Greetings, my understanding it that in ground figs do better if you contain the roots, I have been given the chance to get large nursery containers for cheep, from 10 gal up to 65 gal....what size do I really want to bury my trees in?

I second the question. Also, is plastic or terracotta better?

The bigger is the better...use some black soil from the woods,mixed with aged horse manure or/and rabbit,chicken pooh...you'll see some miracles next season....

Marius, are you talking about putting the pot in the ground permanent or just for the growing season?

well they have up to 65 gallon.... a nursery is going out of biz... the 10 gallon are 1$ so where I had figured 10 would be the biggest I could get now there is a whole new possibility..

I was thinking permanent...for some at least... there are those that if I keep in containers I will do something a bit nicer looking for.

Mike,just for the growing season.

If you're going to put them in ground you don't need pots unless you're trying to protect them from gophers. 

my understanding was if you confine the roots then the tree would put more energy into the "tree" part and not the roots, the one I have in the front of my house is constrained by a sidewalk and the house, the roots are crazy thick and the tree is very vigorous... I have a hillside I will be planting my trees into and thought I could help them if they were in very large pots...

The more vigorous the roots the more vigorous the tree they can support.  Confining the roots is what you do to produce a bonsai tree.

65 gallon is very good, but it will be a pain to move, my biggest size is 40 gallon and it is already a pain to move, 18-30 gallons are not too bad with a hand truck.

Never used tit but this is what you mean ? http://www.readsnursery.co.uk/products/Root-control-bag.html

Yes Luke it would be a similar use...
Bob.. did you know bonsai trees can live into the hundreds of years vs your average house plant living 4...
I have read in old gardening guides from the turn of century they figs do better if the roots are confined.. I am just looking for a good way to do that and since I don't want to build an inground cement bunker I thought these pots might be a good way, I even read where someone had used the tubs from washing machines. Since I don't have a supply of those....

Grameley,

With Bonsai they exist..the goal is to limit them in growth and you are not asking the Bonsai to thrive or give you loads of fruit.  Growing in a pot in the ground will be like growing in a pot above ground so you would need to periodically root prune them or not because how would you keep the fig roots from growing out the bottom drain holes of the pot in to the earth?  I don't see the advantages. On some plants they do produce at a younger age if they are a bit root bound but in ground is always going to beat in pot for production I would think.

Gloria,
If you're planting in the ground permanently, you don't need to contain the roots in order to get great fruit production.  The logic you stated in post #9 is incorrect.  What Bob C and WillsC said is true:  if you really confine the roots (whether in ground or above ground), then you will need to prune the roots on a regular basis.  Also Bob's statement about protecting from gophers could apply.  But in general if you are planting trees in ground, then confining the roots does not result in greater fig production.  

Mike

I've not read any current thought that confining the roots will give you a healthier, productive tree long-term. As others have said, there is a different goal growing bonsai. If you are going 'in ground', just plant the tree directly into the soil. If you use large containers for a sunken , permanent planting, you may get better growth for a year or two or more, but in the end, your tree will be stunted. Trees in containers need occasional root pruning to thrive. I don't think root pruning something that's been in a 65 gallon pot would be all that easy to do.

I'm planning on temporarily embedding quite a few figs in pots into the ground but jsut a few inches. The plan is for the roots to grow into the surrounding soil. The trees should do well for a year or two while I see which varieties do well here. But after that, I'm going to have to do some root pruning and serious transplanting. My strategy is just a planned temporary measure so I'll know what to cull.

At some point the tree will outgrow its container. It needs to do what it does to adapt to the surrounding environment. I planted a couple of trees into the ground this summer by cutting off the bottom of a 5 gallon container and inserting it into the ground. As the tree gets stronger and more established I'm hoping to remove the plastic in order to allow it to be comfortable and spread its roots.
This way I will not have to worry about what happens underground except for providing the tree with food and the right amount of water. My feeling is that at some point those roots will start wrapping themselves inside the container, suffocate and perhaps shorten the life of the tree. So in the beginning using containers might be OK to help the tree get established. 
I will see how it goes next year when I take out the plastic this winter.

From everything I have read and understand the pots would only work if I was planning to pull the tree out each year and prune the roots.... since this is not something I want to have to do each year I think I will just raise them in pots till they are large enough to be planted and then let them be free range figs!!
Thanks for all your input!!