Potted apple tree: grow one at home for both beauty and your own homegrown apples
Growing an apple tree as a potted plant is a great idea. Pruning an apple tree into a bonsai lets you admire the red and green apples hanging all over the branches indoors, and in autumn you can even eat apples you grew yourself. Just thinking about it is a delight. But after all, the apple tree is a tree meant for planting in the ground, and managing it in a pot is still somewhat difficult. Here, Home Gardening shares some growing tips with everyone.
1. The habits of the apple tree
Although apples are a very common fruit, not many gardening enthusiasts have actually grown an apple tree. Apple trees are relatively well suited to being grown in the north; they are very cold-hardy and generally bloom around May. They like light, and especially during the fruit development stage, adequate light can improve the quality of the apples. Fruit trees are relatively well suited to growing in neutral soil, and the soil is best rich in organic matter, full of nutrients, and excellent in both air permeability and drainage.
2. Choosing varieties for a potted apple tree
The apple tree is a tree and can grow to more than 5 m. Even the dwarfed apple trees currently grown in orchards still grow to around 3 m or more. So for a potted apple tree, you must choose a dwarfed variety with a thick, sturdy root system, short and thick branches, and strong self-pollination ability that is suitable for pot cultivation. Varieties you can consider include Yinv, Wanshouguo, Donghongguo, and others.
3. Daily care of a potted apple tree
1. Choosing a pot: Be sure to choose a flowerpot with strong air permeability, such as a terracotta pot, clay pot, or wooden pot. It is best not to choose ceramic flowerpots or plastic flowerpots, as this type of pot has poor air permeability and is not suitable for apple tree growth. The size of the pot body should be determined according to the specific condition of the apple tree; generally choose a larger and deeper flowerpot.
2. Soil mixing: Soil is the source of nutrition for the apple tree. Due to space limitations, the nutrients in the potting soil must be sufficient, and the soil must meet the growth needs of the apple tree. Personally, I think humus soil rich in organic matter is very suitable. For the ratio, you can refer to 4 parts humus soil, 3 parts garden soil, and 3 parts fine sandy soil, or mix the soil at a ratio of 5 parts humus soil, 3 parts fine sandy soil, 1 part coal cinder soil, and 1 part plant ash.
3. Fertilizing: Apple trees like fertilizer. Before the apple tree is put into the pot, you can spread a layer of base fertilizer at the bottom of the flowerpot. The base fertilizer can be decomposed organic fertilizer, so that in the early stage of apple tree growth the amount of fertilizer applied can be reduced. Usually, pay attention to timely topdressing; generally topdress once about every two weeks. You can use decomposed soybean cake fertilizer, and be careful that the amount does not exceed 100 grams. Generally, about one month before fruit harvest, you can appropriately spray foliar fertilizer. Spraying potassium dihydrogen phosphate, ferrous sulfate, urea, and so on according to the dilution ratio is fine, to promote fruit growth.
4. Pruning: Because it is potted, when pruning branches and leaves you can follow your own aesthetic as a gardening enthusiast, for example pruning it into a cascade style, round-headed style, single-arm style, and so on. When pruning, be careful to leave a certain amount of space between branches to facilitate fruit growth. In addition, pay attention to thinning flowers and fruit to promote the growth of high-quality apples.
There are still many issues in growing a potted apple tree that gardening enthusiasts need to discover during the growing process and to continually learn about and solve, and only in this way can you grow a potted apple tree well.
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