Best Soil for Fruit Trees in Pots (Australia Guide)

Do you want to grow a healthy, strong, productive fruit tree in a container without worrying about root issues, poor drainage, and stunted growth?

Many gardeners mistakenly use the wrong soil in containers, either choosing soil made for garden beds or using a mix that doesn’t suit their plant. This quickly leads to waterlogged pots, resulting in root rot, nutrient deficiencies, and reduced fruit production.

If this seems complicated and overwhelming, and you’re unsure where to start, don’t panic. By following this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know to choose the right soil for fruit trees in pots.

Even if you’re a complete beginner, I promise you’ll feel like a pro by the end.

Why Soil Quality Matters for Fruit Trees in Pots

Making sure you’ve got the right soil is fundamental to your fruit tree thriving.

The right soil mix ensures your fruit tree has the right drainage. When you water your plant, the soil should hold moisture without becoming a swamp. This is what adding bigger particles such as bark, sand and perlite do, allowing water to flow more freely through the mix.

Having the correct drainage also allows aeration around the roots. Oxygen is a fundamental part of root and plant health. Unlike foliage, roots can’t photosynthesise, so instead they use oxygen to transfer water from the soil to the plant in a process called cellular respiration.

The correct soil will also have the right nutrients available for the plant to absorb and grow; using a cheap mix can have limited amounts of nutrients. Even if there are plenty of nutrients, they are only available if the roots can absorb the water in which they are dissolved.

As you can see, there’s a lot counting on the availability of oxygen to the roots. Too much water and not enough oxygen mean the roots won’t be able to take in water or nutrients. Don’t underestimate the importance of drainage.

At the same time, you do want smaller particles that retain water. This is especially important during their growth stage from Spring until Autumn, as temperatures here get extreme. If your soil doesn’t trap any moisture, it will dry out very quickly, causing the plant to wilt.

What type of soil do fruit trees in pots need?

The most common mistake gardeners make when growing plants in pots is thinking that soil from the garden is the same as the soil you should be using to grow in pots.

Your plant might thrive in the garden, so it can be wrongly assumed that this same soil will work in a pot. It won’t. Garden beds have natural aeration from worms, microorganisms and less restrictive drainage. In a pot, the soil will compact, causing drainage issues and ultimately leading to root rot and other root issues.

You’ll find some homemade soil recipes below, but the recipes can be adjusted or different products used, so here I’ll explain what each part does and why we need it. That way, if you can’t find a specific product, you can know what you’ll be trying to replace.

Fruit trees in pots need a soil that holds moisture without being saturated. To do this, you will want a potting mix that is coir, pine bark (0-10mm) or peat-based; all three are both moisture-retentive and allow airflow. This is the biggest base for most plants in pots.

Next, you’ll want your fruit tree to be able to withstand long periods of wet weather and heavy rainfall. To achieve this, you’ll want drainage and aeration through your mix. To achieve this, add perlite or scoria to increase airflow and reduce water logging. Coarse sand can also be used but this is heavier than the other two products and can make the weight of the potting mix a lot heavier.

After this, you’ll want to make sure your fruit tree has plenty of available nutrients to grow and thrive. In pots, nature won’t naturally supply you with nutrients. Mix in compost, composted manures, blood and bone or other organic based fertilisers. Organic products are usually better than synthetic products, as they will naturally have lots of essential micronutrients, break down slowly, and improve soil structure. However, you can also add additional synthetic slow-release fertilisers as they are higher in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK).

Fruit trees usually like a slightly acidic soil. Some fruit trees, like blueberries, like it more acidic than most. Naturally, the ingredients you use to create the potting will be slightly acidic, but in case you’re finding your fruit tree isn’t thriving, test the soil with a PH tester kit.

If you find your PH is too low, you’ll want to add garden lime to raise the PH. If your PH is too high, you’ll want to add iron sulphate to lower the PH. Remember when adjusting soil PH, adding less is better than more. Just like baking a cake, you can always add more, but you can’t take away.

Best Store-Bought Potting Mix for Fruit Trees (Australia)

If you want to keep it nice and simple and buy the potting mix instead of mixing a batch up yourself, there are some great products out there that are ready to go for a wide range of fruit trees. There are just a couple of things to watch out for.

Make sure you’re buying a potting mix and not a soil mix. Soil mixes are for using when planting the fruit trees into the ground, make sure the soil your buying is labelled as a potting mix for fruit trees and citrus.

Some examples you’ll find on the shelves of your local garden centre are:

• Scotts Osmocote Citrus and Fruit Potting Mix
• Searles Fruit, Citrus and Rose
• Debco Citrus and Fruit Potting Mix
• Grow Better Fruit and Citrus Potting Mix

These will vary slightly in ingredients and fertilisers, but they have all been blended with the purpose of growing fruit trees in pots.

Avoid picking the cheapest potting mix to cut costs, as they use low-quality ingredients and fertilisers, and it will cost you more in the long run with trying to fix the issues caused by this.

Table for the Best Homemade Soil Mix for Different Types of Fruit Trees in Pots (Easy Recipe)

This table is listed in ‘parts’, this is so you can increase and decrease the quantities to how much potting mix you need. If you follow the ratios, it will be consistent.

A column for soil PH is included. If a plant requires a lower PH, I’ve recommended using peat moss as a base, as it’s naturally more acidic. If you can’t find peat moss, use coir or pine bark and add a soil acidifier like iron sulphate.

Fruit Tree	Peat Moss	Coir / Pine Bark	Perlite / Scoria / Coarse Sand	Compost / organic fertiliser	Soil PH	Comments
Citrus	1	3	1	1	6-6.5	Only Coir is fine
Apple	2	2	1	1	6-7	Add more drainage in tropical areas
Mango	1	3	2	1	6-6.5	Needs free draining soil
Fig	1	3	1	1	6-7.5	Tolerant to higher PH
Blueberry	2	1	1	1	4.5-5.5	Requires acidic soil
Cherry	2	2	1	1	6-7	Add more drainage in tropical areas
Avocado	1	3	2	1	6-7	Needs free draining soil
Banana	2	2	1	2	5.5-6.5	Requires heavy feeding
Mulberry	2	2	1	1	5.5-7	Tolerant to lower PH
Pomegranate	1	3	2	1	6-7	Drought tolerant

As you can see, the type of fruit tree you choose influences the soil you’ll need, so make sure you know which fruit tree you plan to grow in pots before selecting your ingredients.

How to Improve Drainage in Pots

Now that you’ve created the perfect free-draining soil mix, you need to make sure the pot itself doesn’t undo your hard work.

First, ensure the pot has adequate drainage holes. Most nursery pots and plastic pots will already have a lot of drainage holes. More decorative types can be a little less generous and drilling extra holes is worth it; but make sure to be careful and not damage your pot

Placing pots onto pot feet also improves drainage. Pot feet raise the base of the pot off the ground, which allows water to run out more freely from the pot. Saucers are not recommended as water will be constantly collecting at the base.

You must also make sure to choose the correct pot size for your fruit tree; a pot that’s too small will limit root space, causing dense root growth that reduces water flow and can even create pooling.

A small layer of drainage gravel at the base of the pot makes sure soil doesn’t compact and stop water from draining away. This is controversial, as gravel will raise the ‘perched water table’ keeping moisture closer to the roots.

How often should you change potting soil?

Potting mix doesn’t last forever, and after years it can lose a lot of its structure and quality. This is especially apparent with fruit trees as they are heavy feeders and demand a lot from there soils.

If your soil is feeling heavy and compacted, not draining well, water is pooling on the surface, or if you notice any signs that your tree could be slowing in growth and production due to the soil quality, you should repot your fruit tree.

You won’t need to repot your fruit tree yearly, but you should incorporate regular maintenance.

One common issue is under fertilising. When a plant is in a pot, it is completely reliant on you to give it all the food it needs. This means that once the fertilisers in the pot are depleted, you will need to replace them. It’s good practice to give a slow-release fertiliser 3 times a year:

• Early spring, before the weather warms up, so it has plenty of nutrition available once it comes out of winter dormancy.
• In late Spring / Early Summer, as it gets into its main growth cycle and fruit production.
• Mid to late summer, to keep it well fed into the end of the growth season.

Do not fertilise fruit trees over winter as they go dormant and the fertiliser will leach away before it can be used.

Potting soils can also get a lot of minerals and salts buildup from tap water. The rate at which it builds up will vary depending on local water supplies. To clear the salt and mineral buildup in your potting mix you leach the soil. This is a process where you get a very big watering can or hose and fully soak the plant, using roughly twice as much water as the size of the pot each watering. Repeat the process 2 to 3 times to make sure you’ve removed all the excess salts you can.

You can also prolong your potting mix’s health by ‘top dressing’ your pots once a year. This involves removing 1-2 inches of potting mix from the top of your pot and replacing it with new potting mix.

Common Soil Mistakes to Avoid

Here are 5 soil mistakes people make when potting fruit trees:

Using garden soil instead of potting mix

Garden soil will compact in pots causing issues.

Not enough drainage

Make sure both the pot has enough drainage and the potting mix drains well. Roots need oxygen and water.

Choosing the cheapest potting mix

Low quality potting mix use cheap ingredients, invest in a premium potting mix to avoid issues in the future.

Over-compacting the potting mix

Pressing down the potting mix with too much force can reduce soil aeration and drainage. The potting mix only needs to be pressed down lightly to remove air pockets.

Not enough fertilisers

Fruit trees are hungry plants; it takes a lot of energy to produce a juicy ripe fruit. Make sure you’re giving it enough of the right fertilisers to grow and thrive.

Frequently asked questions:

Is potting mix different from compost?

Yes, potting mix is a mixture of organic and non-organic matter mixed to create a soil to support a root structure. Compost is broken down organic matter, giving a very nutrient-rich and dense soil. This can be added to a potting mix, but it isn’t a potting mix on its own.

Can I reuse old potting mix?

It’s not recommended to reuse old potting mix, it will be depleted of nutrients, could have bacteria and pests and will have bad structure for roots. If you don’t want to throw it away, you can use it to raise a garden bed or fill holes in the lawn. Make sure it doesn’t have any pests or bacteria if doing this.

Can I use garden soil in pots?

No, garden soil compacts in containers and reduces drainage and aeration. Always use a potting mix for plants in pots.

Should I add additional fertilisers to my potting mix?

Yes, most premade potting mixes will come with fertilisers, but adding a smaller amount of extra fertiliser can be beneficial. After the initial fertilisers have depleted, you should always add more fertilisers to your pots.