This product is not available right now.
The 10 Commandments of Potted Fruit Tree Care
Caring for fruiting trees like Meyer lemon trees or olive trees is a rewarding and exhilarating experience. But the care that these plant varieties require is a little different from your standard flowering plants or ornamentals.
Potted Fruit Trees, including evergreen varieties, have the potential to reward you not only with burgeoning, fragrant blossoms but also with actual ripe fruit. Whether this is your end goal or just a pleasant byproduct of these aesthetically enchanting plants, you'll want to care for them according to some basic tenets. Read on, and be inspired.
At Léon & George, our master gardeners have spent nearly a decade growing premium plants and helping thousands of plant parents nationwide, so the guidance here comes straight from hands-on experience.
1. Give Them All the Light
Fruit trees need bright sunlight to thrive. Ample, direct sunlight is their main source of energy, and everything from their photosynthesis to the lushness of their foliage to blossoming and pushing forth fruit depends on it. These plants do best in full sun but will tolerate some shade. Place your plant in an area that receives as much direct light as possible. Most fruit-bearing plants need a minimum of 4 to 6 hours a day of direct sunlight. Regular pruning can also help ensure the plant gets adequate light and maintains healthy growth.
2. Water Regularly and Healthily
All plants need water to survive, but fruiting plants often require more water than standard indoor houseplant varieties. However, it's essential that the soil is well-drained to prevent root rot. Higher temperatures, direct sunlight, and weather features like wind all affect the rate at which your plant uses the water you give it. Some fruiting plants may also be drought-tolerant, meaning they can withstand periods without water better than others, but it's still crucial to monitor their moisture needs closely. Both of our potted fruit trees, Olive and Meyer Lemon, should be watered when their top two inches of soil are dry to the touch.
3. But Beware of Overwatering
Determining how much water to give your plants, and how often, can feel like baffling arithmetic. Give them water, but not too much, lest you awaken some monster in the roots of your plants. But we can simplify it for you: if the topsoil of your potted fruit tree is wet, it does not need more water yet. It can be tempting to douse it anyway out of the wild love and longing to connect that all of us plant folks feel with our green friends, but re-channel that energy elsewhere. A simple moisture meter can take the guesswork out of watering.
4. Probe That Soil
At Léon & George, we are avid fans of sticking our fingers in dirt, because probing your plant's soil truly is the best way to measure its moisture and determine if it needs water. When planting in pots, choosing the right soil is essential, especially if you're aiming for a Mediterranean feel, which often requires specific soil types.
If you're squeamish, wear a gardening glove. But do stick your finger down into the top two inches of your plant's soil, at least once weekly, and gauge its moisture. This hands-on method also allows you to detect any pests early on. If the top two inches of soil are dry, rejoice. It's time to water.
5. Don't Overthink It
This is our favorite tenet of all: so easy to say, and so challenging sometimes to truly practice. The fruit trees on offer at Léon & George are low-maintenance by nature. They need only a few things to thrive, like light, water, love, and occasional plant food.
It can be hard not to get a little meddlesome with your plants, but for the good of your tree, keep it simple and avoid:
- Plant food spikes. Fruiting trees want food in liquid form, so offer them their fertilizer in a water-soluble form rather than a spike.
- Musical chairs. Your plant will not appreciate being shuffled about regularly, so find a spot that satisfies its lighting needs and stick with it.
- Repotting just for fun. Especially during the warmer months, it is not advised to repot your plant. Summer is the time of fastest growth for fruit trees, and they want to direct their energy toward that growth rather than toward adjusting to a new container.
6. Watch Out for Bugs
It's unlikely that your plant will experience any issues with insects. After all, olive trees are naturally pest resistant. Still, there are easy ways to eradicate insects should you experience an unexpected visitation.
There are plenty of pest-control products for fruiting outdoor plants available, and you can use them with confidence. If you prefer an all-natural solution, neem oil is a great alternative. Just make sure not to apply neem oil to your tree on particularly sunny days, which can cause leaf scorching.
7. Be Patient
Can't wait until your potted evergreen tree, perhaps an Olea europaea, proffers a tumble of olives for your martini? We get that. But gardening is a meditative pastime. It takes time, lots of light, fertilizing during the growing season, and consistency for fruit trees to bear fruit, and it can sometimes take up to a few years. In the meantime, be patient with your tree and enjoy its grace, its gorgeous silhouette, and the strength of its branches. Every phase of a plant's growth is beautiful.
8. Treat Overwatering Briskly
Freak rainstorms have been known to occur, as have overzealous garden hoses. So not to worry: if you've overwatered, there is a simple solution that just requires a little elbow grease.
Your plant is in a plastic nursery pot, situated within its ceramic pot on top of a foam block. Don your gardening gloves and grasp your plant as low as possible on the base of its trunk. Be careful to support the plant as you lift it, still within its plastic pot, out of the ceramic planter. See standing water in the ceramic pot? Dump it out. Then leave your plant, still in its plastic pot, in a sunny spot to dry. Don't water again until its top two inches of soil are dry to the touch, at which time you can return it to its ceramic pot.
9. Tune In to the Rhythm
Unsurprisingly, your fruiting plants will respond to seasonal changes. These plants are often fast growers that produce fruit when given the right conditions. During spring and summer, your fruit trees will want to be fed plant fertilizer about every two weeks, and they will desire more water. Probe the soil and allow it to dry out to be sure before watering.
The same logic goes for colder months. As temperatures drop, your plant is likewise ready to rest. And if (and only if) temperatures are freezing or below, your plant will want to come inside, just like you.
10. A Word on Winter and Frost
Citrus trees, with their ornamental stems and vibrant blooms, are particularly vulnerable to frost and should not be left outside in freezing or near-freezing conditions. As autumn turns colder, if your location experiences freezing temperatures during the winter, you will need to bring your tree inside, either into a garage or your home. The tree will go dormant during the winter. During this time, its stems might seem less lively and it may not be in its blooming best. But don't worry: it's perfectly natural, and the plant will revive as the season moves into spring.
Our Plant Doctor service offers unlimited guidance for your Léon & George plants. If you have questions that haven't been answered here, just reach out. Good things happen when we work together.