Hello Friends!
In Today’s episode, we will look into some important gardening tips and tricks on successfully
growing fruit trees in containers.
Topics like Which fruits trees to choose - Seed grown vs Cuttings grown vs Grafted Trees.
Where to purchase high quality grafted fruit trees and some important repotting tips for
newly bought plants whether from online nursery or offline.
All that’s coming up!
Please watch this episode till the end, as I have discussed some really important points
and concepts.
Well, Lets look into the Topics Covered in this episode:
1.
Plant Purchase: Seed grown vs Cuttings grown vs Grafted Trees.
2.
Repotting: Should I repot immediately after purchase?
3.
10 Golden Rules to Follow while repotting a plant
4.
Common Care Tips for Growing Fruit Trees.
Let’s begin: 1.
Plant Purchase: I am sure most of us might have this question in mind: Growing from Seeds
vs Growing from Branch Cuttings or Choosing to Purchase a Grafted tree.
Which one do you thing you should opt for?
First of all, growing from seeds is a great fun thing to do and we all have done it many
times for gardening fun and experimenting.
But the major disadvantage of seed grown tree is they are not “true to seed” – meaning
they may not produce identical fruit tree and more over it might take ages for the seed
grown trees to products fruits, but of course there are some exceptions.
Secondly, Plants grown from cuttings including the air layering method may produce the genetic
clones of the parent tree.
Fruit trees such as figs, pomegranates, mulberries and many others are generally grown by this
method.
But the major problem with this method is they do not have enough roots developed to
support fruit production and more over there are only fibrous roots and no tap roots which
are important for fruit trees for anchorage.
Whereas Seed produced plants have a well developed tap root system and this concept is used in
Grafting.
The ‘root stock’ which is the lower portion of the plant with strong root system and the
‘scion’ which is the branch from selected delicious fruit tree which is grafted on to
the root stock.
We have discussed various types of grafting and its advantages in another detailed episode.
You can check that link in description.
Having Said that, its time to choose which trees to purchase for your container gardening.
It’s obvious that grafted trees, specially dwarf varieties are the best one to grow in
containers.
These are some of the fruit trees I purchased online from nurserylive.com which I think
is the largest online nursery in india.
As you can see this is a healthy mulberry tree loaded with delicious fruits.
This is a grafted tree.
Then this is another great grafted pomegranate tree.
This is a fig tree and looks fine and healthy.
Then this is a banana tree and the last one is a cashew tree which is again a grafted
tree.
I also got some free gifts with my purchase.
This one looks like lavender plant, this is some flower booster fertilizer and also these
straw berry seeds which I will certainly try to grow and review in another episode.
So far, I am extremely happy with these plants.
Look at the potting mix they have used, it’s really awesome.
Most local nurseries use clayey soil which is quite difficult to get rid off.
I have provided some links to purchase these plants online in the description box below.
Now the second Topic: 2.
REPOTTING: Whether Purchased online or offline from a local nursery, people often have a
misconception that immediately repotting a newly purchased plant into a larger container
and a nutrient rich potting soil will make your plant grow like crazy.
This is not always true.
Now let’s discuss some Very important points and concepts, that you must keep in mind if
you want to keep your newly purchased plant healthy and avoid the so called repotting
or transplant shock.
To answer this question, let us ask 2 QUESTIONS: 1.
When Do I repot a New Plant Purchased offline, that’s from a Local Nursery or Garden Store?
2.
When Do I repot a Plant Purchased Online?
Like from nurserylive.com or amazon Now, lets quickly look into the conceptual
answers to these queries.
1.
If your plant just came home from a local garden centre or nursery, DO NOT REPOT IMMEDIATELY.
Let it adjust to its new environment for few days or atleast a week before repotting it.
This is because the Plants are already in shock at their new residence until they get
used to new factors like light, temperature, and humidity conditions.
2.
Then in second scenario, that is when you purchase a plant online.
Repotting immediately is the best solution in most cases.
Because, it is very much likely that the plants would have travelled hundreds or thousands
of miles and many days without any water or moisture before reaching its final destination.
The plant will be going through a recovery period and an acclimation period during these
days of transport in whatever medium the seller packs them in.
So, Why let the plant re-acclimate twice in this situation.
Now the third Topic: The 10 Golden rules of repotting.
Let’s quickly list them one by one:
1.
Water the plant the day before you plan to repot.
2.
Perform Repotting in the evening hours to prevent shock to the plant during sunlight
that is the day time which is the active period for photosynthesis.
Let it get overnight period of rest and recovery.
3.
To Remove the Root Ball, Gently Tap the rim of the pot to a hard surface like a table
or a counter.
This is to loosen the root ball instead of pulling it with force which can damage the
roots or the stem.
If the root ball resists to come out, run a knife between the pot and the root ball
to loosen the root ball.
4.
Inspect the root ball for things like: any root worms or maggots, root disease and if
they are root bound to decide whether you want to repot in a larger container or perform
root pruning.
5.
Choosing the Right Container: For fruit and Vegetable plants especially if you are growing
on terrace, choose fabric grow bags as your first preference.
This is because they are not only light but also follow the principles of AIR PRUNING
and can grow into healthy trees using this principle.
If you want to know what is air pruning, you can watch my detailed episode on that from
a card linked here at top right corner of this screen.
Then It’s also very important to choose a pot that is of appropriate size for the
plant.
Like, You should never pot a 6 inch pot plant into a 14 inch or a very large pot.
Go Step by Step, Choose one or two steps higher, like 6 inch pot, you can plant in 8 inch or
10 inch pot and so on.
6.
Drainage Holes: This is probably the most important factor you should consider.
If you do not make enough drainage holes at the bottom of the pot, your plant will stand
in water and lead to root rot and death of the plant.
7.
Choosing the Right soil: . As a general rule use a well draining nutrient rich soil with
atleast 30 percent compost like vermicompost or decomposed cowdung.
To make it well draining, you might have to add cocopeat or peatmoss to garden soil in
proper proportions.
Make sure you also add stuff like bone meal or soya bean meal for inducing flowering and
fruiting.
You can watch my detailed video on the best Potting Mix recipe from a link in description.
8.
Partially fill the container with potting mix and then place the root ball exactly in
the center of the pot.
Then add additional soil to cover the empty space.
Make sure the surface of that root ball is below the rim so you can cover it adequately
with potting soil or compost and also this good space for properly watering your plant.
9.
Gently tap the pot on a hard surface to remove air pockets and to level the soil from within.
10.
Finally After Repotting, water the plant thoroughly and this remove the left over air pockets
and stuff like that.
Then to counter the Repotting or Transplant Shock, you can follow these simple steps:
Water the plant with Epsom salt solution weekly once for a about a month.
The dosage is 1 teaspoon Epsom salt per litre of water.
Finally keep the plant in indirect sunlight or under a green shade net for atleast a week,
before shifting to full sunlight.
Plant specific care tips for individual trees will be discussed in separate detailed episodes.
Regarding the common care tips for fruits and vegetable plants, please watch my detailed
episode from this end screen link circled right here.
So, there you have it folks, please gimme a thumbs up if you found this episode helpful.
Also share this with your gardening friends.
Comment below with your experience and feedback.
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Happy Gardening!