Pots

[Figgin' A]

Over the years I've been growing figs, I've realized that anything less than 15g is suboptimal for fig growth and performance, and the less soil available, the smaller the rootball, the worse the performance.

I am even considering putting a handful of trees in 20-25g containers, but these will be headstarted outside in a makeshift greenhouse. Anything that requires additional moving back and forth, or will have to go to the basement grow tent, will stay in 15g containers.

A good example is HDA. For two years, it didn't seem to do well in an 8g (true 7g) square pot. Unhealthy leaves, poor fruit set, some fruit drop, etc. This year, it's in a 15g pot and seems to be thriving. Healthy leaves and a very good fruit set. So far so good.

My HDA leaves in 2025

and now

 

[Figgin' A]

7Gal grow bags off Amazon. They work great for me. Not as pretty as the plastic pots. But drain well.
Which is something I need here.

I used to use those and kind of like them... but the biggest reason I got rid of fabric bags is that they would get moldy and dirty pretty quickly. My wife could not tolerate them anywhere on the property. I didn't mind the look, but they did look bad after one season. Now, if we had a huge backyard and I could put them far away, I suppose that wouldn't have been a problem, but with a smaller backyard, that didn't work.

 

[9ah-figlet]

I use the 8-gallon gro-pro square pots for most of my collection because they stack well and are manageable for me to lift.

I have some old trees in 15-gallon but they’re too big for me to move myself. I uppot treepots to 3 gallon pots for their 1st year.

 

[Higueras]

Do you struggle repotting with the fabric bags? I heard roots can grip them quite a bit, but I have never tried.

I just cut the bags when I uppot. It is harder to get them off than solid plastic pots.

 

[GoodFriendMike]

I used to use those and kind of like them... but the biggest reason I got rid of fabric bags is that they would get moldy and dirty pretty quickly. My wife could not tolerate them anywhere on the property. I didn't mind the look, but they did look bad after one season. Now, if we had a huge backyard and I could put them far away, I suppose that wouldn't have been a problem, but with a smaller backyard, that didn't work.

They do get covered in all kinds of fungi. Mine are all in the backyard crammed. So my wife does not complain.
But then again, she does not go out there much unless it is to bring the dogs out. She can't handle the heat.

 

[TorontoJoe]

For performance, nothing has ever beat a half, HDPE drum. There are two definite cons.

1) they pretty much have to live on casters because
they’re so heavy

2) Attempting to move them into the front yard causes….um…. “Domestic disharmony”

 

[BruceB]

I just checked on the herd. I did notice that I have 2 varieties with 2 plants each. One of each in a 5 gallon SIPS, and the others in the larger SIPS. Both started the season the same size at up potting. The Smiths are significantly different sizes, but are both being generous with figlets. The Black Manzanitas are much different sizes and the one in the larger SIPS has many more figlets than the smaller SIPS. I know small sample size but it has me convinced!

For performance, nothing has ever beat a half, HDPE drum. There are two definite cons.

1) they pretty much have to live on casters because
they’re so heavy

2) Attempting to move them into the front yard causes….um…. “Domestic disharmony”