nopeda
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Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2012 8:34 am
Location: Buford, GA - USA

Container growing Rainier cherries questions

Hi,

I'm interested in growing some Rainier cherries in containers on top of a houseboat just north of Atlanta, GA. Can anyone suggest forums and web pages that would be good places to learn about them? I know almost nothing about them, but the time for planting is coming up soon is it not? I'd like to grow two trees in pots that are about 17" across by 16" deep. Will that be big enough? What sort of soil to get, and how best to fertilize? Where should I look to try to find plants? I heard that we should look for a plant that has already been pruned. Can anyone tell me if that's a significant consideration, and if so explain why? Any other info and advice people are willing to share would be very appreciated.

Thanks!
David
Buford, GA

cynthia_h
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Location: El Cerrito, CA

I wouldn't try to grow even a dwarfing-rootstock fruit tree in a container of that size. When we lived in Berkeley, DH and I grew a dwarf apple tree in a half-wine barrel-sized container which was *barely* large enough.

It sounds like you're considering a 5-gallon or so sized container; correct? I wouldn't suggest this for tomatoes, and never for a fruit tree.

Maybe others will have some suggestions for you, but my experience was that a much larger container was barely sufficient for the dwarf tree.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Hmm... Unfortunately, I have doubts too. In addition to the size issue (even with dwarfing rootstock), Cherries tend to do better in somewhat more northerly, cooler summer areas. Generally, when grown in containers, the rule of thumb is to add an extra zone south for summer hardiness and subtract extra zone north for winter hardiness to the local zone due to the more extreme temperature fluctuation imposed on the above-ground roots. Include the weather exposure of a rooftop garden.... All that really puts container cherries on the iffy list for Georgia.

I think that if this weren't the case, I might have suggested root pruning and branch pruning as if you were growing espalier and borrowing bonsai techniques (just not as severe root pruning).

Would you consider researching some other fruits for your rooftop container garden? How about strawberries, figs, pineapple guava, super dwarf patio peaches and nectarines; maybe Asian persimmons, pomegranates, hardy kiwi (container culture for specific cultivars is possible and kiwi needs trellising); or super dwarf banana and container-type citrus (z9-10 may need to be protected or brought inside in winter depending on your us hardiness zone)... etc.?

JONA878
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Location: SUSSEX

Completely agree about the pot grown cherry.
Unfortunatly there isn't a root stock yet that would dwarf a cherry that well.
Even the newest stocks can only do half the job that the best apple stocks can do.



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