Contents
In Today’s article, we will learn how to grow fruit trees in pots at home and get produce lots of fruits in a single plant. We will show you some important gardening tips and tricks to follow in order to successfully grow fruit trees in containers. Topics like Which fruits trees to choose – Seed grown vs Cuttings grown vs Grafted Trees. Where to purchase high quality grafted fruit trees and some important re-potting tips for newly bought plants whether from online nursery or offline.
Topics Covered in This Episode
- Plant Purchase: Seed grown vs Cuttings grown vs Grafted Trees.
- Re-potting: Should I re-pot immediately after purchase?
- 10 Golden Rules to Follow while re-potting a plant
- Common Care Tips for Growing Fruit Trees.
Plant Purchase
I am sure most of us might have this question in mind: Growing from Seeds vs Growing from Branch Cuttings or Choosing to Purchase a Grafted tree. Which one do you think you should opt for?
First of all, growing from seeds is a great fun thing to do and we all have done it many times for gardening fun and experimenting. But the major disadvantage of seed-grown tree is they are not “true to seed” – meaning they may not produce identical fruit trees and moreover it might take ages for the seed-grown trees to produce fruits, but of course, there are some exceptions.
Secondly, Plants grown from cuttings including the air layering method may produce the genetic clones of the parent tree. Fruit trees such as figs, pomegranates, mulberries and many others are generally grown by this method. But the major problem with this method is they do not have enough roots developed to support fruit production and moreover there are only fibrous roots and no tap roots which are important for fruit trees for anchorage. Whereas Seed produced plants have a well-developed tap root system and this concept is used in Grafting. The ‘root stock’ which is the lower portion of the plant with a strong root system and the ‘scion’ which is the branch from the selected delicious fruit tree which is grafted on to the root stock.
Having said that, it’s time to choose which trees to purchase for your container gardening. It’s obvious that grafted trees, especially dwarf varieties, are the best ones to grow in containers.
Re-potting
Whether Purchased online or offline from a local nursery, people often have a misconception that immediately re-potting a newly purchased plant into a larger container and a nutrient-rich potting soil will make your plant grow like crazy. This is not always true.
Now let’s discuss some very important points and concepts, that you must keep in mind if you want to keep your newly purchased plant healthy and avoid the so-called repotting or transplant shock.
When Do I Repot a New Plant Purchased Offline, That’s from a Local Nursery or Garden Store?
If your plant just came home from a local garden center or nursery, DO NOT RE-POT IMMEDIATELY. Let it adjust to its new environment for a few days or at least a week before re-potting it. This is because the plants are already in shock at their new residence until they get used to new factors like light, temperature, and humidity conditions.
When Do I Re-pot a Plant Purchased Online?
If you purchase a plant online, re-potting immediately is the best solution in most cases. Because, it is very much likely that the plants would have traveled hundreds or thousands of miles and many days without any water or moisture before reaching their final destination. The plant will be going through a recovery period and an acclimation period during these days of transport in whatever medium the seller packs them in. So, why let the plant re-acclimate twice in this situation.
10 Golden Rules of Re-potting
Let’s quickly list them one by one:
- Water the plant the day before you plan to re-pot.
- Perform Re-potting in the evening hours to prevent shock to the plant during sunlight that is the day time which is the active period for photosynthesis. Let it get an overnight period of rest and recovery.
- To remove the Root Ball, gently tap the rim of the pot to a hard surface like a table or a counter. This is to loosen the root ball instead of pulling it with force which can damage the roots or the stem. If the root ball resists to come out, run a knife between the pot and the root ball to loosen the root ball.
- Inspect the root ball for things like: any root worms or maggots, root disease and if they are root-bound to decide whether you want to re-pot in a larger container or perform root pruning.
- Choosing the Right Container: For fruit and vegetable plants especially if you are growing on the terrace, choose fabric grow bags as your first preference. This is because they are not only light but also follow the principles of AIR PRUNING and can grow into healthy trees using this principle.
- Then it’s also very important to choose a pot that is of appropriate size for the plant. Like, You should never pot a 6-inch pot plant into a 14-inch or a very large pot. Go Step by Step, Choose one or two steps higher, like a 6-inch pot, you can plant in 8-inch or 10-inch pot and so on.
- Drainage Holes: This is probably the most important factor you should consider. If you do not make enough drainage holes at the bottom of the pot, your plant will stand in water and lead to root rot and death of the plant.
- Choosing the Right soil: As a general rule use a well-draining nutrient-rich soil with at least 30 percent compost like vermicompost or decomposed cow dung. To make it well draining, you might have to add cocopeat or peat moss to garden soil in proper proportions. Make sure you also add stuff like bone meal or soya bean meal for inducing flowering and fruiting. Check the best Potting Mix recipe or formula from my post.
- Partially fill the container with potting mix and then place the root ball exactly in the center of the pot. Then add additional soil to cover the empty space. Make sure the surface of that root ball is below the rim so you can cover it adequately with potting soil or compost and also this good space for properly watering your plant.
- Gently tap the pot on a hard surface to remove air pockets and to level the soil from within. Finally, after re-potting, water the plant thoroughly and this removes the leftover air pockets and stuff like that. Then to counter the Re-potting or Transplant Shock, you can follow these simple steps: Water the plant with Epsom salt solution weekly once for about a month. The dosage is 1 teaspoon Epsom salt per liter of water. Finally, keep the plant in indirect sunlight or under a green shade net for at least a week, before shifting to full sunlight.
- Protect your oasis with Captain Jack’s Neem Max Concentrate; this multipurpose product acts as a 4-in-1 insecticide, fungicide, miticide and nematicide
- Captain Jack’s Neem Max Concentrate is approved for organic gardening; Cold Pressed Neem Oil is a plant based active ingredient that is effective in preventing and controlling diseases and pests in your garden
Video Tutorial on How To Grow Fruit Trees in Pots
Please watch this detailed video guide on how to grow fruit trees in containers.
Last update on 2025-01-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
1 comment
Except for citrus trees, it is best not to bring most fruit trees into fully heated indoor spaces for the winter, since most require a period of winter dormancy.