How to Train an Espalier Fruit Tree!

[@jodalry]

Thanks Laura for a lovely video. I’m about to embark on growing espalier fruit trees for the first time and just needed exactly the advice you provided. Greetings from the village of Roslin in Midlothian, Scotland. 😀👍🏻

[@ritajames7797]

Thank you Laura for your nice clear introduction to espalier fruit tree training. Just what I needed in time to look after my new fruit trees which I am looking forward to planting in the near future. Wishing you continuing success and joy in your garden.

[@JS-mh1fh]

Looking forward to seeing how to prune the espalier, especially for summer pruning. Thanks for these videos, they're really helpful!

[@lsieu]

In seriously considering landscaping with espalier'd fruit trees. I appreciate this video! Very helpful!

[@darrinhall5265]

Laura, Thank you so much for this very informative video on espalier. I just ordered an Evereste crabapple and am looking so forward to planting it. Thanks again!

[@cdinaz]

getting all of the supplies to run an espalier in my yard. Lots of boxes to check so the wife will sign off on the project - she wants structure and I want a food forest so this is where all of both our conditions get met. U posts, airplane cabling, a dozen fig trees ... and we're off.

[@liza-gu6zp]

Hopefully we get some dry days soon! Need to prune my espaliers and would love to see your method -

[@SkylinersYeti]

The plastic ties are common in the nursery industry. I prefer to use jute bailing twine, It will rot away after a season of training, I have seen where branches or trucks of trees have grown around the plastic ties if they are not maintained over time. That an cause damage to the tree.

[@johncordova9740]

Hello .I have trees liked that. But the button branches don't grow as big as the top how can I correct that. I also see in the video the top one are more bigorus then the button ones.

[@debbies2966]

I started espliering five apple trees this year. Three trees only grew one branch for the first level. My question is should I wait till next year and hope they grow a second branch or should I cut them back again to grow the two lower branches. Thank you.

[@seacube3]

I am planning to try this.

[@allanpennington]

My apples and pear espalier are in their first spring/summer after planting them in late winter. I have been training two horizontal first tiers as they grow and leaving a central leader. The first tier is growing well. Its now mid summer. I have some branch growth coming off the two trained laterals and some off the central leader. Should I be summer pruning in the first year on my first tier laterals? Is mid summer too late for that? I have one pear which has produced a few laterals off the central leader at a tier two height. Should I train those now or is it best to cut the central leader back in winter to start the next tier from fresh? Thanks

[@smeshfactory3992]

Any new videos on this topic?

[@mollytiong8174]

Can you grow custard apple as espalier tree, please?

[@yelenamcculloch7934]

Is it ok to graft the trees while they are blooming or should I wait until they are done? Thank you!

[@atzerv]

I have some pear trees which all branches go strait up. Can I try now (December. based in Canada) to bend them and train them for espalier form like yours? What do you recommend?

[@RaintreeNursery]

You could just train them out to have better crotch angles and it would be fine.

[@georgetw5134]

I've got a 2 yr old 2 foot tall CCrisp tree that I started from a seed that had sprouted inside my store bought apple. Would this technique work for it or does it need to be grafted onto a particular rootstock for espalier life?

[@RaintreeNursery]

Yes, you can espalier that tree this way. It will not be budded on exactly opposite sides and may take more pruning to get in shape, but that is how it used to be done!

[@janice6041]

I wonder what variety of trees are suitable for espalier. Bartlett pears? Keifer pears? Apples? What should a beginner try?

[@laurasweany7635]

Any kind of tree that is not tip-bearing will work for espalier. Quince, for example, is not a good choice. Some apples are also tip-bearing, so simply confirm your preferred variety is not a tip-bearer, and you'll be good to go!