Fruit trees in pots?

[zombiefetus]

I've been wanting to grow fruit trees for a long time now, unfortunately I'm living in a condo right now where I can't plant trees in the yard :[
The other problem is that I live in Illinois, so a lot of the trees I'd want to plant would die in the cold weather.

I decided to attempt to grow some various fruit trees (plums, peaches, and a red cactus pear of some sort) in large pots keeping them outside in summer and bringing them inside in winter.
Is this a hopeless endeavor? Will I be able to keep them trimmed enough that they'll still fit in my house (lol)?

We're planning on moving within 5 years to an actual house with a yard I can plant whatever I want in. Once I move (assuming the trees are still alive at this point) would the trees have any hope of living outside all year or would the cold kill them?

Thanks

[csvd87]

You can try a Dwarf Pomegranate grows about 4 to 6 ft tall, but suitable for a large container.

some info here [url]https://www.tradewindsfruitstore.com/servlet/the-714/Punica-granatum--dsh--Dwarf/Detail[/url]

[robert31]

If you want them to produce fruit, you should not bring them inside during the winter. Apple trees and other fruit trees need a certain cold period in order to produce fruit the following year. You could try planting a small apple tree in a pot.

[JONA878]

Apples, Pears and Plums would all grow quite happily in pots for you ....but you would have to protect the pots with some form of lagging in the winter to stop the trees root systems from freezing too deeply.
The trees themselves will tolerate very cold temps....although they canl sometimes suffer frost splitting on their trunks if the temerature should drop very low.
You will need to make sure that they are on a dwarfing root stock.
Easy on apples, slightly more difficult on pears and plums.

[soccer082004]

You can keep all these trimmed nicely to fit inside. We trim our apple trees very small so the sun will reach the apples on the tree and produce color on them. Trimming only alows the tree to put more effort in fruit production rather than tree production. Happy fruit growing! It's very rewarding.

[booger]

If you want them to produce fruit, you should not bring them inside during the winter. Apple trees and other fruit trees need a certain cold period in order to produce fruit the following year. You could try planting a small apple tree in a pot.

Ha! So this is why my apple tree from seed died