful. Thank you for the reply.
What do folks, who live in climates with freezing temps, prefer to do in order to get the potted trees through the winter?
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For apples and pears, I do nothing. But minus 19 is the coldest in 30 years or so.
2 degrees has been the coldest since Iāve potted trees. They can through just fine sitting in the nursery with no protection.
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Is there a particularly brand of growbag you prefer?
They all seem about the same. The handles on these are a little bigger and they are the ones I usually buy.
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Iām no pro, but did a not of checking into grow bags before deciding to use the Rootmaker RootTrapper containers. Whatās unique about them that is beneficial for my conditions is that the sides are white solid material on the exterior. I havenāt done any testing, but they are marketed to keep cooler (white) and reduce moisture loss (solid exterior on sides). Rootmaker does their manufacturing state side and they have handles available on some models, but you can ask them to add as many handles as you would like to any container for $1 ea. On my 30 gallon ones, Iām really glad I had them sew on 4 handles. Also, they have sales between 10 and 25% off multiple times throughout the yearā¦ next likely sale is earthday.
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Great topic, I feel like this is where my apple trees fail. I usually get good takes but then the new growth ends up dying off. I like putting them in individual containers or a big tub but my issue is after grafting what is the best soil to use in these containers while they heal in my basement? Should they heal in a dark spot and not under a light? I am located in NY thank you in advance. Hoping I start getting a better survival rate. Most my grafts take but die off after like 2 weeks.