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Fruit Trees for Pots and Patios

Fruit trees that grow well in pots and on patios: Meyer lemon, fig, pomegranate, persimmon, mango and more, with the pot size and winter plan for each.

Almost any fruit we cover can live in a pot, and a pot gets you past zone limits. A tree in a container can sit on a sunny patio all summer and move into a garage or a bright room before the first freeze. That makes cold zones workable, with one condition: you have to be able to move the pot. This collection gathers the fruit trees that do well in containers, with the best type for a pot where it matters.

Why a pot works, and where it does not

A pot controls three things: size, winter and soil. Size matters because no variety stays small on its own, and avocado, persimmon and mango all need pruning to stay manageable. Winter matters because a pot can travel, and roots in a pot freeze faster than roots in the ground. Soil matters because you control drainage, which most fruit trees demand.

A pot does not give you more light. Indoors, even a south window is dim, so a tree kept inside all year grows slowly and rarely fruits. Put the pot in full sun outside for the warm months.

How to pick

  • For a first tree: Meyer lemon or fig. A Meyer lemon is a naturally small citrus. Chicago Hardy can be pruned to 6 ft.
  • For a cold winter: fig or pomegranate, which can sit in an unheated garage or shed. Persimmon is deciduous too, and it needs some winter cold.
  • For a warm patio: mango, with a grafted compact type such as Carrie, and avocado, with firm pruning.
  • For a bold look: banana, in a dwarf type such as Dwarf Cavendish, or dragon fruit on a post with a frame on top.
  • For something spiky and slow: pineapple, which UF/IFAS says does well in a 3- to 7-gallon pot.
  • For a climber: passion fruit in a large pot or grow bag, with a trellis.

Size the pot to the fruit, step up gradually and drain well. Our guide to growing fruit trees in containers has sizes, mixes and watering for each fruit, and overwintering fruit trees indoors says when each pot comes in. If you are not sure what grows where you live, check fruit trees by zone.