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Dwarf fruit in containers
Thalocean2 wrote:
I know this subject has been done to death but I couldn't find answers to my questions in searches. Has anyone in zone 5ish been successful at keeping dwarf fruit in containers that hold less than 50 gallons? Have the containers wintered well outside? Did moving the trees hurt them? I'm living in a temporary situation for the next 2 years and have lots of porch space. I thought now would be a good time to get some fruit trees started to be moved to my permanant home later but the containers need to be small enough for me to be able to move with a dolly. First of all, dwarf fruit trees should be okay even in a 20 gallon container. I have a dwarf lemon in a tub that is 18 inches in diameter and 18 inches deep. I have had it for about 35 years. I also have a dwarf kumquat in a similar tub for over 20 years; I had it in a large flower pot before then, a total of over 30 years between the tub and pot. And I have had a dwarf orange in a similar tub for about 13 years. Your climate could be a problem, even for a hardy deciduous fruit tree. You can buy or make (as another response indicated) a wheeled platform for your containers. When I lived in an area with slightly colder winters, I had the lemon tub on such a platform and rolled it into my garage at night and out again in the morning. The kumquat is hardier, so I left it alone. I did not have the orange at that time. With a deciduous tree, you could keep it sheltered day and night in the winter as long as the soil is not allowed to become completely dry. However, many deciduous fruit trees do need some winter chill; so (unless the shelter is not heated) you might want to roll it outside when the temperatures are not too far below freezing. Once buds start to swell, you must be much more careful about protecting the trees from freezing. -- David E. Ross Climate: California Mediterranean Sunset Zone: 19 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean influence (USDA 10a) Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/ |
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