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Blog Series - Fruit Trees & Berries in Pots Part 1 |
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 Growing your own fruit is really fun and rewarding. Nothing tastes better than homegrown fruit picked at peak ripeness. Imagine the pleasure of adding a handful of berries to your morning cereal or serving an apple pie made with home-grown fruit from the tree - potted on your deck. Don't forget that the fruiting plants add color and fragrance that can't be obtained from any other means. The fragrant flowers, attractive foliage, and beautiful fruit all add to the charm of growing your own plants in pots.
Many types of fruits and berries adapt nicely to growing in containers. Plant breeders continue to develop compact varieties especially suited to planters, and they have many advantages as well. Probably the most important point is the mobility that container planted trees provide. If frost threatens, you can move your fruit trees under cover for some protection. So, even though container fruit growing  takes a little more effort that flowers or veggies, the payoffs are well worth it.
Before you get started on this fun adventure - you need to learn a few fruit-gardening terms and concepts that will keep coming up. Most of the information contained in this entry and future entries in this series, will be about deciduous fruit trees (apple, peach etc....)
The Bee's Knees
Remember how pollen moves from the male part of the flower to the female part, fertilizing it, and causing fruit to grow? Well, some fruit trees, like peach, have compatible make & female flower parts on the same plant, which is called self-fruitful.
All this means is if you plant a peach tree by itself -it will produce fruit.
 Other fruits, including apple & blueberries, produce more quantity and better quality if they are cross-pollinated. This means they receive pollen from another variety. You can still grow one blueberry or apple plant and maybe get some fruit, but you get a lot more if a different variety grows nearby.
Pollinators carry pollen from flower to flower, even from one part of a flower to another part. They are usually bees, flies or other insects. We are sure you have plenty in your garden area. Even city dwellers have them flying around, especially if there are plants nearby. Planting a combination of flowers, veggies, and fruits makes your container garden a one-shop stopping place for our pollinating friends.
Most fruit trees have 2 parts: the rootstock and the scion.
The rootstock is the below grown portion of the plant. The scion is above ground. Why do you need to know this. Well, when nurseries grow fruit trees, the bud the scion variety onto the rootstock to take advantage of the best attributes of each plant. Obviously the scion produces great tasting fruit but a good rootstock can contribute qualities like adapting to specific soil types, hardiness, or size control.
If grown on their own roots, most fruit trees get huge. Much to big for any container. But, if grown on dwarfing rootstocks, the same trees become ideal for planters. Apples are easy and a normal apple dwarf rootstock can be reduced in size by 75%, just reaching 10 feet tall. We must say that not all fruits are available like this, so check with your local nursery for more information.
In our next entry on this series we will be discussing:
* Dwarfing fruit trees for containers.
* Selecting fruit plants that are container friendly.
* Basic planting & maintenance needs.
and more.
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By Pam Brooks
Post Last Updated: 1/14/2013 3:40:47 PM |
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