Espalier design is an ancient pruning practice that fashions
fruit trees, vines or flowering shrubs into artistic, two-dimensional forms.
This lateral shaping makes it easier to harvest and mow, maximizes sunlight,
and helps trees fit into tight areas.
“It’s a great way to utilize growing space next to walls and
fences while adding ornamental interest,” said Harold Taylor, outdoor landscape
manager at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. “It is also used
for efficient use of garden space and as a method for creating outdoor rooms in
the landscape.”
To espalier a tree is to train it to grow flat against a
support of some kind — a wall, fence or wires, say. Support it with ties or
brackets, and prune it to grow sideways by selecting several strong branches
from separate levels and eliminating buds shooting toward the front or rear.
The horizontal survivors eventually will become the tree’s fruiting spurs.
A half-dozen or more classic, architectural espalier
profiles have evolved over time. Examples include the “Cordon,” with its
vertical trunk and multi-tiered horizontal branches; the self-descriptive
“Fan,” whose branches grow from the trunk at 45 degree angles; the
“Candelabra,” where vertical branches rise from a single low horizontal limb;
and the “Belgian” or “English Fence,” where espalier plants are linked in
lattice-like fashion to freestanding trellises. The latter often serve as
living fences to screen unattractive areas.
“Have patience, as it will take a couple growing seasons or
more for your espalier to start taking shape, and five to 10 years until at
peak form,” said Leonard Perry, a horticulture professor emeritus at University
of Vermont Extension, in a fact sheet.
“Fruit trees are one of the most widely used,” Taylor said
in an email.
That would include apple and pear trees, along with peaches,
pomegranates, figs, cherries, plums, nectarines and apricots.
Ornamental plants with long, flexible branching also make
good espalier candidates. Think camellias, holly, magnolia, bougainvillea,
climbing roses and a host of others.
Dwarf, semi-dwarf cultivars and young trees that haven’t
developed thick branching are easier to train than are standard-size,
open-canopy varieties. Young trees also are less expensive, while dwarf trees
are less likely to outgrow their shape if not pruned every year.
Espalier trees often are used in commercial orchards to
boost yields.
Espalier training usually is done in winter when plants are
dormant.
“Once a person overcomes the fear of making pruning
mistakes, it’s easy,” Moran said. “Cleaning up the prunings afterward is more
work than the pruning itself.”
