AnnaIkona
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Location: Canada zone 8b

Miniature Fruit Trees?

Hi,
Wanted to make my friend a gift for her birthday. She lives in a big apartment with a big balcony. And I was thinking a miniature fruit tree would be a great birthday gift.
What do you think? How much fruit does a miniature tree give? Can it live in a huge pot?

tomc
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Location: SE-OH USA Zone 6-A

Yes it can live in a half barrel. Look around the apartment for other apple trees. you will need others within a block or two to cross pollinate.

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Where do you live. Figs do well in pots for a while. If you live in zone 9 and up citrus trees also take well to pots but it would have to go indoors in areas that get frost. Mulberries and blueberries also do fine in pots. You won't get as much fruit but you can get a good harvest from a well cared for tree. I prefer the figs and calamondin if you want to harvest more than once a year. Calamondin are Mexican bartender limes. Small and tart. I have a brown turkey fig. Both the calamondin and brown turkey fig produce fruit almost non stop throughout the year. I will get a couple of crops from a meyer lemon.
Blueberries only once a year, but they are pretty when they are in fruit.

ButterflyLady29
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What area and what kind of fruit tree? In some areas potted trees just won't survive the winter outdoors on a balcony. Some trees are hardier than others.

AnnaIkona
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Location: Canada zone 8b

I was thinking maybe a lemon tree (indoors) and an avocado (indoors/out) and an apple (outdoors). One of those.
I live in 7.

ButterflyLady29
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Location: central Ohio

Avocado may be too big.
I've heard some guavas would do well in containers but I haven't tried them.
Potted citrus is good.
I've seen columnar apple trees in pots. The big problem with those is the constant pruning required to keep the column shape but it's a good idea.
A fruiting passionflower vine would look wonderful draped over a balcony railing.
A quince bush might work well on the balcony.

j3707
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Location: Pacific Northwest, Zone 8, 48" annual rainfall, dry summers.

I've got a fig in a half wine barrel and it's doing well. It would look good on a patio, IMO. They are self fertile. Mine tends to drop the fruit, probably because we don't water it consistently in the Summertime. I think they also need root pruning every couple years once they fill up the pot. They seem to be disease free where I live.

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BotanicalBoi
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Location: Georgia USA

I would have to agree on both citrus and fig for gift. I know I would be thrilled! :)

JONA
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If you want an apple tree for outside in a pot. BB, then I would suggest this.
Choose a tree that is on either a 27 or 9 root stock. Anything stronger would be too vigorous.
Avoid triploid varieties like Jonagold, Delicious etc, as this group of trees are by their nature very vigorously. Any label with the initial letter T tells you if the variety is a triploid.
Varieties like Golden Delicious are ideal as they crop on one year old wood and are tolerant to hard pruning.

As an aside....columner or pillar trees should not require pruning at all. If they do, then it's a sign that they are reverting and aren't stable. So far the varieties available on this type of tree is fairly limited but they're improving all the time.



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