Fruit [Apple + Cherry + Plum] Trees in containers

[meanmoose]

Hi,

This is my first post ever in this forum, but have been lurking for a while. I'm hoping the kind community here can help provide some tips or advice on my 'situation'.

I love fruits and gardening, but have unfortunately to live in London where house prices are high and the size of the flat is basically a shoe box. I don't have a balcony or terrace, let alone a garden. However, I do have a large south facing wall with 2m high windows in a relatively 'large' living room, where I keep a fair bit of plants [Ficus Ginseng Bonsai, 2 Yuccas, a mid-sized cactus, 2 orchirds, a couple of others].

Recently ordered a trio of Cordons from Pomona Fruits:

• Apple 'James Grieve'
• Plum 'Marjorie's Seedling'
• Cherry 'Sunburst'

Planted them two weekends ago in 30L airpots with a mix of compost and perlite.

The apple was tiny [90cm vs 120-150cm advertised]. The cherry looks healthy, and has leaves now blooming. The plum looks almost totally devoid of life, which was the state it arrived in [how soon should I see at least some movement?].

I've found a lot of info on growing fruit trees outdoors and growing fruit trees in a pot. Haven't found much advice on growing fruit trees indoors in a pot. Probably from the lack of info its a bad idea, but that's what I got . Does any one have any tips on growing these? Not expecting massive harvests but hoping for at least one apple/plum/cherry [albeit mega pricey ones].

[veggiechicken]

Hi and welcome.
"Interesting" is a good word for your situation Don't remember anyone growing fruit trees in their flat before, but if you don't try, you won't know!
A couple of thoughts,
Will you be able to leave the windows open as the flowers will need pollinating by bees;
Are there other fruit trees in the area as I don't know whether the trees you've bought are self-fertile.
Might the trees get too hot in a south facing window in summer and too hot in a centrally heated room in winter.

More knowledgeable people will be along soon. Meanwhile, have you considered an allotment.

[meanmoose]

Hi and welcome.
"Interesting" is a good word for your situation Don't remember anyone growing fruit trees in their flat before, but if you don't try, you won't know!
A couple of thoughts,
Will you be able to leave the windows open as the flowers will need pollinating by bees;
Are there other fruit trees in the area as I don't know whether the trees you've bought are self-fertile.
Might the trees get too hot in a south facing window in summer and too hot in a centrally heated room in winter.

More knowledgeable people will be along soon. Meanwhile, have you considered an allotment.

Hah. So I rent the flat with my GF, so I guess I can do as much as I can without annoying her, but she's pretty easy going. The windows are usually open but I intend on pollinating with a brush by hand. At this rate I'm not sure if there will be any flowers for the plum. Possibly a cherry may form if it were polinated (came with a flower).

The trees I bought are, in theory anyway, self-fertile. I didn't have space for two of each type, and I wanted different trees.

I'm in Newham and been on the waiting list for the allotment for 2.5yrs. I've kind of given up on it, unless someone wants to rent me their backyard/allotment in East London.

[nickdub]

Hi and welcome from a fellow fruit lover.

I'm a bit hesitant to answer your query, chiefly because I don't like giving negative opinions, but as I understand your set-up I don't think growing the fruits trees you have is going to lead to any sort of crop. That's not to say that you may not have other options for all I know, but with the outline you provided, I just don't think it will work out.

As far as the trees go, unless you can somehow find an outside space the only other suggestion I have is to farm them out to a friend or family member, until you do have somewhere suitable to put them.

BTW the plum should be growing strongly at this time of year, so I'm guessing that was dead when you received it -I'd assume you ought to be able to get your money refunded, if I'm right.

[meanmoose]

Hi and welcome from a fellow fruit lover.

I'm a bit hesitant to answer your query, chiefly because I don't like giving negative opinions, but as I understand your set-up I don't think growing the fruits trees you have is going to lead to any sort of crop. That's not to say that you may not have other options for all I know, but with the outline you provided, I just don't think it will work out.

As far as the trees go, unless you can somehow find an outside space the only other suggestion I have is to farm them out to a friend or family member, until you do have somewhere suitable to put them.

BTW the plum should be growing strongly at this time of year, so I'm guessing that was dead when you received it -I'd assume you ought to be able to get your money refunded, if I'm right.

I figured something similar, but am looking at purchasing a new build flat with a balcony shortly so might actually be able to put them there, but for now, getting some decent growth for foilage without fruits might be a decent consolation this year.

I might give the Plum another week or so and if nothing changes then I'm quite certain that it would probably be dead... Does this happen often I wonder?

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the vine

If you scrape the bark of a tree (a little bit) it will be green (alive) or brown (dead) underneath. Trees can take a while to do things for various reasons. As for growing trees in a flat I was trying to think of a reason why not and I can't come up with anything that sticks. I also consulted my Indoor Farming by David Wickers book and it says -

"The main drawback... ...it probably won't get sufficient light and, if it does, the size of the bush will undoubtedly cast a shadow... . Fruits also tend to take much longer to grow to maturity then vegetables.
...Without access to the great outdoors you could try fan training, or growing a fruit cordon, against the back wall of a sun lounge, keeping a dwarf fruit tree in a sunny corner of a room,...
Don't let this introduction to fruit-growing discourage you completely. By all means try it but keep a rein on your aspirations....."

So basically, let us know how you get on and good luck.

[meanmoose]

Hi and welcome to the vine

If you scrape the bark of a tree (a little bit) it will be green (alive) or brown (dead) underneath. Trees can take a while to do things for various reasons. As for growing trees in a flat I was trying to think of a reason why not and I can't come up with anything that sticks. I also consulted my Indoor Farming by David Wickers book and it says -

"The main drawback... ...it probably won't get sufficient light and, if it does, the size of the bush will undoubtedly cast a shadow... . Fruits also tend to take much longer to grow to maturity then vegetables.
...Without access to the great outdoors you could try fan training, or growing a fruit cordon, against the back wall of a sun lounge, keeping a dwarf fruit tree in a sunny corner of a room,...
Don't let this introduction to fruit-growing discourage you completely. By all means try it but keep a rein on your aspirations....."

So basically, let us know how you get on and good luck.

Did a tiny scrape with my finger tips and its green, so maybe it just takes a while. At least I'm doing cordons!

[Lardman]

I know our friends over the pond in warm climes consider consider the "chill hours" a fruit tree needs, I would think it would apply to indoor growing too.

[meanmoose]

I know our friends over the pond in warm climes consider consider the "chill hours" a fruit tree needs, I would think it would apply to indoor growing too.

Great point. Havent considered this.
Might have to do a rotation on the open corridor one by one

[Bluenowhere]

Sounds like you are condoning but I’d consider fan training the plum or perhaps in a triangle shape to suit a balcony. The habit of a plum doesn’t suit a cordon in my limited experience (£8 fruit trees from Homebase that I’m turning into trained trees). Someone who knows more might be able to suggest what is best.

My thinking is you need to give the trees less light and heat in the winter and that is going to be your bigger problem than heat and light in the summer. If you have unheated hallway in your flat that would be my thinking as I would have thought they need to go dormant at some point in order to crop.

Obviously starting now with the plan to move them onto a balcony in a year or so might give you a head start on the training.

[meanmoose]

Sounds like you are condoning but I’d consider fan training the plum or perhaps in a triangle shape to suit a balcony. The habit of a plum doesn’t suit a cordon in my limited experience (£8 fruit trees from Homebase that I’m turning into trained trees). Someone who knows more might be able to suggest what is best.

My thinking is you need to give the trees less light and heat in the winter and that is going to be your bigger problem than heat and light in the summer. If you have unheated hallway in your flat that would be my thinking as I would have thought they need to go dormant at some point in order to crop.

Obviously starting now with the plan to move them onto a balcony in a year or so might give you a head start on the training.

Well the 'unheated' doorway still has heat from the flats around so thats still going to be an issue. It's what I got so this is just a situation where you'd hope for the best!

Anyway the plum is still as boring as twigs.

Thinking of grabbing a small other plant to grow, so I will have at least SOMETHING exciting this year in my living room.

Currently the considerations are:

• Strawberries
• Blueberries [dont have rain water, so keeping the pH is annoying]
• Tomatoes
• any other suggestions please?

[nickdub]

Oyster mushrooms on bags of sawdust ?

[Bluenowhere]

Would have thought strawberries might be a good bet as people grow then in greenhouses if you got one of the strawberry planters you could get a reasonable number in a small space. Plus they will definitely give a good crop if you get busy with your paintbrush.

Toms can get a bit sprawley and look messy so think your gf might not like that in your living room. Blueberries, unless you can afford a big one you will be waiting a few years for a significant crop so probably not that exciting.

Not sure if you already have any (or like cooking) but herbs on kitchen windowsills are always good.

[Bluenowhere]

A small citrus tree might be nice, unless you are sick of trees. We have a lime which is nice to pick to slice for drinks and to use juice in skir fry etc. They don’t like frost so you have to bring in in the winter anyway.

I hand pollinated some flowers early in the year and limes are forming so that would work in your non-pollinating insect environment. Ours is calf height so more of a houseplant size than tree sized.

Supposedly you need rainwater for them but I just left tap water in a bottle for a week or so before using it over the winter as for various reasons couldn’t collect rain water and didn’t have an issue, my thinking was that it was the chorine that it probably didn’t like but sure an expert will be along shortly and let us know different as mine in now outside enjoying todays rain!

I guess you could leave a old bucket outside the flats when it is raining, can’t really see anyone stealing a manky bucket in the rain even in London. Then decant the water into bottles to use if you were worried about using tap water for certain plants.

[veggiechicken]

Chilli peppers?