When it comes to growing things in small spaces, or if you rent (like us) it's hard not to want to grow all the things. Growing your own fruit may feel like a far fetched dream, but it's not. You just need to know what's going to thrive in a pot.
I find that instead of a traditional pot, a grow bag is the best way to go when it comes to growing fruit. Make sure you repot your fruit trees at least every 2 years with some good quality potting mix.
Here are my top fruits that I've grown in pots in my subtropical garden.
Blueberries
Blueberries do amazingly well in pots, and depending on your soil they may actually prefer to live in a pot. Blueberries prefer an acidic sandy soil, so use an azalea potting mix for your blueberry and watch it thrive. They also do well when accompanied by a few, so if you're wanting an amazing harvest, get 2 plants over one.
Raspberries
These are the only ones that I haven't used in a grow bag as I am fearful they will escape and take over. I was told once to cut the canes off each year when they die back, but I find the old canes produce more the second year (then they die off and don't fruit).
Strawberries
A lover of acidic well drained soil strawberries look beautiful in pots. I grow a variety with a read flower which looks amazing when it's flowering.
Figs
We are getting our first figs this year, and the secret we've found to get it to fruit is lots of water, and a layer of horse poo.
Limes
We have a Tahitian lime which supplies us with limes all year round in our subtropical environment. It always seems to have a succession of fruit, and you cannot get the same quality in the shops!
Lemons
Lemons do extremely well in pots, ours is quite prolific with a late summer harvest, unfortunately we do get a few stings from the fruit fly but have yet to find any larvae in the fruit itself.
Cumquat
As we're not really preserve type people I am yet to find a good recipe for using the abundance of cumquats we receive from our tree in a pot, but they make beautiful looking plants, especially when they are abundant with the tiny orange fruit.
Passionfruit
My favourite fruit is passionfruit and for years I put off getting one because we rent and I didn't want to leave it behind. Last year we put a passionfruit in a pot and finally we were getting our own beautiful fruit. A huge disclaimer - you'll need a huge pot and somewhere for it to climb.
Pineapples
My favourite fruit to grow, which you can
read all about here.
Have you tried growing any fruit in pots?
