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Grow a sustainable mini orchard in pots

Potted orchards of fruit trees and berries are the ultimate in sustainable container growing, helping reduce your carbon footprint right outside your back door

Cut your food miles to zero by growing your own delicious blueberries, peaches, apples (and more) at home: a miniature potted orchard of fruit trees and bushes in containers can be fitted into even the tiniest garden.

As long as the site is sunny and you're prepared to water your plants regularly, you'll have bountiful crops for years to come. Buy bare root plants during winter if possible, and pot them up in peat-free or home-made

compost while they are still dormant.
 

Caring for your fruit plants in pots

  • Keep them well watered, ideally with rainwater.
  • Apply a general-purpose liquid feed weekly in summer; switch to high-potassium comfrey tea once flowers form.
  • Replenish the top 5cm (2in) of compost each year.
  • Every other year, tip the whole plant out and cut away about 30 per cent of the roots before returning to the pot with fresh compost.
  • For more information about growing fruit trees and bushes, visit our Grow your own pages.

Chilean guavas (Ugni molinae) make fantastic container plants. Their aromatic fruit is a real autumn treat

Suitable fruit varieties for container growing

  • Apple Ballerina®

  • Peach ‘Bonanza’

  • Cherry on dwarfing Gisela 5 rootstocks

  • Quince and Sibley’s Patio Medlar

  • Figs

  • Blueberries (planted into acidic ericaceous compost)

  • Chilean guava (Ugni molinae)

  • Raspberry ‘Ruby Beauty’

  • Blackberry ‘Dart’s Black Cascade’

  • Strawberries


More low-carbon gardening ideas

How to grow a low-carbon garden

How to grow a low-carbon garden

Using sustainable materials

Using sustainable materials

Planting a low-carbon garden

Planting a low-carbon garden

Make a low-carbon wildflower meadow

Make a low-carbon wildflower meadow

Grow your own garden sundries

Grow your own garden sundries

Low-carbon container growing

Low-carbon container growing

 
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Recommended fruit for pots

Rubus fruticosus agg. 'Dart's Black Cascade' (B)
blackberry 'Dart's Black Cascade'
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
  • 0.5–1 metres
<em>Rubus</em> <em>fruticosus</em> agg. 'Dart's Black Cascade' (B)
Prunus persica 'Bonanza' (F)
peach 'Bonanza'
  • 1–1.5 metres
  • 1–1.5 metres
<em>Prunus</em> <em>persica</em> 'Bonanza' (F)
Malus domestica 'Ballerina Samba' (Ballerina Series) (D)
apple 'Ballerina Samba'
  • 2.5–4 metres
  • 0.5–1 metres
<em>Malus</em> <em>domestica</em> 'Ballerina Samba' (Ballerina Series) (D)
Rubus fruticosus agg. 'Dart's Black Cascade' (B)
blackberry 'Dart's Black Cascade'
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
  • 0.5–1 metres
<em>Rubus</em> <em>fruticosus</em> agg. 'Dart's Black Cascade' (B)
Prunus persica 'Bonanza' (F)
peach 'Bonanza'
  • 1–1.5 metres
  • 1–1.5 metres
<em>Prunus</em> <em>persica</em> 'Bonanza' (F)
Malus domestica 'Ballerina Samba' (Ballerina Series) (D)
apple 'Ballerina Samba'
  • 2.5–4 metres
  • 0.5–1 metres
<em>Malus</em> <em>domestica</em> 'Ballerina Samba' (Ballerina Series) (D)
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