As Jansman said the bigger the pot the better and good quality soil. Most fruit trees (especially apples) are surprisingly resilient - you can buy them already in pots from the plant merchants and they keep them for at least 2-3 years before selling them. The real problem with pots is keeping the plants from drying out - but this is the same as with any pot plant.itsybitsy wrote:Can you offer any advice for growing these in pots as that's my only option right now.TwoDo wrote:Tesco's now have fruit trees in stock. Apples, plums, pears and cherrys £8 each - Raspberrys & etc. also. Probably the other chains do as well.
There are varieties grafted on dwarf root stock especially designed for pots - google up "patio apple" or "patio plum" etc. They are not especially cheap though.
If space is a premium and one is looking for something a that will really produce a lot of fruit in a little space, is inexpensive and the output is intended as a prep then I would probably go for a crab apple. The modern varieties are exceptionally productive even when small and are getting quite edible in their own right -still sour but not inedibly sour like when I was a kid. Dried crab apple flakes could supply a lot of Vitamin C over a winter to supplement whatever else one could scrounge.
I did not see any crab apple trees on sale at Tescos but Morrisons had them on last year at £5 and I bought a couple and banged them in on the far side of a canal. A little bit of guerrilla gardening on my part which might come in useful one day.
Be aware most fruit trees are not self fertile so you cannot have one apple and one plum and expect to get either apples or plums. So unless your neighbour has fruit trees you should get two different varieties of each type you have. Crab apples do a grand job as a pollinator for all apple varieties as well.