Hiya Karim. Thanks for another enjoyable and very informative video. I’ve definitely got the fruit tree bug since I bought my first dwarf trees in spring of ‘23, and as my garden isn’t huge I’ve gone down the route of training my trees as espaliers. Because I hadn’t had time to get the espalier frames up I had to get my trees in the ground first, which is all a bit backwards to common advice. This resulted in some trees being moved or in a few cases , replaced. This was the case with the pear which I replanted in a pot. Subsequently the lower tiers were too high ( 1 metre) and I wanted another tier below , so this spring I grafted scions from the same plant 30cm down ( no visible buds to encourage). Fortunately both grafts took and are growing well, in fact they’re almost as long as the tier above which is great. The leader is continuing to grow and I’ve cut it just above the next wire with two leafing buds below which will be trained along it. I know it’s not conventional practice but it proves that there’s more than one way to skin a cat as the old saying goes. 😅 Thanks again Karim, keep the videos coming. Cheers Rich
Hi Karim, thanks for talking time to make this video. There is so much great / new information on espalier training here. I'm sure I'll replay a few times ! One question ... what in your experience is the most productive form of trained apple tree for a given space ? For example does a goblet or candelabra form produce more apples than a traditional espalier ?
I would think it would be similar, it depends on how much spurring you allow to happen. If you leave space for more informal spurs between your rigid framework you will have more fruit.
I had to retrofit a non espalier tree to an espalier will that work? It's the second year and I got it to shape but now I fear they might not grow well on the lower tiers. It's actually not a fruit bearing pear espalier and the purpose is for it to become a wide green screen that needs to hide a neighbour's shed. I'm not sure if I then need to cut the branches that go up from the bended branches or just leave them. Some grew so much they're covering 2 levels.
It depends, if the lower tiers are strong enough they will continue to grow. If you find they are not growing enough and you need them to grow you will have to cut the leader back to just above them so that they get going again.
I’ve done exactly the same thing, and I’ve managed to get a very symmetrical, evenly spaced , four tiered espalier apple tree and it’s only taken 1 year to achieve the results. It does however take quite a bit of attention to train the lateral branches, encouraging less vigorous lower ones by growing at a 45° (ish) and discouraging more vigorous higher branches by laying more horizontally. It does depend though on the original tree, if it’s got lots of branches to pick as your laterals you can get good results much earlier than a traditionally trained espalier. There again I may have been very lucky to get away with it ! 😂
Hiya Karim. Thanks for another enjoyable and very informative video. I’ve definitely got the fruit tree bug since I bought my first dwarf trees in spring of ‘23, and as my garden isn’t huge I’ve gone down the route of training my trees as espaliers. Because I hadn’t had time to get the espalier frames up I had to get my trees in the ground first, which is all a bit backwards to common advice. This resulted in some trees being moved or in a few cases , replaced. This was the case with the pear which I replanted in a pot.
Subsequently the lower tiers were too high ( 1 metre) and I wanted another tier below , so this spring I grafted scions from the same plant 30cm down ( no visible buds to encourage). Fortunately both grafts took and are growing well, in fact they’re almost as long as the tier above which is great. The leader is continuing to grow and I’ve cut it just above the next wire with two leafing buds below which will be trained along it.
I know it’s not conventional practice but it proves that there’s more than one way to skin a cat as the old saying goes. 😅
Thanks again Karim, keep the videos coming.
Cheers
Rich
Oh yeah, that is another way of doing it, I hope the tree diverts enough resources to enable your grafted branches to grow well
Hi Karim, thanks for talking time to make this video. There is so much great / new information on espalier training here. I'm sure I'll replay a few times ! One question ... what in your experience is the most productive form of trained apple tree for a given space ? For example does a goblet or candelabra form produce more apples than a traditional espalier ?
I would think it would be similar, it depends on how much spurring you allow to happen. If you leave space for more informal spurs between your rigid framework you will have more fruit.
I had to retrofit a non espalier tree to an espalier will that work? It's the second year and I got it to shape but now I fear they might not grow well on the lower tiers.
It's actually not a fruit bearing pear espalier and the purpose is for it to become a wide green screen that needs to hide a neighbour's shed.
I'm not sure if I then need to cut the branches that go up from the bended branches or just leave them. Some grew so much they're covering 2 levels.
It depends, if the lower tiers are strong enough they will continue to grow. If you find they are not growing enough and you need them to grow you will have to cut the leader back to just above them so that they get going again.
I’ve done exactly the same thing, and I’ve managed to get a very symmetrical, evenly spaced , four tiered espalier apple tree and it’s only taken 1 year to achieve the results. It does however take quite a bit of attention to train the lateral branches, encouraging less vigorous lower ones by growing at a 45° (ish) and discouraging more vigorous higher branches by laying more horizontally. It does depend though on the original tree, if it’s got lots of branches to pick as your laterals you can get good results much earlier than a traditionally trained espalier. There again I may have been very lucky to get away with it ! 😂