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Fruit growing - just like in the South
Do you have only a small property and would really like to harvest fruit? Or
are you keen to grow a particularly delicious apple species, which you
remember from your grandfather's garden, and which is not available
commercially? In both cases, espaliers offer the answer, as they are grown
along the house or a wall.
How come that espalier fruit grows so well? Because a sunny wall creates
conditions which usually occur in the warmer southern climates only. A wall
provides protection from the wind, hence the accumulated warm air is
retained, which in turn benefits the plants. Many fruit species love these
conditions, provided that they are also watered regularly.
If you intend to grow winter-bearing fruit espaliers, you will also need to
provide adequate storage facilities and conditions!
Position and Aspect Requirements for Espalier Fruit
Generally, grapevines, pears and peaches love full sun exposure, even during
midday, hence they need to be planted along south- to west-facing walls.
However, apples, cherries, plums and apricots do not like to be "cooked to
maturity" in this way. They quickly loose their aroma and characteristic
fruit acid. Furthermore, apricots will flower too early and then risk being
affected by late frosts. Therefore, a semi-shaded position along a house
wall is usually sufficient. However, less fussy summer pears and cherries
even thrive on shady north walls. In summary, the following classic fruit
species can be cultivated along walls and have been listed in decreasing
order of their requirements for
position: late
Grapevines,
(late) winter pears, late winter apples, peaches, late autumn pears, winter
apples, early grapevines, plums, early autumn pears, autumn pears, apricots,
summer pears, sweet cherries, summer apples, morello cherries.
Pears as Wall-Fruit
At higher altitudes and in regions where usually no pears grow, espalier
cultivation offers the enthusiast a possibility - apart from cultivation in
a plastics tent or glasshouse - to grow less demanding species. In fruit and
wine-growing regions, excellent pears for storage can be cultivated on
espaliers, which usually grow only in southern lands and are not even
commercially available.
Pear espaliers used to be shaped in many tiers of strictly angular,
geometric forms, so-called "palmettes." The young shoots are easily trained
into simple forms. However, the training of a pear espalier is complex and
takes years, hence is not often described today. We recommend that the
interested enthusiast consult old gardening books. Nowadays, the free fan
espaliers are more trendy / contemporary because they require much less
maintenance.
For the purpose of pollination, it is essential that there are other,
simultaneously flowering pollinator species in the vicinity, ie within a
distance of up to approx. 200m. Gardening books and tips describe the right
pollinator species ("pollen donor") for every pear species. This is a
particularly important issue especially outside fruit-growing regions.
Furthermore - and possibly making this even more difficult - is the fact
that one species of espalier pear may be flowering earlier than its intended
pollen donor in free cultivation, which means that the desired
synchronisation of flowering times may not occur at all. To avoid such
risks, it is definitely recommended to have several varieties of pear
species in the neighbourhood rather than just the one species.
Just as important is the art of pruning, which may differ from one species
to the other. Some very good old books and tips on fruit species (e.g. Pear
species / Apple species by Herbert Petzold, for the area of previous East
Germany) describe precisely on which kind of wood a specific species bears
fruit and how it will need to be pruned.
When buying plants, one has to ensure that the future espalier pear is
grafted as "espalier shrub" or "spindle" with the appropriate certificate.
You can either buy plants already trained onto small espaliers, or
mail-order from specialised tree nurseries. Many nurseries even offer
espalier pears with double grafts which ensure pollination. The same applies
for apples. Saving money when buying fruit espaliers is not worth it and
will take its revenge!
In urban residential areas, where ornamental juniper is grown, there is a
strong possibility that pear espaliers will be affected by the juniper-pear
rust, a fungus which uses juniper plants as an intermediate host. It will
reduce the affected leaves' ability to assimilate, however it will not
affect the fruit. Nevertheless, from an aesthetic perspective this often
means the death sentence for the pear espalier... Espalier pears are
definitely a challenge for the enthusiast!
Peaches as fruit espaliers
These are not as easy to train into angular shapes, hence they are grown and
attached to the supports in a more freely growing fan shape. Often the
shrubs are simply planted in front of a warming wall, without any support.
They should be selected with their time of ripening in mind, as follows:
grown as wall espaliers the fruit ripens approx. 2-3 weeks earlier than the
same species in free cultivation, which is important to know and keep in
mind, otherwise the fruit may rot just while you are away on holidays....
Apples as espalier trees
Most apple species grown as wall espaliers are not necessarily developing
better fruit than the ones grown in free cultivation, however if space is an
issue, they are easy to cultivate along the house. Very special espalier
apple species are available, which bear fruit that once upon a time were an
expensive treat and in great demand, such as the "White Winter Calvill."
Surely, one can grow especially beautiful and large apples on espaliers,
provided their ripening process is regularly checked and the number of fruit
forming on the tree is being reduced.
In general though, cultivation for apples is more or less the same as for
pears, as discussed above. Unfortunately, many of the old apple species are
unsuitable for espaliers due to their susceptibility to mildew, especially
if spraying with herbicides is undesirable. As an alternative, we recommend
to investigate the new RE-species from Pillnitz/Dresden, which are resistant
to multiple diseases.
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Espaliered pear
Old wall-espalier orchard in
Potsdam / Brandenburg
Espalier fruit
along walls in orchard
Flowering espaliered tree,
historical image
Newly established apple
espalier in Moritzburg / Sachsen
Wintry, lofty
pear espalier in Middle Swabia, historical photograph
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