Espalier Apple Tree How to Plant and Trellis for Small Space Gardens
Espalier Apple Tree How to Plant and Trellis for Small Space Gardens
Espalier is an ancient method of shaping a woody plant to fit certain spaces. Traditionally these are fruit producing trees and they are shaped using trellis and support to fit into a two dimensional space. It is a great method to fit fruiting trees in small spaces such as against a building or fence.
Apples require two varieties to cross pollinate each other. Often it is sufficient to have an apple tree in the neighborhood. In my case there is more than one variety of apples on the same tree. This is done through a process called grafting, where a bud or scion from your desired fruit is attached or grafted to another tree.
Grafting is most commonly done with different varieties of the same crop however it can be done with plants of the same family. For instance I have successfully grafted a pear scion to an apple tree. Unfortunately your chances for success are low if you are crossing fruit tree families like stone fruits with apples or pears.
Espalier fruit trees are becoming more and more common to the point where I found mine at a local big box store and it has two of my wife’s favourite eating apple varieties. You can do it on your own as well using pruning and training methods. If you start from a juvenile plant it will take a few years to train and during that time fruit production will be low.
When planting an espalier tree you will need to think about sun exposure and the supports the tree will need over time. Most fruit trees are require full sun. Make sure to select an area you can support the tree and that gets more than 6-8 hours of direct sunlight in the summer.
Usually in store they are unsupported however when the plant has a crop on it and gets larger you will want and need that support to prevent damage and continue to train the shape.
I will be planting the tree just over 30cm or 12 inches from the fence as I will be extending the trellis that far out from the fence to provide the plant room to grow and easy airflow.
When planting perennials it is important to give them a good home. In my hard clay I will dig the hole 1.5x – 2x larger than the container diameter and 1.5x deeper. This will give us space to add lose compost that will allow the plant to push roots while providing it nutrients until it is established.
I usually fill the remainder of the hole with compost however you can mix in your native soil if you do not have enough compost.
It is important that the trellis supports match the existing branch levels. In order to do this I will build the trellis after I have dug the hole but before I finish planting the tree. Dry fitting the tree in the hole will help me set the heights for the supports and leaving the hole open allows us to make final adjustments.
I start by attaching two 2”x6” 10 feet apart vertically on the fence. Making sure they are level before attaching them. I use one screw in top and one on bottom to allow for adjustments.
Check us out on
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/stephenlegaree14
Webpage: www.albertaurbangarden.ca
Google +: google.com/+StephenLegaree
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlbertaUrbanGarden
Twitter: https://twitter.com/northern1485
Pintrest: http://www.pinterest.com/ABurbanGarden/
Great video Stephen. I am very interested in espalier fruit trees as I have a small yard and cant afford the shade casted by large "free" growing trees. Do you think the type of rootstock is important for this type of application? I would assume a dwarf or semi-dwarf tree would work better for staying compact and more manageable. Thanks for the video and congrats on the new tree.
Good video.
Nice video! Can you please let me know where did you find your apple tree? I also live in Alberta 😊
Check woodprix mates. I love it to my wooden projects.
Cool idea, Stephen!
Well done! That was a very concise and informative video!
Due to the extreme flood seasons I encounter in my area, I have been planting my trees in exclusively native soil on a mound, and putting all compost ontop of the hole like a layer of mulch. I find that when I use soft fluffy soil with lots of organic matter, water sits inside the hole that I dug to plant the tree because the soil has more space for water in that hole. This problem is a big issue with gardeners in my area, and I’m sure for many others out there.
This video is so informative and helpful. I really appreciate the details you included. I hope the best for you!
I have been trying to say that you as a slim man, may have ruptures. Please have a surgeon tellyou what you need repaired before you are too old.. they will not help after certain age.. then we suffer our old age.. because it just gets worse.. and get disabled.God bless. thanks for the video.. mary
Great video as always. I like the idea of coated wire. I’m going to use that. I’d be interested about your thoughts on amending the soil in the planting hole. I’ve heard other organic gardeners say that this can lead to the roots remaining in the planting hole, since the prefer the better soil, and eventually girdling themselves. I have no experience with this so I’m trying to see what others think. Thanks again.
Thank you for the great video. I have been planning to start espalier trees when I landscape the yard.
very interesting vid
Awesome video, can’t wait to try it!!!
Love this video, thanks for sharing what you know with us.
I live in townhouse setting and there is no room for planting, but I love gardening and this video makes it a possibility for me.
How is this tree looking now in 2020?
~ How far away from the fence do you have to plant the apple espalier tree??
Have you made any follow up videos or blogs, on how to prune this tree, or how you’ve trained it over the years? I would be very interested to see how it is doing now. Thank you.
I have a well protected courtyard that faces south and has walls on west and east side, and like you found the apple and a pear tree at Home Depot, cant wait to see how they develop and grow. the Pear tree is going great and will DEF have to be pruned this spring. as for the apple will see how it does over the winter and what it does come spring. So glad someone who knows what he is doing has espalier trees and I can see just how yours are doing.
Very food🇷🇴
so your tree will always be the height it is now?
A good and helpful video as always Stephen. I have a question. I made fresh Brussel sprouts and added honey while cooking instead of after. Without thinking I threw the extra on the compost pile and mixed it in. My husband says the whole pile is now ruined. Is it? Do I have to turn in my green thumb?
Are you in Calgary? If so, do you know of a nursery where I can find honey crisp grown with this method?
Berry good I’m from India sir i One a question asian and eouropeany apple what is Different
Can you do an update please
*Granny smith apples 🍏? Im growing about 13 of them from seeds?*
I have one of those "4 in 1 trees" too, which I planted last summer. It’s not espalier and only one of the grafts has fruited, I think because of a late frost. It has 12 apples and with a little luck the deer won’t discover them before they’re ripe enough to be picked. They did a little "pruning" for me last autumn so I’m happy to have any apples. As long as they don’t kill the trees, I don’t mind if they do get the apples. This omnivore likes venison, so I’ll get my apples one way or another. 😉
Good luck with your tree and thanks for sharing this informative video.
Thank you for your informative videos. I havve three year trees, with polinater, no flowers as of yet, Why?. and can you assist me in how to properly prune them, they seem to thick to me. Thank you, Sincerely Rick.
Can you espalier a gala apple tree, grown from seed, close to a house foundation? Will the roots become invasive to the foundation?
Very nice espalier apple tree and trellis, Stephen!
Very nice work my friend and Honeycrisp apples are my favorite 🙂
Great work with grafting on the Apple tree and a very nice Trellis Stephen
do you have to put then on wires
Thanks for this, Stephen ! I’ve book marked it for future reference 😊
Short and very informative, thanks.
Hi Stephen, in the video you mention using costed wire. Do you mean just a solid coated electrical wire?
Wont the tree grow taller and cause you to have to reposition your supports? Is that incorrect, or is that just part of training your tree in the style of Espalier?
Stephen, thank you the detailed steps. You did an amazing job and make it look very doable for others like me! I also appreciate your last tip about container growing of espalier tree with bamboo supports. Thank you for taking the time to share with us!
Was that tree hardy for your zone area? Home depot sells leftover product from BC in the prairies. Unless you are in Lethbridge Spartan and Honeycrisp have little chance of survival.
Great method for saving space I am doing this with our trees too.
Great explanation of how to do it.
Is there ever a time you can remove the supports?
I don’t really have a place to trellis this type of tree, does it need a trellis? Also, can you graft onto it to make it a full tree? These may seem like odd questions, but I saw one of these at a local store. Love the variety of apples, but don’t really want a flat looking tree.
Great video Stephan, I liked the espalier you built for the apple tree and noticed you mentioned putting in a grapevine. I’ll check your videos to see how you did that as I recently purchased a grapevine myself. Thanks for showing such a detailed installation. Kim
Thanks for the info Stephen, I just wish I had room here at home for a tree, but we will try to increase Craig’s orchard stock.
Cheers
Harold
What a great video ♡ love the shape ♡ you make it look so easy lol ! Happy growing
Thank you Stephen, very helpful, precise instructions. I should think yours has come along quite a lot since?
Excellent how-to-video. The info about grafted fruits was a bonus. We might do this with peach trees as they grow better in our hardiness zone than apples.
Thanks for the video! I’m from the Edmonton area. You mentioned that you bought your espalier trees at a local big box store. Where did you find them and have you seen them at any of the other local stores? Also, is your tree a dwarf variety? Thanks for any advice. Love all the helpful videos.
I planted two lovely dwarf pear trees last year, and my new dog chewed off the leader. I’m wondering if it’s worth trying to espalier them?
Use a square hole, the roots will love you a lot more
Honey Crisp – wow, had no idea you could grow them that far north. Great video again!
Cheers for the great video. Can espalier trees be transplanted?