Espalier Trained Fruit Trees.

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TeeDee

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Nov 6, 2008
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I have a long boundary edge that would allow the planting of a few Fruit Trees but planted in a Trained Espalier style.

My question is , do certain Fruit species benefit or produce more from being trained in a forced Espalier way or rather do some species suffer from being trained?

Or does it quite literally make no difference at all?

I'm not too sure what to go for yet but I'm thinking of something less conventional than Apples & Pears.

Thank You.
 

Toddy

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Jan 21, 2005
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If you do it right, and they have both enough water and light, that last bit matters a lot because you're cutting down on the amount of branch spread they can have, then they do very well I find.
Make sure you get something suitable though, dwarf is really a good idea on these.
Plums are excellent :) apples and pears are easy this way too. I know you asked for something else though.
I'm told (by an Italian friend) that oranges and lemons do well, and if you can grow peaches and apricots then they can be excellent...why they grew well in the old cold glass houses.
 
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TeeDee

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If you do it right, and they have both enough water and light, that last bit matters a lot because you're cutting down on the amount of branch spread they can have, then they do very well I find.
Make sure you get something suitable though, dwarf is really a good idea on these.
Plums are excellent :) apples and pears are easy this way too. I know you asked for something else though.
I'm told (by an Italian friend) that oranges and lemons do well, and if you can grow peaches and apricots then they can be excellent...why they grew well in the old cold glass houses.

Thanks Toddy .

Yes was thinking of Plums. Apples tend to be super cheap to purchase and I don't tend to eat that many Pears.

I may well consider Lemons as I do use the fruit in a lot of cooking and drinks.

They would be planted alongside a small water course so water shouldn't be an issue and I think they will get enough Sun.

Is there a point of diminishing returns in terms length of trainable growth to produce? I mean I could plant a single tree and plant it laterally but would I be able to train it to 50ft either side of the main trunk and would it actually produce as much as having Three smaller trees in the same area?


EDIT - I meant to say , the supermarket less than a mile away has Gage , Medlar , Peach trees growing in the car park ( although the benefit from having brick walls behind acting as Thermal Mass ) - So my thinking is if its possible there , it should be possible here.
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
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Cumbria
I have a back yard that is a sun trap in early season good weather. A few hot summers when I first moved in got me thinking if espalier fruit trees. Positively sweltering in the yard at times.

Being tarmac it would have been container grown so I decided against it. I'm not always there to water in the summer. Water is so important as well as light.

My grandad had an apricot bush which fruits once. He lived in Southampton so got the best of UK weather. Just didn't get enough to fruit. Whatever it missed I've no idea.
 
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Toddy

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I liked the espalier plum, but it was a lot of fuss to keep it in order. They 'want' to grow out, they don't really want to be 2D, if I make myself clear ?

There's also their roots to consider, especially at a boundary. You haven't said if it's a fence or a wall or open. I'm presuming it's a fence, because a wall shades as well as protects and you didn't mention. Thing about a fence is that it has two sides, and you'd need to prune both, and if the other side is the one that gets most light, that's the side the tree will try to grow to.

On the whole, best agin a wall or a solid fence. On an open fence you can get a much better crop because even though the tree is trained along it, both sides will get light, even if one does better than the other, but your wires/stakes have to take the weight of the branches to keep them trained straight. Once established they're fairly stable, but they'll always try to reach for the light and the bigger the tree, the more quickly it'll grow.
I think I preferred the fan shape rather than sideways espalier.

You might find it easier just to plant fruit trees that have been grafted onto very dwarf stock. There are some truly excellent varieties around nowadays, and with the internet for searches it's a lot easier to see what's available and ask questions of the Growers.

A 4m tree doesn't sound that high. Yesterday I picked a crate of apples of my wee tree...it's not quite 4m, and trust me on this, it's too high to pick easily unless you have, and can use (my shoulders, elbows and wrists ache today) one of the fruit picker poles with the net bag on the end.
If I ever grow another I'd aim for no more than 3m at the very most.

Sorry @TeeDee I don't think I'm being of much help. I think this is maybe more of a question for folks like BR. I have a small garden really, it's just rather packed :)
 
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TeeDee

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I liked the espalier plum, but it was a lot of fuss to keep it in order. They 'want' to grow out, they don't really want to be 2D, if I make myself clear ?

There's also their roots to consider, especially at a boundary. You haven't said if it's a fence or a wall or open. I'm presuming it's a fence, because a wall shades as well as protects and you didn't mention. Thing about a fence is that it has two sides, and you'd need to prune both, and if the other side is the one that gets most light, that's the side the tree will try to grow to.

On the whole, best agin a wall or a solid fence. On an open fence you can get a much better crop because even though the tree is trained along it, both sides will get light, even if one does better than the other, but your wires/stakes have to take the weight of the branches to keep them trained straight. Once established they're fairly stable, but they'll always try to reach for the light and the bigger the tree, the more quickly it'll grow.
I think I preferred the fan shape rather than sideways espalier.

You might find it easier just to plant fruit trees that have been grafted onto very dwarf stock. There are some truly excellent varieties around nowadays, and with the internet for searches it's a lot easier to see what's available and ask questions of the Growers.

A 4m tree doesn't sound that high. Yesterday I picked a crate of apples of my wee tree...it's not quite 4m, and trust me on this, it's too high to pick easily unless you have, and can use (my shoulders, elbows and wrists ache today) one of the fruit picker poles with the net bag on the end.
If I ever grow another I'd aim for no more than 3m at the very most.

Sorry @TeeDee I don't think I'm being of much help. I think this is maybe more of a question for folks like BR. I have a small garden really, it's just rather packed :)



Its would be for a boundary edge that is the edge of a Lawn that runs alongside a long straight stream. The stream is in a Gully some 3/4 ft below the Lawn edge. So maintenance would be easy to do from both sides as long as I've my wellies on.

One of the reasons is I want the root structure to help stabilise the bank ( where lawn meets stream ) as winter water flow can be fairly strong and eat into the bank.

A natural fruit producing hedge line is an added bonus.
 
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Toddy

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You mean to make a fence 'of' the espaliers ? :)
Sounds good :)
Watch the height, if they're at all shaded, they'll really try to reach.

Not sure if these roots would be the ideal thing to stablise though. Plums don't like sitting really wet (why mine don't thrive well) and dwarf trees really need free draining, especially in Winter. They suffer if their roots get waterlogged too long.
You might be better to look at trees that are naturally happy at the waters edge. They do stabilise the soil because otherwise they'd be washed away themselves. Not sure what fruit trees would do there though.

Sometimes you can only try it and see.

M
 
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Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
I think I read that some fruits do better with the arms diagonal and others cope with horizontal better. That's fan grown for some, espalier for others.

I was walking by a stream at the edge of derwent water recently and they'd put in boardwalk but at the side on the stream bank they'd poked sticks into the ground. I noticed some had been there longer as they had grown into a little tree. I reckon they're a type of willow. I know people use sticks of willow stuck into dodgy earth banks to stabilise. Willow grows readily from cut sticks I believe. First read about it in the ICE journal 20 years ago or more ago. Apparently very successful on road construction sites to get a quick, natural stabilisation.
 
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slowworm

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May 8, 2008
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Devon
I would think Lemons wouldn't survive a UK winter outside wherever you are. The don't like cold and wet.

I would still look at apples, but a very early ripening variety that never seems to taste very good from a shop as they taste best straight off the tree. Or a variety that's hard to find in a supermarket such as Pitmaston Pineapple.
 

Woody girl

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I know you probably don't want a hedge as you want access to the stream. But I would be planting a few willows to stabilise the bank. It grows quickly and has many uses such as firewood weaving and carving etc. I'd also be planting things like damson and hazel nuts. Have a look at native fruiting trees and plant those to make a fruiting hedge with some gaps to be able to access the stream.
Probably not what you want but that's what I would do myself.
 

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