A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 crabapple tree in container?

hello,

I am new here. I have a question I am hoping someone can answer for me. I just bought a flowering Crabapple tree to provide a bit of shade for the birds, and was wondering if anyone has planted this in a container before? We rent, so we need to keep this tree "mobile" for a few more years.

Thanks

You could probably do it with a very large container. What zone are you in?

Holly,
I'd try it in a 24 inch pot. This is a size that you can move with another person's help, but the tree can live OK.
I'd definitely ask for feeding advice from posters more container tree savvy than I am !
I don't know if you have a dwarf or if there is one, but I'd guess that you can keep it as a bonsai.
That's what I'm doing with my wisteria and even my eucalyptus.
Although the eucalyptus is a miniature variety.
I thought........

Do you know which MALUS variety of flowering crabapple?

Very few are in the 10ft.-12ft. high with almost an equal spread of canopy. The type of crabapple will determine the size of container. I don't grow crabapple, but I do have dwarf apples in containers.

Deborah suggested 24" container, which will probably be sufficient, but I will also suggest a 1/2 or even a 3/4 wooden wine barrel fitted with casters for mobility.

These containers will use about 2 cuft. of potting soil.

Yes, something big enough is what I meant.
The reason I harp on 24 inch containers is because I like the look of the clay-look plastic.
Forgot all about barrels, Papito !

WOW...THANKS EVERYONE!!!
I am in zone 7 and the crabapple is Malus "prairifire" and it said in one of my books that it gets to be about 20 feet in height! wow! I have not planted it yet...was wondering if nutrient and compost rich potting soil will be enough? I use one with Bat Guano and amendments...so it is very rich? Not sure if this will be enough? Maybe I should add a bit of Perlite for drainage?
Anyway...thank you all so much for your help...great Ideas...I bought a super huge pot...the biggest the nursery had...the man there said it would be okay for about 3 years...after that...I am going to have to move to one of those Giant Palm pots or donate the tree if we haven't moved into a home yet? lol Anyway...Thanks so much...will let you know what happens ! Thanks again!!!