I'm growing Durian in Pots- Tell me I'm Crazy

[W.]

Hey now, I'm grown a jackfruit in NJ. I am researching the smallest fruit size varieties and will graft that on it low when it is time. We'll see lol

You can definitely do it!  So far jackfruit has been my easiest to grow tree, it grows like a weed.  I was hoping for fruit this year, but maybe next year.  Mine is 9ft tall and I have to prune it constantly to keep it from hitting my greenhouse roof.  I got a Golden Nugget because it was supposed to be small, but everybody seems to report it is the opposite and is extremely vigorous.  I suggest you try some other variety, I am already planning to replace mine with something else that is easier to manage

It grows like a weed for me as well. That is the problem, keeping jackfruit relatively small while simultaneously trying to get fruit. I have not figured out how to do that, yet.

A while ago (it may have been brian now that I think about it) people mentioned that pruning the Jackfruit is tough because it still just chooses to grow as a single straight trunk, and the pruning only slows it down a couple months-

This is part of what gave me hope with the branching structure after the accidental "topping" of the aff oxyleanus

My own incompetence seems to have aided me with growing jackfruit, then. The first winter I had them, I let them get too wet. They almost died, and the top, lead bud on a couple of them did die. Those jackfruits do not have straight, single trunks; they have two relatively straight branches coming up from below where that bud died. Otherwise, they have not branched much, but they are still "bushier" than the seedlings whose top bud did not die. Those jackfruits are growing straight as an arrow and nothing seems to deter them from doing so, though once they hit six foot they finally sent out some side branches.

[brian]

I haven't gotten any jackfruit flowers yet, but given that jackfruit flowers from the trunk I would think it would be less affected by pruning compared to many other trees that fruit on new growth. 

[Nick C]

Might be but I guess I am too lol

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[elouicious]

Haha with the cecropia and the durian you officially have the bug Nick C

[Nick C]

Haha with the cecropia and the durian you officially have the bug Nick C

Oh definitely haha I'm in over my head with plants that have no business being in Jersey. Even have a mamey sapote flowering currently.

[W.]

Haha with the cecropia and the durian you officially have the bug Nick C

Oh definitely haha I'm in over my head with plants that have no business being in Jersey. Even have a mamey sapote flowering currently.

Welcome to the club, Nick.

[ben mango]

One day when I build more greenhouses I'll get a grafted durian and plant it in the ground and see if it ever fruits.  For now I'm just curious to see how the seedlings survive.

The tree will not be happy in the winter when the ground is so cold, you would be better off keeping it in a large pot.

[brian]

insulated perimeter wall in the current one, and also likely soil heating in the next one

[elouicious]

One day when I build more greenhouses I'll get a grafted durian and plant it in the ground and see if it ever fruits.  For now I'm just curious to see how the seedlings survive.

The tree will not be happy in the winter when the ground is so cold, you would be better off keeping it in a large pot.

This brings up another question I have about growing things in permanent greenhouses-

My understanding is that, with the exception of areas with permafrost, once you get down to a certain depth, the soil temperature is pretty standard at most places on the planet.

I believe this is one of the basic operating principles of pit gardens.

Obviously surface level axillary roots exposed to chill would potentially die, but the tap root going down should be fine?

[Eggo]

Awesome experiment! Will follow how this goes.  About 15 years ago I experimented quite a bit with durian seedlings.  I killed more durians and mangosteen than I could remember. In my zone 10, I had them planted in ground in an unheated greenhouse.  The durian survived about 4 winters or so grew to about 3.5ft to 4 ft but tiny trunk still considerably young trees, but a couple bad back to back winters we had here killed them.  I noticed they grew extremely fast in the beginning but slowed down afterwards. My durian seem to die starting from the root up while mangosteens would die starting from the stem down, lol.

[Orkine]

You are Crazy

Thanks Orkine-

You're the best- Sugar apples are doing amazing

Thank you, glad to hear they are.

[W.]

One day when I build more greenhouses I'll get a grafted durian and plant it in the ground and see if it ever fruits.  For now I'm just curious to see how the seedlings survive.

The tree will not be happy in the winter when the ground is so cold, you would be better off keeping it in a large pot.

This brings up another question I have about growing things in permanent greenhouses-

My understanding is that, with the exception of areas with permafrost, once you get down to a certain depth, the soil temperature is pretty standard at most places on the planet.

I believe this is one of the basic operating principles of pit gardens.

Obviously surface level axillary roots exposed to chill would potentially die, but the tap root going down should be fine?

That is also the principle behind geo air greenhouses, a system I plan on implementing when I build my greenhouse.

But, I think one's geology, water table, and soil composition would also have a big effect when growing finicky plants such as durians and mangosteens in-ground. In addition to insulating/separating the greenhouse protected soil from the outside soil, it might be advisable to create in-ground planters or areas of differing soil composition to accommodate those finicky plants. That is what Adolf Grimal did at Grimal Grove on Big Pine Key and was a key to his success in growing so many fruit trees with disparate needs.