Trees that thrive in small spaces

[DRFixembones]

I have a small space to plant a Fruit Tree directly in front of my house in between the front and the driveway. I have the following trees sitting in containers and wanted advice as to which would thrive the best in a small space where the roots won’t grow too much: Atemoya, Carambola, Fig and Papaya.

Thanks!!

[barath]

I don't know about Florida, but Figs do well here when their roots are truly constrained (but they need to be surrounded by tough concrete otherwise they just break the containment) -- they sometimes even produce more when they can't spread their roots.

[DRFixembones]

I don't know about Florida, but Figs do well here when their roots are truly constrained (but they need to be surrounded by tough concrete otherwise they just break the containment) -- they sometimes even produce more when they can't spread their roots.

Good to know. I was actually planning to keep the fig in the pot.

[stephen]

I've grown figs, and I'd say that their roots can be invasive as they search for water sources, so I wouldn't recommend it if you don't have space. It has the potential of breaking structures. So I just grow mine in containers.

I'd recommend carambola. Their roots are not invasive. I heard papaya should be okay as well, although I have no experience with them. I think they only grow for 4-5 years. I'm not familiar with atemoya trees.

[Oncorhynchus]

I think papaya is your best bet. They don’t get too big and if it dose, just chop it down and replace it.  They are cheap to replace, grow quick and don’t make wood so there isn’t a stump to deal with. I almost think of them as an annual.

[palingkecil]

I've grown figs, and I'd say that their roots can be invasive as they search for water sources, so I wouldn't recommend it if you don't have space. It has the potential of breaking structures. So I just grow mine in containers.

I'd recommend carambola. Their roots are not invasive. I heard papaya should be okay as well, although I have no experience with them. I think they only grow for 4-5 years. I'm not familiar with atemoya trees.

I second with Carambola, i have one that grows in small space, it thrives and produces moderate amount of fruit. I don't have much experience with papaya, but I grew one dwarf Carica in small space before, but i have to chop it down because the root started to push a goji berry about 5 ft away, and when I digged the root, it ran really deep and pretty far.

[Tropheus76]

I would say papaya too provided you aren't worried about neighbors snagging the fruit. It will help add a more tropical look to your yard as well.

Figs in large parts of FL have issues due to the soil harboring a very virulent species of nematode. Even resistant varieties will fail. There are ways around this like planting in a 5 gallon bucket with the bottom cut out so its below the 12 or so inches the nematodes live in. Not sure if that applies to far south FL, but certainly in most of Central.

Carambola gets big and bushy and again, if you don't mind people snagging the fruit, it would work too I think.

[DRFixembones]

I would say papaya too provided you aren't worried about neighbors snagging the fruit. It will help add a more tropical look to your yard as well.

Figs in large parts of FL have issues due to the soil harboring a very virulent species of nematode. Even resistant varieties will fail. There are ways around this like planting in a 5 gallon bucket with the bottom cut out so its below the 12 or so inches the nematodes live in. Not sure if that applies to far south FL, but certainly in most of Central.

Carambola gets big and bushy and again, if you don't mind people snagging the fruit, it would work too I think.

Thanks! I am having work done on the backyard so I don’t want to plant anything yet. I was thinking Papaya since it’s not technically a tree and won’t really grow wide, but rather just straight up.