Potted fruit trees bear so much fruit that the branches break under the weight; growing a few pots at home saves a whole year's worth of fruit money

For potted fruit trees, you can choose the hawthorn tree. Its fruit is bright red, tasty and attractive. Grow one hawthorn tree in a pot on the balcony, and with good care it can produce over ten jin each year, which is basically enough for a whole year, so you do not need to buy them to eat.

Hawthorn is a small deciduous tree that loves light, tolerates slight shade, cold, drought and poor soil, making it a fruit tree fairly well suited to pot culture.

If you love hawthorn, after eating the fruit you can keep the seeds, rinse and rub them in water to remove the flesh and impurities, then soak them in tap water for a few days before sowing. But growing from seed is a bit more troublesome and slower. If you find that too much hassle, you can directly dig up dwarfed, beautifully shaped stumps from the wild for potting.

The hawthorn tree is a deep-rooted species. For pot culture on your own balcony, you first need to choose a flowerpot suited to hawthorn growth. Its root system is well developed, so it is better to choose a large, deep pot, about 40 cm in diameter and about 30 cm deep, made of breathable clay, and fill it with fertile soil.

Hawthorn likes plenty of sunlight and a warm growing environment, with a suitable temperature between 18°C-32°C. With enough sunlight it blooms abundantly and bears more fruit. Just note that in summer it needs proper shading, and when winter temperatures are too low it must be moved indoors to overwinter, then moved back outside after March. If the branches are too dense, you can prune them to increase light exposure.

Although hawthorn is fairly drought-tolerant and afraid of waterlogging, slightly moist soil is best. In particular, the fruit development stage requires more water; lack of water easily causes the fruit color to darken, the skin to shrivel, the fruit to shrink and even drop. So during the growing season, wait until the potting soil is slightly dry each time before watering, and during the winter dormant period watering about 2 times a month is enough.