espalier apple tree

[HiDelight]

Sadly there is no hope for my apple tree and besides it honestly grows some lousy apples so I am going to cut it down ...it is ok I can use the wood to smoke my home made sausages and bacon and will not waste the space but it is full of apple maggot and I have tried everything and every year it is a mess and even when I do get a few apples they are just plain lousy boring I think they are a variety of red delicious my least favorite apple even on a good day!!

I have a fence that is a perfect spot for an espalier and the one I found has 6 kinds of apples! It is a very well developed healthy tree and only $39
the guy at the nursery who has sold me just about every fruit tree I own and is always good on his word said that I should not worry about the maggot if I cut the tree down now and not let it fruit again ...he says that the new tree should be fine although every apple tree here is prone to apple maggot ..I can do things to prevent it early on before the three grows too big to manage ..

so far I have a 6 way cherry, 6 way plum and 6 way Asian pear and they are all wonderful and still young but increasingly productive trees I love these kind of trees for just enough fruits to produce for us and a few extra to give away ..I am not into big production but continuous gratification

I have never tried an espalier and wonder if anyone can advise me bout them ..if you have one can you share some pictures please?

I espalier'd my vine tomatoes this year but that is as close as I have gotten ..

any advice ..pros ..cons ...I do not need bushels of apples ...I just want enough to enjoy

thanks so much in advance

Hi

 

[lesa]

I have never done this- but find the trees absolutely fascinating and gorgeous! I always stop to admire them at every botanical garden I visit. I will be very interested to hear and see how you accomplish this...The price is certainly right! Good luck!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

i had a couple that i worked on for 3 years...and then i moved! so drat i never got to see them all full and lovely

but it was insanely easy - just have the shape in mind and put up a trellis - then bend gently and tie in place. you might have to re-tie a couple times so you dont snap them. and just keep up with the trimming. i had a great reference at the time and wouldnt you know i cant find it.

good luck!

 

[patandchickens]

I would not recommend trying to espalier a multiply-grafted apple (let alone a commercial 6-way thingie). The different branches survive/grow/thrive at different, sometimes *very* different, rates... I strongly expect that either you will end up with a bizarre looking, unbalanced, out-of-whack espalier, or you will lose most of your ability to properly manage the different branches, or (my bet) both of the above

An espalier is not necessarily a bad idea if you have a good site for it -- they can be attractive and productive, although you have to really keep up with them -- but you will have ever so much a better time with it if you just pick a normal one-cultivar apple tree, preferably one naturally suitable for espaliering (IIRC spur-bearing varieties are preferred).

(e.t.a. - it's not really done by 'bending', it's done by removing all growth points except the ones that are in the locations AND directions that you desire the tree to be growing in.)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Rosalind]

What Pat said, for sure. However IF AND ONLY IF all the grafts are of modern varieties (as opposed to anything older than a couple of decades) you might give it a shot. The modern ones are very closely related in their genetics and have all been selected for vigor, so you might be sorta OK, at least you'd get some of the varieties to grow. As long as you are cool with a potentially lopsided tree.

Yes, you will need spur-bearing, but most apples are spur-bearing. Honestly, if you are really pressed for space, I'd recommend buying smallish trees individually and training them as cordons. I don't espalier mine personally, I do the goblet shape, but I went to grad school at an ag college where they had a fancy-shmancy espaliered orchard. It is not difficult, you just have to recognize the difference between "branch that needs trimmed off" and "spur that will bear fruit" and get your behind out in the freezing late fall/early winter to trim the things.

 

[HiDelight]

thanks so much for the feedback both positive and negative it is greatly appreciated

I asked my dear friend about it and they purposly graft like growing apples on there espalier trees for just the reason you mention the growth rate can ruin the tree ..he has one that is very mature there as a demo and it is just beautiful and pruduces quite well

the nice thing about this nursery is they have at selection growing for themselves in the garden in and around what they are actually selling it is really nice that you can see what you will be getting in 10 years! somethings are much older