Let me put something out there that's mostly for my own sake. But maybe you can relate. It's something I don't think gets enough consideration. Growing trees in containers... Hear me out. There are lots of reasons you might want to do this. Maybe you're living in an apartment with nowhere to plant a tree. Or Maybe you own a home with a yard but you don't know how long you'll be staying and don't want to plant a tree that you won't see bear fruit. You tell yourself, "one day, when I have land, I'll finally plant the garden or food Forest of my dreams" Or in other words, "I'm going to put off building an essential skill so that when the 'one day' finally comes to implement the skill I won't have it" Well this post is to remind you (me) that YOU (I) DON'T HAVE TO WAIT to get started. Start something from seed. Root a cutting. Or just buy a tree from a nursery. Put it near a window or on your deck or patio. Learn to care for it. Practice grafting or layering with it and then when "one day" comes you'll be ready. AND you got to enjoy the wait.🙌 This fall I'm going to order some good bare-root dwarf rootstocks and then in late winter I'll start grafting some of my favorite varieties onto them.

Here are some tips to get all the trees you want for a fraction of the price.🌱👇 1. Start from Seeds 🌰 – Virtually free! Choose plants that grow relatively true to seed like: - Manchurian Apricots - Persimmon - Black walnuts - Paw Paw It takes patience, but it’s super cost-effective! 2. Start from Cuttings✂️ – Want more of what you have or know someone with a variety you want? Learn how to root cuttings and get clones for free! Stick with easy to root plants like: - mulberry - blackberry - elderberry - currants - figs 3. Buy Bare Root Trees 🌳 - get a bundle of 10 dormant trees for as little as $50 instead of One Tree in a pot for $100 or so. Even if you only want one tree a bare root one can cost you as little as $20 bucks. Here are some good sources for buying bare root plants: (start looking in the fall before they sell out!) - www.starkbros.com - www.raintreenursery.com - www.burntridgenursery.com - www.fedcoseeds.com/trees.htm 4. Invest in Some Good Root Stocks🍃- Root stocks such as M26 for apple or Quince C for pear can be kept small and shrubby so they don't take much space but then you can mound layer them every other year or so to get new root stocks to graft your favorite varieties onto!🤯 🙌Fruit trees don't have to break the bank👊 Which one of these tips are you most like to try? What other ideas do you have?

Welcome to Growers Central! We're glad to have you. Introduce yourself here! What do you grow?🧑‍🌾 What do you hope to learn or get out of this group?🤔 We want to know!