Topics

Plastic,wooden or Clay pots ?

Which pot is best to keep your fig tree permanently ?
But keep in mind the every 3 years root ball trimming

I was looking some nice clay pots but a little heavy ,which I did not mind , but I did not know if they will give me a hard time once the roots start to stick on the pot , does anybody have experience on them?
Do clay pots keep the soon cooler than the plastic or wooden ones?

How about the 1gallon ones?

What about the 25-30 gallon wooden barrels?

I found this cool video with clay pots,they look so cool
what do you think about the soil mix?



Plastic is plastic and will heat up compared the clay pots which breath unlike the plastic.
The wooden type barrels such as half whiskey barrels are a pain to move with a hand truck.
Here in our zone plastic is preferred for the added heat to the fig trees.

Use heavy duty plastic containers and paint them white (if they are dark-colored). Wooden barrels will eventually rot and the Terra Cotta pots, will lose moisture very fast.

Navid.

I vote for plastic pots. It's lighter in weight between the three choices, won't dry out too fast and is more durable than a clay pot. If you get a larger clay pot and bump it too hard when doing the fig shuffle there's a high chance of breakage. My 2.5 cents

maybe I will get plastic and dressed them with aluminum foil? I want the soil to be cool and the top part of the tree hot right?
Or is it good for the fig tree if the soil is worm?

As for heat, I have used black plastic pots on concrete in 115+ weather for many months in full sun and haven't had any problems with the heat, but advice on the forum is to keep the roots cool. That's not an option here. Now that I have a ton of figs, I bought white 55 gallon used drum barrels and cut them in half which end up costing about $9/ planter. Good if you caught fig mania.

I use clay pots. They breath well, and the roots do not stick, given you don't use a ridiculous shaped pot they slide right out. When it's windy the added weight is a plus. I water every evening after dark when it's hot. I think it helps to cluster pots together or cluster flowers pots around the big fig pots so they get shaded and don't collect too much heat throughout the day when temps are high. This year I am going to wrap burlap around my stand alones once the temps get high. Partial burying also helpls control pot temps as well.

I invested in something called a "Pot Lifter" on Amazon. It requires two people, sort of and adjustable sling with handles which grips the pot as well. AWESOME!!! I love it, my wife is small and not athletic but she can easily help me move my largest pots. It is rated up to 200 lbs, and can be used to move any large oddly shaped object. For example, stump logs, giant pumpkins, landscaping rocks...

I know this wasn't one of the options, but I use the fabric SmartPots as the "permanent" containers.  In truth, they last about three years, but as an aeration container, it's contantly air pruning the roots and by the time the container wears out, it will be time to do a full root pruning, anyways.  They do dry out quicker, but adjusting the mix can help compensate.  They also help the roots stay cooler, which is a plus in a warm climate.

Reply Cancel
Subscribe Share Cancel