Topics

Permanent Potted Tree Best Practices

I read the article on potting in the FAQ. Very interesting, but I am looking for some information more specific to my scenario. If this has already been addressed in another post, I apologize for the redundancy and would appreciate a nudge in the right direction.
 
This March, I took some cuttings from the old family fig tree, originally brought from Sicily in 1942. After a few months of struggles, I now have 9 thriving trees about three feet tall each. Most of these will be planted in the ground on my own property, but I want to gift a couple of them to my sisters. They both live in Orange County, California within a mile or two of the beach (no frost). They don't have room to put them in the ground, so I bought some large terra cotta pots - about 36" diameter.
 
1) The pots are unglazed; Should I seal them?
2) What type of soil should I use? My property has beautiful decomposed granite. I was considering just mixing some of my soil with compost, vermiculite and perlite.
3) Should I use some sort of reservoir and/or filler tube?
 
Any other suggestions would be appreciated. These trees are of great sentimental value to myself and my family. So, I want to prepare them to them in a way that will give them the best chance of success considering that neither of them are into gardening or growing things.

Hey CF
These are the steps-
1.first send me some cuttings :)
2. for rooting use nursey mix that drains fast  when the seedling are older than two months and developing i would try a more serious mix like you mentionmed with garden soil that will render tha soil to retain more water than the runny nursery ones.
3.clay pots loose water fast but the fruit is better i believe than in plastic-is it worth it? if your watering doesnt cost much in the long run maybe, still root pruning on big pots takes its toll on the back and doing it with plastic pots is way easier than with clay or concrete pots.
4. with clay pots i would make sure that they are on drip ... or at least have reservoir plates?? maybe

Cf i believe that clay pots will give the plants a longer life unattended since clay leaves air pockets between soil and clay and the roots get less root bound  or grow more naturally than bumping their way into hot plastic. also the fruit ripens in a different way i think.

with clay i would get no ripening than suddenly one day my brown turkey becomes dark out of the green.
with plastic i get slow ripening over a few days

terra cotta pots break down sooner or later. depends on the condition it's left at, i had one that disintegrated within 3 yrs. good sturdy plastic pot will be better. also, terra cotta pot requires more watering since it can breath. good fast draining soil mix in terra cotta means more watering more often and checking on water level more frequently. later plastic pot that looks like terra cotta might be a better option. light and retain moisture better.

Reply Cancel
Subscribe Share Cancel