Growing fruit in containers can be frustrating when your potted fruit trees just don’t seem to thrive no matter what you try. I’ve been there, and in this video I break down what’s actually going wrong and how to fix it with simple, practical changes. If container gardening has felt harder than it should, this will help you turn things around and finally get healthy, productive trees.
Thanks for watching!
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25 Comments
Second comment. I have (one each) avocado, Mandarin orange, tangerine, apricot, rose plum, anna apple, Meyer lemon, Valencia orange, and a Pluot.
I have loads of Citrus in pots and some figs, apples, peach, nectarine and plums… Just did my first scion grafts and had all of them take…. I have an Avocado in a pot but I am debating putting it in the ground. I also have a Mayhaw in a pot in the pond filter since they LOVE wet feet!
Very informative! Great content. I am growing figs, plum, lemon/lime citrus and Owari Satsuma Mandarin orange trees in container.
What do you feed your fig trees and how often?
I put scrap pieces of wood against the pot to block the sun. One piece of 2×4 is usually enough but I'm zone 7 nj
Excellent video! I have a clone Meyer Lemon that is the only survivor of about 20 attempts. It was doing nicely in a 6" clay pot but recently lost all but one leaf. It is also blossoming like crazy, probably a death nell. I will try repotting in a different environment to see if I can save it. I do have room and am thinking of planting it inground. It is only about 10" tall. What do you think?
That’s the problem with big box store soil also it mostly contains bark and it’s starts to decompose and also decompose the roots of the tree sad but true 😒🤦🏻♂️
we're lucky here in Southern California where we're able to buy Top Pot which is Gary Matsuoka of Laguna Hills Nursery's permanent potting soil which is mineral based it's just peat moss, pumice, volcano rock and perlite so you can water it to your heart's content and you will not get root rot there's nothing to rot in the potting mix. Gary does a whole series of videos on how the growing industry got away from mineral based soils and started the potting soil mix which often leads to all kinds of issues. Ever since I switched over to mineral based soils my trees started thriving and I've not lost a single one whereas when I first started out I killed numerous trees.
I find that perlite really helps with drainage (it's a shame it's pricey though if you have to fill many container pots!), and when it comes to nutrition, a good organic nutrient rich compost to feed the plant (and topping up or replacing soil when necessary) as well as a good 1-3 inch layer of a good mulch on top, keeping it slightly away from the trunk to prevent it from rotting, and whenever the leaves are yellow or yellowing, I use some diluted liquid organic seaweed fertilizer (or liquid organic seaweed and fish fertilizer) every few days until the leaves come back to a nice solid healthy dark forest green colour. It took me years to figure all that out, just from trial and error, and finding out different brands didn't work or were toxic, and specifically, that synthetic fertilizer pellets actually ruined my plants because it was like giving them the equivalent of processed food – sure they do ok, but it's not giving them what they truly need to grow, and provide great flavoured and healthy fruits. I've found that organic fertilizers do much better than synthetic based. I also try to feed the plants on a day that isn't going to get rain, so the nutrients can be taken up by the roots properly.
I live in east Texas. I had 5 citrus and 3 guava trees growing in pot.
I planted in ground fruit trees , I had 3 Fuyu persimmon tree , two peaches, two plum , apple trees and cherry tree.
I have issues with termite in the mulch under the my fruits trees. Do you ever have termite in your garden or under tree? I happened before, I took out all the mulch and throw away, and replaced with pine straw, but somehow it still have termite again. How do I get rid of them. Thank you
Salts in fertilizers are not the same table salt we all know. It is also not the harmful to plants.
Look up Garden Fundamentals YT channel. He explains it with scientific research and easy to understand examples.
I see zero worms in the soil for the plant with the root issues. Living soil will solve many of the issues you are talking about here in the video.
Thank you for the great content!
The only choice I have for containers are used 30-45 gallon size black nursery pots for my columnar apple trees. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep my trees cool here in Central Texas?
I’m in NTX and use large, black nursery pots. However I place them inside tan, fabric grow bags so there is no direct sunlight on the pot itself and a two inch air gap. I can also stuff with straw as insulation when it’s very hot/cold. I’m currently growing 2 apricot, 2 pomegranate, blood orange, grapefruit, lime, Meyer lemon, mandarin orange, fig tree, Service berry, and 2 avocado trees in containers. I lost both avocados and lime during the freeze last month but not 100% sure it wasn’t from green house overheating (someone kept shutting the door during the day).
Excellent content, thank you. Pomegranate does terrific in a pot, I find Parafanka takes small confines OK. I have them in standard pots around 15 gal. I have a very large one trellised in a 200 gal. planter w/o bottom.
Good video. Thanks for sharing.
I have my fruit tree in square black 7 gal pots, about 30 of them. Most are figs. I am not going to buy new white pots, too expensive. I am in Florida and it gets pretty hot here for like 5 months. I am thinking to wrap them in reflective bubble wrap to insulate and reflect heat
Too bad I didn’t see this video before I planted my Pink Variegated Lemon tree in a container with lava rocks in the bottom of the container. 😫
Informative video. LOL, apparently I need to watch more of them!
Hi there, brand new to your channel and curious about the whole potted fruit tree thing. Do you have any videos on the very very newbie beginnings of trying the method?
I used crushed taracota to cover the drain holes, and then used 4 inches of pine needles, before I add my soil amendment atop. Keep in mind I talking 25 gallon pots and large fruit trees.
I bought some steer manure already aged that I’m going to put in my dry soil in my yard. Should i sprinkle some over my meyer lemon tree in a pot? It flowered like crazy but every single one dropped and the leaves turned yellow. Im afraid it’s too late in the season to up pot or would it be fine?
Hello, I am from the Middle East, from Iraq. The climate of Iraq is hot, dry in summer and cold, rainy in winter. I like planting in pots or barrels. What trees are suitable for planting in your opinion? Do you have Facebook?
This is a great video! So much good information. I’m trying so hard to be a good lemon tree-in-a-container mom, and nearly every challenge that you mentioned is something that I have been or am experiencing. Thank you so much!
Yes to lighter pots, why are they so rare!? We can paint with milk wash if they are too dark. I’m growing Seabuckthorn/ Seaberry, artic kiwi, cherry bushes, haskap berries, and more in zone 5b Canada where we have had 2 very hard winters in a row. The voles got the cherry stems this year so i should have caged them. I subbed and will check your other videos,thx! What about sub-irrigated pots? I want to try them this year, and also pots with open bottoms…
The comment about upgrading to too big of a pot to soon leading to root rot doesnt make sense. When you put a plant in the ground outside you wouldnt have that problem and theres lots of soil and space. Im guessing the issue is that people overwater their house plants, thinking they need to because the pot is so big and because the water then has no where to go(unlike outside) it sits and rots roots. Pay attention to that.