Great thread V! I am happy I am off the hook on this one with my buckets lol.

Hobby, you just made me laugh! You and your buckets! And Steve, too! :) Although I think I read about white containers allow light through which inhibits root growth. I am not sure about that.

Great thanks a lot for telling me now lol. Well one just can't win at this crazy citrus game I guess right??? ;)

I'm sure when people come over they are confused by the buckets... Not so aesthetically pleasing but functional!

Nurseries use black pots to warm the soil and speed root growth; but they are shaded from direct sun usually; and misted when the heat gets too high. I can't remember seeing any black pots in retail outlets. I don't think a white plastic bucket lets any light through, unless you are counting all the holes some of you make in the sides.

I'll say I have had terrible luck with other plants in pots here in hot inland Southern California. I had a dwarf peach and nectarine in 20 gallon pots that completely defoliated every summer and the same with roses. I gave up and the only thing I have in pots are cactus and succulents.

I am considering putting all my citrus in white buckets, but how large a tree can stay in a 5 gal one?

I am also a recent bucket convert. find it very cost effective n the DIY wine stores in the area r more than happy to part with their 6 gallon white pails which make a perfect pot for my citrus .

Very interesting! I need to read all the articles you posted when I get a min. I am still doing my informal data collection on my pots. I'll report when I have more data. Almost all of my pots are black, so I'm in trouble. So far though, they are all doing well, although my plants are not in totally full sun.

I just held one my empty 5 gallon buckets up to the the light of the sky and there was plenty of light coming through the walls. Question is: is that enough to inhibit root growth. Hobby, did you ever notice algae on the outside of a root ball when you re-potted out of a bucket?

Laura, my point is that our trees may look like they are doing well but perhaps they might do better in white containers. I don't know.

True Vladimir. The only thing I can do is to change the color when I pot up. I refuse to change containers now....I've spent too much money on them. It is interesting though, and something to think about. I don't have time or energy to paint the pots white either. Perhaps because mine get a bit of shade during the day, they do not suffer quite as severely. Another thing to think about is that once the canopy is large enough, it can shade the pot some. I find that happens with Alexander the Great. It is definitely worry some on those very hot days we tend to get around here in summer.

Check this out: http://www.bananas.org/f311/sun-baked-container-22678.html

Wow! The difference is staggering. Thanks to your information, we can all be aware of the potential problems. I will keep a lookout for this on very hot days. We should have some coming up. I will also get my daughters to record some temperatures. We are measuring them from four trees, however, I will need to note the locations...some get a bit more light than others. The ones that are up against the stone wall also benefit from the wall shading them on one side. I hope their roots don't end up looking like the ones in the pic from the link!

I use over-size pots,i don't fill the pots all the way to the top if the tree is still small,than every couple of years raise the soil up some and so on. My big pots are set in the ground 2 or 3 inches deep and than mulch the rest of the way.

That's a good system....I don't have enough space to bury all my trees though.

Laura Don't worry none of us have that type of room. I think we all live in the city.

My fastest growing US897 rootstock is in a 24 OZ clear plastic cup. I have to rotate the cup to keep the surface from topping 110F on the sunny side. The cup is hot to the touch. I don't get it. The others never go above the upper 90F's.

I plan to graft them all starting tomorrow up through end of July.

Steve,i do not want to offend anybody about size of lots,it is about growing. I started about 8 years ago with one citrus tree,a Page tangelo. I have now about 10 citrus tree growing,some started from seed 4 years ago and have no idea what they are,Miyagawa,Juanita manderin, Changshou and a Varigated sour orange. My nursery bought tree's are Xie-shan, Shi-ranui, Meyer, Red Naval and Dekopan.

I do not need any more citrus or figs or anything else,if some of them dies they will not be replaced, 5 citrus tree's are plenty.

Bob.

Thanks bob. I have a 50 FT by 100 foot lot that is almost to big to handle. I chose this lot because it was small and Cincinnati gave me this lot and a 1700 SQFT house for $30. It was condemmed and I had a year to fix it to standards. I have no intentions on leaving. I believe that everyone else also bought what they wanted and are happy.

You have a very nice looking place. here are a few pics of mine

Sorry Vladimir missed this til now, I haven't repotted out of a bucket yet so not sure at this point.

Hey Bob! No offense taken at all! I'd love to have that much space! I fit all I can into my yard in the city...Figs, tomatoes, kale, plus my many citrus...it's a jungle! From now on, I will buy lighter pots...let me ask, is gray or terra cotta color (plastic) much better? I do not want white pots, not to mention they are impossible to find. I can find tan though...

black pots farther north get more sunlight than those farther south. The sun is lower and heats up the sides of the pot as well as up for more hours to do so and the sun rises an sets farther north of east and north of west covering more of the pots radius. this means that the foliage of the plant above offers less protection. I plant my vegetable on the north west side of my black pots This protects the roots from the east, south, and slightly west sun just before the trees and hill block the solar rays from the west. I don't know about citrus trees. I have the 5 trees I want and plan to have the last 2 of them in ground by next summer. I protect the soil surface from heat for my in ground trees. I don't know if my veggies would do any better in my white pots. the white pots with carrying handle get peppers, and the black pots ge chard, kale, collards, tomatoes, beets, Bok-Choy. My pepper plants get the handled pots so I can carry them in a and out as the spring killing frost rip though the Cincinnati area.

I will say this growing citrus trees in thee ground is a lot easier than growing them in containers. They will also produce a lot more fruit as long as they are not shaded.

It is also cheaper to grow in ground than in pots as long as you are zone 5 or higher.

Some of the containers i bought comes from Lowe's($15.00) and the heavier are higher,they are made from some kind of resin and are very thick.

Steve, nice place you have, always love old Victorian homes.When i use to live in Chicago i had a stained glass art studio and reconstructed a lot of glass work.I still do it but not like it was

Thanks bob

I hope to grow old and die here

Great posts, and pictures everyone!!

Bob, you have a lovely piece of property to grow on. Nice citrus by the way! :)

Steve, you have a lovely home, thank you for posting the picture because I could never quite picture how you have a handmade greenhouse for storing your citrus and figs up on your rooftop.. The previous pictures I saw had me turning my head around trying to figure out how you did that up on your roof.. lol Now, the mystery is solved. :D

Steve has the coolest house and rooftop garden! I've shown it to all my kids.

Vladimir, you should be proud...I just came home with three 16" tan pots that are lightweight and sturdy...pretty reasonable price too...$20. I have a few citrus that will need repotting probably before I move them indoors for winter. I am not sure, but I see roots at the bottom drainage holes. This weekend that nursery has a huge sale, so I can get two more for 50% off...I will go back and get a couple more to stock up. I will post pics in a bit but they are stuck in my car right now as there is a bad thunderstorm above us....hey, at least I will not need to water...;-)

It is 91 F today. I measured the temps. in a maroon 16 inch pot with gritty mix and they ranged from 96 F (shade sidewall) to 124 F (sun sidewall). A white, 14 inch pot with gritty mix ranged from 79 F to 104 F. Color makes a BIG difference.

From what I have read, above 85 F, root function is adversely affected.

I spray painted the rest of my pots white today.

Wow Vladimir! What a difference! I should measure tomorrow to see what I get.

I've been spray painting black nursery pots for years and it work great. My citrus arent "display" plants so I don't care how ugly the pot is just if it functions. Lining them up north to south and keeping them close to each other also helps allow each trees canopy shade the next ones pot in the middle of the day.

Mike. Glad to hear I am not alone on this.

Are you working on your "AGAINST THE BARN" lean-2. I am waiting to see your 8 foot tall 'loaded-with-fruit' trees.

Trees grow so much better in the ground than in pots. This can be seen comparing these pictures to the pictures in my earlier entry.

Great information everyone. Thanks for the tips. Poncirusguy, I love your home and the colors you have chosen for it.

Steve

The Lean To has been put on hold for awhile. I did build a 8x10 PVC greenhouse that I am extending to 14' long this fall. I had enough room as it is but you never know. The peak is 8 feet so I could still get an 8 foot tree.

Steve

The Lean To has been put on hold for awhile. I did build a 8x10 PVC greenhouse that I am extending to 14' long this fall. I had enough room as it is but you never know. The peak is 8 feet so I could still get an 8 foot tree.

Reviving an old thread so I can ask a related question - I'm in a cool summer climate and keep most of my citrus outside (except in case of overnight stays inside during frosts, which number about 10 days per winter in my climate). Because temperatures don't naturally get into the citrus happy-place until May here, trailing off in September or October, I wonder if I should actually be using black containers to warm the roots and extend my growing season a touch. Average summer highs are in the high 70s to low 80s with the occasional (like, maybe two per year) day in the low 90s; overnight lows are always in the high 50s to mid 60s, even in late July.

What do people think are the odds the sun could heat the roots all the way up above 100 and start to do damage in a black container in my climate?

A clear day at 80F could heat a black pot to hamper roots. You can hang a white rag on the south side of your pots when the temps rise high. On cold days remove the rag and your pot will warm up nicely.

Steve

Thanks Steve, great (and simple / easy to implement) idea.

If it gets into the 90s you can be sure the container temps will get above 100F. You might try using black containers and but shading them with foil or some other way and monitoring the soil temps with a kitchen digital thermometer.