Bend and shape your trees for perfectly ripe fruit
Training trees, especially fruit trees, into narrow flat shapes is known as espaliering. This is done by bending and tying branches into a rigid framework of parallel, horizontal tiers spreading out from a central trunk.
Each branch or tier is called a cordon.
The shape is maintained by pruning hard, usually twice a year – once in summer to reduce the vigour, then in autumn or winter to form the shape and encourage growth in the desired places.
The technique of forming espaliers was developed as a way to ripen fruit flat against heatretaining walls. To protect fruit trees from blossom-damaging frosts in spring, they were sometimes cultivated inside greenhouses.
The most popular shape for espaliering today is three horizontal tiers but fan shapes suit stone fruit as their wood is more brittle and is therefore more difficult to bend horizontally.
Others can be bent over arches, onto goblet-shaped frames, or planted to form walls and hedges. Almost any type of fruit tree can be successfully espaliered. But look for fruit trees grafted on to vigorous rootstock (pears on quince rootstock, for example, rather than dwarf varieties) as the pruning process is severe.
Try apples, figs, plums, cherries, peaches, pears, quinces, nectarines and apricots. Berries can also be espaliered to control their size.
For a standard horizontal espalier, start with a one-yearold fruit tree with a straight central stem. While dormant cut the top off leaving just 3-5 buds at
about the 50 centimetre mark.
When it sprouts in spring, train one shoot to the left, one shoot to the right, and the other up the middle at 45 degrees. Tie with rubber strips or flexible ties.
Bending the branches horizontally too soon means they could snap off (which is why it’s a good idea to leave a couple of extra buds in the first year). Wait until next winter to train them horizontally, and repeat the process to start your second row.
The technique of forming espaliers was developed as a way to ripen fruit flat against heat-retaining walls.