What size tub?

[Pickle]

I have just got a fig tree and a lemon tree thanks to the free offers in the Let's Grow Veg magazine. I want to put them both in tubs but the question is what size should I go for? Should I gradually pot them on into slightly bigger tubs and progress through several sizes or should I just go for it and put them in to the biggests tubs I can lay my hands on?

[Hilary B]

I have just got a fig tree and a lemon tree thanks to the free offers in the Let's Grow Veg magazine. I want to put them both in tubs but the question is what size should I go for? Should I gradually pot them on into slightly bigger tubs and progress through several sizes or should I just go for it and put them in to the biggests tubs I can lay my hands on?

Not a particular area of expertise, but I seem to remember reading that if you plant up in a pot TOO much bigger than the previous, it can cause difficulties. I wouldn't use too many 'intermediate' sizes either.
What size are they in now, and what size do you think you might eventually go for?

[Pickle]

There are in 9cm pots at the moment. As for what size I would eventually go for, well I was going to just go for as large as I could find. I think you are right though, maybe I'll just go up gradually in smaller pots/tubs. Money's a bit tight at the moment too so it would be helpful if I could start with smaller pots as I already have plenty of them and then get larger ones as the trees become a little more robust and also I'm back at work (on maternity leave) and earning some money to buy tubs that I really love as opposed to just what I can afford. Sorry, I'm waffling now

[starloc]

i know nothing about figs, im just looking for a fig tree , but With citrus the rule is normaly never more than 4 inch bigger pot at a time, but when there in such a small pot, 4 inch bigger is far too much, for a 9 cm pot i wouldnt go more than 12cm, it doesnt sound much bigger but its enough, myself i would probably go up no more than an inch each step, they only need small pots and plastic pots are best to stop the roots growing into the pot wall, add lots of drain holes around the edge, more holes the better , holes underneath the pot dont work as well to let oxygen to the roots,

add holes like this




dont add drainage material to the inside of the pot unless ts mixed in with the compost all through like the perlite or bark, adding drainge to the bottom has been proven to cause a perched water table the cause of death of a lot of pot grown citrus plants

If you pot it up into a large pot it will die! ( or at best if you grow it on a heater mat you can get away with it, it will grow masses of leaves and not flower for a few years!)

What happens is the roots are not in the compost so the water collects in the edges and rots the roots were they touch the edges of the wet bit they cant drink from, they are very sensitve to over watering, only water when they dry out, never use a saucer , never water a bit here and there, only water them very well when they have dried out a couple of inches down the pot by lowering the pot into dilute citrus fertiliser

when you repot it make sure you use a very free draining compost, at least a citrus compost if not a mix of perlite and citrus compost or perlite and erricacious compost, most citrus composts dont drain well enough so its always best to add some perlite or coconut fiber

something like 90%+ of citrus plants in pots die in the first 6 months of buying them due to overwatering/poor compost that doesnt drain fast enough!