Harvest time at the back fence
Create a mini-orchard with little more than patience and a pair of secateurs.
To grow a mini orchard in a compact space, train your fruit trees to spread over a wire trellis. Espaliering trees against exterior walls or fences can turn a barren space into a productive landscape. Two or more tiers of horizontal branches can be trained symmetrically on opposite sides of a single upright stem – an ancient art that’s both decorative and practical.
Espaliering may look hard to master, but it requires nothing more than patience and a few snips with the secateurs. It can take up to five years to create all your tiers – though less time with just a couple of tiers.
Some fruit trees adapt better to this technique than others. Apples and pears are traditionally used, as their branches are flexible and they fruit repeatedly on the same spurs. The intensive pruning directs energy away from vertical growth into the lateral fruit-bearing spurs, usually resulting in heavier yields than single specimen trees.
Quinces and figs are also good candidates for espalier training.
While stone fruit can be espaliered, these trees are best grown in a fan shape, as their more brittle wood is difficult to train horizontally. Avoid dwarf varieties too, as these compact trees will slow down the training process.
CREATE THE PATTERN
Decide on your desired espalier shape – a fan shape, a candelabra pattern, or a simple horizontal espalier.
Outline the pattern on the wall with a carpenter’s pencil (create two or three tiers spaced 30-50cm apart) and insert galvanised nails at regular intervals along the pattern outline. Alternatively, you can make a support frame by fixing horizontal wires to a fence using eyebolts. You can also create a freestanding living screen using posts. Run a thin galvanised high tensile wire between the nails or eyebolts.
If your wall has weatherboards, don’t grow an espalier fruit tree right against it. It will trap moisture and cause the wood to rot. Place a trellis a few centimetres away from the wall and train the espalier on it, to allow for air circulation between the fruit tree and wood exterior wall.
PLANT THE FRUIT TREE
Choose a healthy tree, then dig the planting hole at the centre of the espalier pattern grid, 30cm away from your wall, trellis or fence. Dig the hole twice as wide and twice as deep as the root ball, and add about 15cm of compost to the bottom of the planting hole.
The fruit tree needs to be planted at the same height it was in the pot. Place the tree in the planting hole, adding more compost if needed to get the plant to the right height (level with the ground surface), then back fill the planting hole with the removed soil. Firm the soil to ensure all roots are in contact with the soil, and water in well.
TRAIN THE FRUIT TREE
Use twist ties or small pieces of pantyhose to secure the main tree trunk to the centre of the espalier pattern. Prune to the height you want your first tier (just above the first wire) and where there are several strong buds just below the cut (these will form your side branches).
As the side branches grow, gently secure them on either side of the espalier pattern. Prune off any excess tree limbs, pruning the tree as needed to maintain the espalier shape. Remove all forming fruit in the first year to divert the plant’s energies into growth.
In the second winter, cut back the central vertical shoot to just above the next wire on the support frame. Choose a bud at this height that has two more buds beneath on opposite sides so you can repeat the process. Remove excess shoots above and below the first tier of branches.
Repeat the next winter until you’ve achieved the desired number of tiers. Each summer, trim back any unwanted side shoots to three leaves.
When pruning a fruit tree, keep in mind that spring and winter pruning stimulates growth, and summer pruning restricts growth. To keep an espaliered fruit tree tidy and have it produce flowers and seasonal fruit, prune the new, soft growth off in mid-summer.
With a little patience, you can train a fruit tree to be both visually appealing and productive.
sweetlivingmagazine.co.nz.