What fruit can I grow in pots?

As well as vegetables I try and grow some fruit in pots in my small garden.  Here are ones I grow regularly.

Redcurrants

I had a cutting from someone else’s bush that I had shoved in a pot intending to find it a home in the garden.  However, it grew and fruited really well so it has stayed there!  It is in quite a large pot and I just top up the compost in Spring and change all the compost every few years.  I keep it watered and fed through the growing season.  Each year the bush is covered in bright red fruit that look like jewels.  I pick them and put them straight in the freezer where they keep for months.

Strawberries

Strawberries grow really well in a hanging basket and it is easier to protect the fruit from slugs and snails.  The fruits are less likely to rot in wet weather as they hang over the side of the basket where they get more light and air.  The only thing to be aware of is they will need more regular watering in a basket as they will dry out more quickly.  Strawberries need plenty of water to grow plump, juicy fruits.  Feeding the plants through the summer from the start of flowering will also help get more fruit and for longer.  Picking regularly as they ripen will encourage the plants to keep producing flowers and fruit so you will have strawberries for longer.

Strawberry plants will survive from year to year.  Over the winter just make sure they don’t get waterlogged or completely dry out.  If it is going to be very cold then it is probably best to lift the baskets down and pop them in a more sheltered spot.  The same applies if strong winds are forecast.  In the Spring as they to sprout new leaves trim off the dead leaves from last year and if needed top up the compost with some fresh or completely repot if they have been in the same compost for a couple of years. Remember to check if they need watering more regularly as it warms up.

Apples

An apple tree is probably not something you would usually consider being suitable for growing in a pot.  However, new varieties have now been developed especially for growing in pots and that don’t need other apple trees to pollinate them and so produce apples.  Patio apple trees do not need special pruning and stay small.  The fruit they produce, although not in large numbers, are also smaller so great for younger children.  They do take a couple of years though before you begin to get fruit.  When mine arrived it just looked like a stick in a pot!  As well as tasty apples you also get the beautiful blossom in Spring.  Feed and water regularly to keep it going.  I also top up the compost with fresh every Spring and every couple of years completely repot it (take it out of the pot, put in all new compost and replant) although into the same pot.