OK..think if it was me then putting up a rain gutter along the railing for strawberries, [perhaps needs automatic watering system] balcony strawberries some cherry tomatoes, some herbs in pots.

Are you looking for more of a tree or a bush? I think blueberries should do okay, they tend to do very well in a pot. Also, if you are brave, you could try some sort of dwarf cherry, but with this one, I'm not as confident. Maybe even a dwarf apple might work.

That is pretty much all I can think of.

Good luck!

~palmsandsnow

Try looking on the Dave Wilson nursery website at the z-dwarf rootstock. There is a video on the site with a 10 year old cherry tree in a pot. The rootstock looks exactly what you are looking for.

Thanks everyone..... I know that there are quite a few plants that grow around saskatoon - average lows in winter below -40C. Definitely a zone 2. So I think it would be save to say that anything produced out of the U of Sask should be ok?

I could also use a bit of styrofoam for the pots to give some insulation

As you say lot's of zone 2 fruits. I would go with one of the Romance series, Carmine Jewel would be a good choice, or any of the smaller ones.. Also the serviceberry cultivar Northline only grows to 5 to 7 feet in ground so sounds like a perfect container tree. Rated to Zone 2 if you can find one? Also this is one of the best tasting of all the Saskatoon's. Good luck! No concern about rootstock since both of these trees are on their own roots.

Like figs you could wrap the pot (and plant, tie branches up if possible) to stop drying winds, and you can also use Wilt Stop on them too. This worked great for me last year. I'm in Zone 5b and had zone 7 blackberries survive -16F temps. Also fabric pots breath better, don't crack when they freeze, and dry when soaked badly. Perfect for overwintering outdoors. harder to move, but you said you will not be moving it.

A fig I would be able to bring in for the winter as well. Most fruiting trees (aples pears etc) would die a horrible death if i brought them in as a "houseplant".

I never thought about saskatoons (serviceberries), and my first thought was towards the romance series. They are usually sold fairly cheap in smaller sizes.

I'd have to agree with gardengal48...roots can be vulnerable and more sensitive to many kinds of things when potted...freeze drying out in winter, watering issue etc. Since you still have your garden, grow your larger plants like cherries etc. there in the ground, they do well without daily intervention, perhaps just go with small plants like blueberries and Haskap. Even that would be a hassle and overwintering a problem in itself, I'd just go with strawberries and annual veggies.

Konrad it may not always work but the wilt stop worked well to keep the plants from drying out. Here the ground freezes to 36 inches, or can so roots can be frozen even in ground in zone 5b. I have raised beds and that for sure freezes solid. The blueberries don't seem to mind. Anyway the wilt stop helps the plant retain moisture when it can't access it's roots. I like to grow tayberries, boysenberries, and wyeberries. And many others that are not really hardy here. Marionberries are the very best blackberry I ever ate, amazing! So I go to extremes to grow them here. So far it's worked really well.

There is a VERY big difference between ground soil freezing and container soil freezing and the extreme temps containers are exposed to......if that were not the case, there wouldn't be any of the conditions placed on what can be grown in a container year round. It is the water in ground soil that freezes and that can/will happen when the temp drops below freezing and remains there. In the continental US that is subject to seasonal freezing, ground soil temperatures seldom drop below the mid 20's (that insulation factor again). That is a far cry away from the -25F to -40F ambient temperatures containerized root systems are exposed to in a zone 3 area.

canadianplant, fruits and other edibles are just plants......it is the issues regarding growing them in a container for longer than a single growing season that is going to be a limiting factor. You may get more meaningful replies about what will work for you on your apartment balcony from the Container Gardening forum and folks that deal with these issues in colder climates. It is not anything like growing similar plants in the ground and I truly believe you will be extremely limited in what you can manage on your balcony, as Konrad has indicated.

Even in my very mild climate where ground soils don't freeze, one has to be very careful about what sort of plants get overwintered in containers outdoors. They are significantly less cold hardy in a container than they are planted in the ground.

Containers thaw a lot quicker, so yeah I agree with you. A BIG difference. Also the plants we talked about are hardy to zone two and he is in zone 4, it should be fine, and at worst he loses a couple bucks, What? So now the 2 zone rule don't count? I always love pushing the envelope. The more plants you kill, the better gardener you are. I have seen fig trees 20 feet tall in Zone 5 in the ground. In Quebec actually. That shouldn't be possible, yet there it is. A zone 10 plant growing 20 feet tall in zone 5.

Thanks again everyone

The reason I am asking is becasue I was wondering how far I could push growing in containers year round. Containerized lindon survived -40C in toronto, and potted whitecedar (T occidentalis) survives in bigger pots (probably more mass). I have had magnolia seedlings survive in dixie cups outside as well. Not to mention a fig in zone 3/4. It took some mulch but most of it survived and grew to about 6 feet tall. At the same time, I am aware that growing in pots on a balcony that wont get much snow is, as many have mentioned here, different than growing in the ground.

I want to grow some trees because I am now relatively far away, clear across town. I am already planning on a lemon, and maybe bringing my fig over. They can easily be brought in for the winter. The patio doors are really big and face east and south, so there will be plenty of light.

In regards to the size issue, It would not be hard for me to find a home to the tree if it starts to suffer from being in a pot for too long. I am sure some persuasion of the property owners may let me even plant it in the ground if need be.

I just want to make the best of the situation I am in. It is a very large balcony that i really want to use a mix of annual veggies, tropical houseplants/edibles and possibly some perennials/trees/shrubs that may survive. The only thing that I can think of that may stand a good chance would be honeyberry.

Part of the fun is learning. And yeah it is work but it is our hobby and we enjoy reasons (excuses) to work with plants. I think you could grow a serviceberry or the bush cherries. Many of my friends grow trees in containers for years and years. You can root prune etc. One of the problems in containers is the freeze-thaw cycle. This is the true killer of container plants. You need to get the plant frozen, and stay frozen. Strawberries are called strawberries for a reason, you cover them with straw (after they freeze)! An age old technique. Anyway you don't want the plants to heat up after being frozen. Wrapping plants has more to do with keeping them frozen and not thawing. A good product is this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Reflectix-BP24050-24-Inch---50-Foot-Insulation/dp/B0009XCJA2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454734968&sr=8-1&keywords=BP24050

The aluminum foil reflects the heat away from the plant and keeps it from warming up. Also protects from the drying winds. This is great material for figs too. You can use other material too, many work well.

If plants freeze and thaw they will die, keep them frozen!

The ground changes slowly and the plant can adapt, pots thaw quickly if not protected. So yes a huge difference between the ground and pots. My reason for mentioning the frozen ground was that roots do freeze all the time. it's not the freezing of the roots that is the problem, which Konrad was kinda of saying, I disagree. It's the freezing and thawing that kills the plants in containers. I also don't really believe in the 2 zone rule. I have zone 7 plants in pots outside in zone 5 Well sheltered and protected. I could go into intracellular, intercellular and extracellular relationships, but that would bore most people. If the plant is well hydrated before winter, the freezing of the roots should not be a problem at all. You can help with products like Wiltstop which slows down evaporation of intercellular fluids.

Just some techniques to try to accomplish your goals. it's so much fun when you do too! These are proven methods that work extremely well, other situations we have a few even better techniques. Anyway I'm getting long winded, sorry. Good luck whatever you do,

Oh here's a link to the 20 foot in ground fig in Quebec. Well it is 20 years old, it may not be quite 20 feet. it produces about 2500 figs a year. I would never want one past 8 feet myself. I would prune to keep it at 8. I'm going to try the Zombie fig technique myself.

I'm trying to decide what variety to use?

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/pictures-of-my-bigger-fig-trees-7885714?highlight=quebec&pid=1290535821