Things You'll Need:
- 5-gallon planter with drainage holes
- Pea gravel
- Shovel
- Potting Soil
- Fertilizer
- Apple-tree seedling
- Hand pruning sheers
- Compost tea
- Burlap
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Step 1
Layer the bottom of your planter with pea-sized gravel about 2 inches thick. Layer the soil over the gravel until the planter is just about half full. Push the soil away from the center to create a basin for the apple tree's root ball.
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Step 2
Set the apple seedling into the prepared planter and loosen its roots. Scoop the soil back over the roots and tamp down. Add the rest of the potting soil until the planter is filled and the tree's roots are totally covered.
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Step 3
Tamp down the soil and then add water until the water drains from the bottom of the planter. For the first few months, make sure the soil stays moist, especially when the weather gets warm. Sometimes that will require watering twice a day.
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Step 4
Fertilize the tree about once a month. A formula containing the 5:20:10 ratio should provide the necessary nutrients. Watering the tree with compost tea, if you have access to it, will also aid in the tree's health.
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Step 5
Prune the tree very lightly, if at all, for the first three years. During the fourth year, the upper growth will probably exceed the space of the planter and will need to be pruned back. Each early spring or late winter will require a heavy pruning both of the branches and the roots before the dormancy stage is over.
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Step 6
Protect your apple tree from severe cold by setting it in a sheltered place near a building and insulating it. Wrap the base of the container with burlap and/or a heavy coating of leaves covering the whole base around the outside. You can also bring it into a garage to help shelter it from extreme freezing.
