[gildroyj1981]

Hello
new to this forum and this is my first post.
im thinking of planting a mini apple tree on my plot
i dont have a lot of room left so i am thinking of using half a blue barrell that i have layed about to use as a pot
will this work or would it need more space?

any help will be much appreciated

[mumofstig]

Welcome to the forum 

'll move your post over to the Grow Your Own part so that more people will see your question.

[Yorkie]

How big is the barrel in width and depth?  Is the plastic sufficiently thick / robust not to get too brittle quickly in the sunlight?

As long as it was big enough, and had been properly washed out then it should be OK for a small tree - make sure you get the most dwarfing rootstock.  Use John Innes No 3 compost and feed / water well.  There is a possibility that it won't thrive long-term.

If you have the option of putting the tree in the ground instead, though, the tree will thank you for it.

[gildroyj1981]

the barrell is an old 220 litre barrell with held antifreeze. ive washed them thouroghly ive got rhubarb growing in the other half and its taken very well.

i only thought about keeping the apple tree in a barrel to keep it small,  i dont have much knowledge about trees and i was thinking if i put it into the ground it would grow into a full size one?

i dont have much space to grow the tree that why i thougt about going for the dwarf variety

[solway cropper]

If you buy a true dwarfing tree it will stay small wherever you put it. You can also prune it to keep the shape and size you want. The problem with growing in a container is that they do take much more looking after, ie. watering and feeding.

[Goosegirl]

Hello and welcome gildroyj to this marvellous site!  Apple trees (as well as some other fruit trees) are grafted onto a rootstock (google this for more info on it) but it means you can choose the size of tree that you will end up with when it is fully grown. As you don't have a lot of room, choose a dwarf variety (as solway says) of whatever variety you want. There are also what are called "step-over" dwarf varieties which are trained in a horizontal fashion, but this may be difficult for you to keep in shape if you are new to all this. Apart from our responses to your thread on here, I suggest you search the Royal Horticulture Society website for more information about dwarf apple trees and how they are maintained including pruning, plus they may say if you can grow them in containers and what size is recommended. Just a word of advice - buy one from a reputable nursery or garden centre rather than a cheapo one, as you get what you pay for and you know it should be of a good quality.

[gildroyj1981]

Many thanks fro your replys

ive found a reputable garden nusery not far from me that stock dwarf/patio apple trees.

im going to go tommorow and talk to the guys down there and see what they say.