What is the biggest tree you can grow?

[SirJoe]

What is the biggest tree you can grow in a container. The biggest trees i have seen have been orange and lemon trees, but they weren't very big. Is there anything bigger that I can grow in a container?

 

[Chuck]

It all depends on the size of the container and how fast the tree grows

 

[Corzhens]

We have a star fruit in a rubber container. We bought it more than 5 years ago and we have already harvested countless of fruits. Right now it is fruiting again with about more than 20, some are nearing to be harvestable. The nursery attendant said that the tree will keep on growing until the roots have filled up the container. And when that happens, that would be the maximum height of the tree in the rubber container. Here is the photo of our star fruit -

 

[petesede]

I´ve seen lemon trees get about that big and produce fruit. Actually lemons trees can produce fruit much smaller. But you start just getting unhealthy plants if they outrow their roots.. they are always fighting themselves. I guess it depends on the tree, but you are probably better off pruning the tree back and having it healthier.

 

[SirJoe]

Wow @Corzhens that is very impressive, the vase doesn't seem to be that big. When the roots fill the vase do you plan on transplanting it into another container or are you thinking of planting it directly into the ground?

 

[Corzhens]

Wow @Corzhens that is very impressive, the vase doesn't seem to be that big. When the roots fill the vase do you plan on transplanting it into another container or are you thinking of planting it directly into the ground?

That's actually our problem now. The roots seemed to be cramped in the base of the pot such that water wouldn't seep anymore. When it rains like now (it is rainy season here), the top of the pot is full of water that stagnates and used by mosquitoes for breeding. We have to bail out the water after the rain to make the top surface dry. We had used a metal stick to force some holes for the water to seep through but to no avail. We still have no plan on what to do. For now, we just let the star fruit bear fruits and it's still growing anyway.

 

[SirJoe]

That's actually our problem now. The roots seemed to be cramped in the base of the pot such that water wouldn't seep anymore. When it rains like now (it is rainy season here), the top of the pot is full of water that stagnates and used by mosquitoes for breeding. We have to bail out the water after the rain to make the top surface dry. We had used a metal stick to force some holes for the water to seep through but to no avail. We still have no plan on what to do. For now, we just let the star fruit bear fruits and it's still growing anyway.

Sounds like the roots have completely over taken the pot and that the little earth that is left is stopping the vase from having proper drainage, but if the plant wasn't healthy it wouldn't produce fruit. It wouldn't dye but it wouldn't grow either. Do you feed your tree with fertilizer?

 

[Pat]

I have grown a rubber tree plant to a very large size in a container. I had it on wheels so that it could be moved around. Although it was beautiful, I would not want to grow a plant that large again.

 

[Corzhens]

Sounds like the roots have completely over taken the pot and that the little earth that is left is stopping the vase from having proper drainage, but if the plant wasn't healthy it wouldn't produce fruit. It wouldn't dye but it wouldn't grow either. Do you feed your tree with fertilizer?

The only fertilizer we give the star fruit tree is the water used to rinse the fish and meat from the market. The rinsing water is rich with minerals particularly if we bought fish. Other than that, we give just plain water. And at the onset of the rainy season about 3 weeks ago, the tree came up with lots of small fruits that we have been harvesting since last week. The fruits are so big that's why we don't think the clogged rubber pot is not giving it a problem.

 

[remnant]

There are some hybrid varieties of papaya plant that one can grow in container. There are dwarf plants which give rise to fruits in 8 months after planting. As a rule, plants to grow in containers should not have an extensive root system. However, you can grow any plant in a container using the technique of bonsai though it appears to be more successful with small leafed trees.

 

[Vinaya]

I have never grown trees in a container. However, I have many trees in my garden. Mango tree is the tallest tree that I have in my garden. I have over a dozen mango trees of different sizes. Tallest mango tree is taller than my three story house. The tree is about 40 years old. Th tree was planted by my grand mother when she came to live here. I have lychee tree as well but lychee trees are not as tall as mango.

 

[SirJoe]

The only fertilizer we give the star fruit tree is the water used to rinse the fish and meat from the market. The rinsing water is rich with minerals particularly if we bought fish. Other than that, we give just plain water. And at the onset of the rainy season about 3 weeks ago, the tree came up with lots of small fruits that we have been harvesting since last week. The fruits are so big that's why we don't think the clogged rubber pot is not giving it a problem.

That would do the trick. The tree doesn't need anything else it gets all it needs from that water. It doesn't even need more earth only to protect the roots from direct sunlight. Aquaponics is based on the use of fish water to feed plants but in that case it does need an iron supplement. In you case it gets it from the meat and fish blood.
The proof that the clogged pot hasn't been a problem is that the tree is healthy.