Brian,

You can grow either in a tub if you wish but there really isn't any need to
if you have the space. PVC sewerage pipes don't usually leak so tree roots
should not be a problem.

But if you choose to then don't plant a small tree into a large tub; step up
in size as the tree grows.

Figs fruit on new growth so you can prune it hard after fruiting each year
and the new growth that season will bear the fruit next year. You can be
rutheless with the pruning pretty much.

Olives do OK in tubs but you need to prune them less severely if you wont
fruit. They flower on more mature wood so severe pruning is OK but you
won't get many olives.

Either way if you go the tub route once they are the size you want gut pull
them out over other year and cut about 30% of the roots away and replace in
the pot with fresh potting mix. Don't forget to prune to top by at least as
much at the same time.

Best of luck

Merry Christmas

Col
wrote in message
...
I want to plant an olive for dappled shade on or near our sunny deck,
and a fig nearby for the fruit and the birds they attract.

However a sewer runs close by (maybe 1.5mm below the surface,
horizontal-drilled under the deck) and I worry what damage the
olive and fig roots might do to that.

So I thought of containers.

Assuming I get an olive (pictual, verdale?) and a fig (which?) that
will suit container planting, what are the requirements for such
container set-ups?

Size of container. They'll eventually need to be fairly big. What's
the procedure? Buy a small 1m high olive and fig plant and re-pot them
into progressively bigger containers, or do I just put each young
plant into a container big enough for the adult tree?

Drainage. The containers must drain quite freely - they'd need to be
raised up from our clay-based soil. I'd best not sink them into the
ground. Is that right?

Potting mix. What do you recommend to start with and what feeding
do I do to replenish the mix?

Brian
--
Auckland NEW ZEALAND