You might find this link useful.

Al

Thanks, Al. I've been reading thru your FAQ threads carried over from the GW era. You are a national treasure, my friend. My workshop will not be long enough to do the subject justice; this is a Cal. Rare Fr. Gr. meeting. Most of the attendees grow fruit in ground or greenhouses. The topic is germane for a sizable number of members and guests with limited spaces.

Thanks for the kind words. Have fun!

Al

Hell, Jay, sounds like you should be giving the workshop. I am managing several hundred deciduous and evergreen fruit trees, many I've planted over the past 25 years. I have experience in container gardening, but mostly with vegetables, herbs and flowers. There is a need for better information and exposure to container fruit trees and their management. Al's information has been invaluable to me in preparing to give this workshop. Unfortunately the workshop is only 2 hours long! Most of our members live in zone 8b and 9a and 9b. We do have limited areas of zone 10 in the "banana belt" along the foothills.

Hey Marshall, here's my tips to help ya out:

-Root Pouches (or smart pots) 15 gal or larger are great for fruit trees since they prune the roots. Bigger the better. I'd probably go with 30 for most of my new trees in pots. I get mine from greenhousemegastore.com

-5-1-1 is too fast a mix for root pouches. Figs wilt, peaches shrink, etc and you'd need to water like 3 times a day. 5-1-1 is great for normal containers. Though, once you're into fruit trees, it takes a lifetime to sift hundreds of gallons of 5-1-1. I just use patio plus.

-Perched water tables are less of an issue for fruit trees since they're so aggressive. Sitting water is bad but, as you know, if you've ever potted up a 5 or 15 gal in nursery mix, the roots completely dominate the pot.

-I go straight kellogg's patio plus for trees and brambles or dr earth for veggies.

-With root pouches and root pruning, the trees are basically dwarfed like bonsai. Except for the crazy varieties like avocados which can't handle pots.

-If one buys the cheap root pouches, you can just cut them off the plant every couple of seasons for some deeper root pruning or repotting. It's way easier working with big trees that way.

-Al's Osmocote Plus and Foliage Pro is the best fert setup I've found. I'd look at Fertigators like Dosatron or Mixrite for the ultimate fertilizer setup.

-New varieties of blackberries (prime ark freedom) and blueberries are made for warmer climates and do really well in containers.

-I don't bother with dwarf varieties because of the bonsai effect. But dwarf citrus are the only ones I get. All others are just normal trees and I keep in 15-30 gal.

-Any deciduous is easier in a normal pot -- simply root prune every winter and repot.

-Biggest tip for first time fruit tree growers in containers: only grow what you can carry. Get a dolly to move them around.

Many thanks! Jay, great information. I am leery of fabric pots and trying to grow normal sized (non-dwarf) trees in fabric pots. I'll order a range of sizes (black or gray???) and trial them. I use them for growing vegetables on driveways and roof tops. We here get very strong and drying winds for days at a time. So for most I'll recommend normal pots and root pruning every year to few years max because I am working with decid. trees for now and dwarf citrus.

Thanks for the info about the Al's 5-1-1 mix. I haven't seen Kellogg Patio Plus at my local landscape supply house nor in local retail nurseries.