Backyard fruit is easy to harvest from dwarf fruit trees. Standing just 8-10 feet tall, these bountiful trees are a cinch to grow.
Just because your yard isn’t big enough to plant a sapling that will grow into a majestic tree (or you have no yard at all!), doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fruits trees have to offer. Consider planting a tree in a container, and perhaps, keep it indoors if it doesn’t need full sun. If you choose dwarf tree varieties, your tree can stay a manageable size.
Dwarf fruit trees can be planted in containers and grown on patios. Provide your dwarf fruit trees with plenty of sunlight, water as needed and fertilize.
1. Mulch A 1-inch layer of colorful gravels, river rocks or even re-purposed wine corks make attractive, permanent mulch that cuts watering time in half
2. Pick your best pot. Terra-cotta pots look good, but plastic pots hold moisture longer. Choose dark-colored plastic pots—they set off the color of the tree better. Opt for a square pot to hold more soil and, therefore, more roots.
3. Forget the drainage layer. There’s no need for a layer of broken pots in the bottom of your container. Modern potting soils drain just fine without a “drainage layer.” Just make sure your container has holes to keep water from pooling at the bottom and to prevent soil from staying too moist.
4. Go organic with your fertilizer. When planting your container tree, mix a few handfuls of organic fertilizer with the potting soil. It won’t burn the roots the way a synthetic fertilizer can. Plus, it will supply the tree with nutrients for a long time—no need for weekly doses of liquid fertilizer.
5. Pile on the compost. Potting soil is made of organic matter. Over time, it breaks down into air and water. Every year or two, you’ll need to refresh the soil. Here’s how: Spread a tarp, remove the mulch, gently extract the tree from the pot, add 1 inch or more of compost and a few handfuls of organic fertilizer to the bottom of the container, and reset the tree. Also add some compost and fertilizer around the edges of the container, between the container and the root ball. Be sure to leave enough room at the top of the container to reset the mulch.
6. Get in the zone. If your container tree spends the winter outdoors, its roots will be exposed to colder temps than an in-ground tree—a whole zone colder, in fact. For example, if you live in zone 6, your container tree will feel like it’s living through a zone 5 winter. Keep this in mind when selecting container trees for hardiness.
7. Invest in some wheels. If you want to move your container trees indoors for the winter, consider investing in a hand truck (also called a dolly).
8. Set up where the sun is sure to shine. Remember, sunlight is the plant’s main source of food. Place indoor trees in a sunny window. Mine spend the winter in front of a large west-facing window that gets strong afternoon sun.
9. Tune in to your tree’s language. Here’s the most important tip: It’s impossible to maintain perfect conditions for a potted tree 24/7/365. At some point, your tree will wilt, drop leaves, not set flowers or drop fruit. These aren’t disasters. Instead, they are lessons in your curriculum as a new tree tender.
If your container tree has been content with watering once a week but then drops some leaves, this is an opportunity for you to discover why. Maybe it’s reacting to being moved to a new spot that’s too sunny or too shady or low on fertilizer and the newer leaves have raided the older ones of their nitrogen. Or maybe it’s just the season when even evergreens normally drop older leaves, so there’s nothing to worry about. Dwarf trees are living things and becoming a good gardener is a matter of recognizing the little clues they give you.
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