awakenedsoul and other tree growers: re Espalier

[catherine]

All of you guys who might grow fruit trees--do you have experience with espalier?

My BIL has a blank wall on the back of his house. His living area is actually 1.5 stories up in the rear, so windows are elevated and that leaves a nice space for espalier fruit trees. He has absolutely nothing in his back yard right now, so there's plenty of sun, BUT the back of the house is north facing (as is my house next door).

Do you have any advice? Have you ever done this? There's a nursery that specializes in espalier fruit trees on Long Island, so I may go to them for advice, but just would love to hear any experience here.

Since my permaculture course 3 years ago, I've tackled one piece of my permaculture site plan per year, and I've done the increased garden bed, the winter growing experiment/hoop house, the rain barrel, the no pesticide/herbicides on the lawn or garden, the herb/pollinator zen garden, and the compost bin.

Next year I'm tackling a fire pit, but I'm anxious to start encroaching on BILs empty yard (well, it is half DH's too, and I would, of course, get approval from BIL).

Any thoughts?

[iris lilies]

Espaliered fruit trees will produce very little when compared to conventional, 360 degrees trees. I'm having a bit of a hard time reconciling the description of this back of the house space as being a place "having plenty of sun" but also being "north facing."

Anyway, assuming there is room and sunshine, just plant regular trees.

DH set up the espaliered tree at our community garden. I can't remember what kind it is, but I also can't think of any time it produced fruit. It is in a lovely east-facing direction but on a brick building that gets super hot in the summertime and that doesn't serve it well.

DH has 4 columnar apple trees but they are ornamental, they have been useless at producing apples, even in last year's bumper crop producing weather.

These fancy shapes are not useful for real production, they are more along the lines of ornamental follies, interesting but not practical.

If you have your heart set on espalier, consider grapes. Growing them as heavily pruned espaliered plants is kinda/sorta how they are normally cultivated. Of course, you are pretty far north so I don't know if there are varieties that are successful there, but Cornel University breeds a fair number of northern-friendly grapes.

[Packy]

I've found out the hard way--trees are a pain. They are a liability. Trouble, with a capital "T". For gads sake, don't let them grow next to your house! Trees, are like mountain lions, armadillos, skunks, rattlesnakes, and so forth. Let them grow in the wild, where they belong. Not on your property. See? Hope that helps you some. Thankk Mee.

[catherine]

Thanks for the good advice, IL.. Since his back yard is completely empty, maybe I'll at least practice on a couple of semi-dwarf trees.

I may try grapes or something NE-friendly when we get around to building our pergola.

I guess you might say we are NorthEAST facing--so the morning sun comes up and shines pretty brightly in the back for several hours, especially since, as I mentioned, there is nothing planted in BILs yard, and we both abut a baseball field.

Packy, thanks for your input, too--but I'm definitely going to plant a tree or two this year… we'll see what happens. Hopefully no armadillos are in store for us in New Jersey.

[Gardenarian]

It's hard to say about the sunlight - shade is relative to the surrounding trees and buildings - there may be a good deal of reflected light, or it may be well sheltered and warm.

I agree that espaliered are work intensive for the amount of fruit, but it is a good option for small spaces. If there is room for some regular trees, that will certainly require less time and care.

I must disagree with Packy -I have found fruit trees to be the most reliable producers in my garden, and the lowest maintenance of any edibles. My choice is to plant full-sized trees, as they are hardier, have a much longer life span, and can be pruned to stay fairly small.

[awakenedsoul]

Hi catherine,
Sorry, I didn't see your post until today. I don't have experience with espaliered fruit trees. My approach has been to buy standard fruit trees and keep them trimmed to 10 feet tall or less. I buy Dave Wilson trees. Most of the professional fruit growers here in So. CA use his trees. They have an excellent website. You can google him. I used to grow dwarf trees, but I didn't get nearly enough fruit.

Good luck and hope it works out. I've heard that's a great way to grow apples...

[Rosemary]

I was considering espalier for a south-facing wall of our house until I realized it would be a real hassle next time I needed to paint the siding.

[catherine]

I was considering espalier for a south-facing wall of our house until I realized it would be a real hassle next time I needed to paint the siding.

Good point…

Thanks for your input, everyone. I think I'll skip the espalier… Maybe I'll just do one or two semi-dwarf trees and see how that turns out.

[Simplemind]

I have 6 apple and 6 pear trees. Looks like my experience has been different. We have had great success. I use them as a boundary running along our driveway and the neighbors yard. I know nothing about trimming but I whack everything off pretty close to the branch and that is all I do. Each tree has 6 branches and each branch is a different variety. Love, love, love them. I have a garage sale every year and they are a constant topic of conversation. They make a beautiful fence.
I also have super dwarf cherry trees that only grow 3-4 feet high that I keep in pots on the deck. I have columnar apples that I have to dig up and move back to pots because the deer keep eating the tops.

[Packy]

I grew a bunch of trees, like you kids. Now, I am harvesting them.

[Davidwd]

I have an espalier nectarine on a south wall, it produces really good fruit. Nectarines are quite difficult in the UK but espalier on a S wall is by far the best way as you get the heat from the wall. I have just put some pear and apples in to espalier along a fence, but you need the correct varieties, something to do with spur bearing varieties. But you should have a go espalier trees look fantastic. They were very popular in the 19th century in the UK and many country houses have espalier trees in their walled gardens.