Stabilizing buckets?

[don_sanders]

Came home today to my three fruit bearing fig trees toppled over by the wind and lying on the ground :-(

Couple of figs were knocked off but I haven't seen any real damage yet.

So what do you guys growing in buckets or similar containers do to stabilize your trees?

[COGardener]

Some drive stakes into the ground to make a line, stretch a cable between the stakes then secure the containers to the cable.

[don_sanders]

That's a good idea.

I should have mentioned they are on the driveway though. What about on in a driveway or deck?

[cjmach1973]

You could try building a raised wooden bed, set the buckets in, and fill with either a bark mulch or stone to help stabilize the pots

[COGardener]

Even a simple 2 X 4 frame with stabilizers.

[jkuo]

I had a few of my trees topple over in the wind more several times this year. Next season I'll try to partially bury mine in the ground. On pavement, I wonder if you could stabilize a pot by putting cinder blocks around it and then strapping the cinder blocks together. It'd be a quick and dirty way to make a buttress and lower the center of mass.

[don_sanders]

Good ideas. My first thought was old tires which quickly got a "No, please no. That is just straight up ghetto". Hehe

[Hershell]

Ghetto Figs taste better, don't they?

[chuckell]

Came home today to my three fruit bearing fig trees toppled over by the wind and lying on the ground :-(

Couple of figs were knocked off but I haven't seen any real damage yet.

So what do you guys growing in buckets or similar containers do to stabilize your trees?

i use the 2' long pieces of rebar sold at lowe's or homedepot or other builder supply stores,it's cheap and drive in one per bucket beside bucket, tie rope or string or wire around bucket and post,works well,

[chuckell]

That's a good idea.

I should have mentioned they are on the driveway though. What about on in a driveway or deck?

you can drive rebar in on edge of driveway it makes only a small hole ,should work,and rebar can be small diameter it doesn't take much to hold buckets. and rebar will outlast us i use mine year after year

[eboone]

Good reason for us growing in buckets to keep them pruned a little lower than normal.

[WillsC]

Don,

Full length of rebar run across the top of all the pots one on each side of the pot then at the ends of the rebar have a couple of cement blocks tied to the rebar.