Espalier apples

[Mothergoat]

When it comes to growing apples espalier, are there some varieties that are more suitable than others? L.

 

[Rosalind]

I think it's more important to be sure you get a really dwarfing rootstock, which is not available on all varieties. Even a semi-dwarf rootstock can result in a tree you can't reach to prune. Then, it depends on how often you like to prune--a very vigorous variety is going to require more pruning than others.

I can tell you that the very very old varieties I have, the medieval kind, are really knobbly, twiggy and don't prune to a very nice shape no matter what I do. But everything after, oh, 1500 or so, seems to make a nice shape. I have some Colonial American varieties from the 1600s and 1700s that make beautifully shaped trees and would probably espalier nicely: Roxbury Russet, Spitzenburg, Northern Spy. The White Pearmain and Muscat de Bernay, not so much.

 

[digitS']

Rosalind, I'd like to see some apple blossom pictures when that happens !!

Linda, there are some espalier apples against the brick wall of an old restaurant I venture in, now and then. You know, it just never seemed all that difficult to me - real pretty to my way of thinking given the right setting.

Steve
:tools

 

[Mothergoat]

Thank you both. And Rosalind, I'd love to see pics of the flowers and and the fruit, when the time comes. How interesting, to have such old varieties of fruits growing in your orchard. Talk about living history! Can you describe some of those varieties you named in more detail? What you like/don't like about them? I'd like to hear. Thanks. -L.

 

[Rosalind]

I should have lots of lovely apple blossoms this May. Last year, the orchard fence was merely the wire fencing marked "deer fence" at the hardware store. The deer thought that was a great joke, and my poor trees got gnawed four times over. This year, we put up solid 6' stockade fencing and let the dog run inside it. No deer anymore

Varieties of apple in my orchard so far (more to come in the spring):

Northern Spy, circa 1800: Love love LOVE this apple. This is my favorite eating apple of all time. Crisp, cool, sweet, with a really pronounced apple flavor, also cooks up nice in pie. Tree is somewhat knobbly but makes a good traditional goblet shape, doesn't sucker excessively. I don't get many duplicate strains of anything, but I have two of these. Sets fruit reliably in zone 6a, even though my orchard is at the bottom of a northern slope in a slightly sheltered area surrounded by oak, ash, evergreen trees--that is, it can be a cold pocket in the right weather.

Cox Orange Pippin, ca. 1830: Meh. Didn't set fruit at 3 years, so don't know what it tastes like--supposedly good. Tree is a bit wiry and prunes very nice. Sort of delicate branches for an apple. Got lots of leaves last year.

White Pearmain, ca. 1200: Did not stand up to zone 6a weather, obnoxious dog, or voracious deer. Very knobbly, does not make a good shape--branches and twigs are very thick, and when you prune them you get these big thick stubby ends that look a bit oogy. Not pretty. Didn't get any fruit or even flowers from a 3-year-old tree, no idea what it tastes like. In fact I think it broke under the weight of a nasty snowstorm, so that might be the end of it.

Seek-no-further, 1796: Nice dessert apple, yellow w/ red blush, would have been good for fresh apples if the &*%$#$ deer hadn't eaten them all. Set fruit at 3y.o. Slightly knobbly trunk but branches are more delicate, pruned to nice goblet shape.

Roxbury Russet, 1649: Green-brown apples, v. sweet but kinda mealy, usually used in cider. Got this one because it's good for winter storage (yay, less for me to can). Did not set fruit at 3y.o. and is a bit twiggy. Pruned into a decent Christmas tree shape, did not want to cooperate into a goblet. I like the goblet shape, they're easier to pick, so that was kinda annoying to me.

Porter's Perfection, 1800s: Bittersharp cider apple for making dry cider. Set fruit at 3y.o. Also pruned to a nice goblet shape, slightly knobbly twigs but overall a pretty tree.

Muscat de Bernay, old: Very knobbly tree with thick twigs and branches. Pruned OK, but I had to be aggressive about pruning, and the end result was not the most attractive apple tree ever. Did set fruit at 3y.o. but the deer ate it. Supposed to be a bittersweet cider apple, never ate one though. Aphids had a field day on this one, despite my best efforts with two coats of dormant oil.

Jefferis, 1830: Just a regular reddish-yellow apple, slender branches, nice goblet shape. Did not set fruit @ 3y.o. Supposedly tastes pear-like, I wouldn't know. Bugs don't bother it much. Does not grow incredibly fast, even on a semidwarf stock.

Calville Blanc d'Hiver 1598: Makes greenish-yellow apples and has green bark. Maybe it won't have green bark next year when it is no longer being defoliated by evil deer, but for now mine has green bark. Set fruit @ 3 y.o. and made the sweetest-smelling blossoms of all of them. If I was going by blossom smell, this one would be my favorite. The wild bees loved it. A bit knobbly, I tried to make a goblet shape but I don't know if it will take. It would espalier nicely as a fan for sure, if I was going to do that. Apples are supposedly lovely-tasting, the little green ones the deer ate sure looked good. Also susceptible to the aphids, though, I sprayed this one three times and I'm still not real confident about it. Leaves stayed on, and stayed green, a real long time though.

Ashmead's Kernel, 1700s: Russet, supposedly tastes very nice, but did not set flowers or fruit @ 3y.o. A bit leggy and thin, delicate branches. Not incredibly vigorous, mine leafed out a couple of times and all the leaves dropped at the first frost, never to return.

To be planted this year: D'Arcy Spice (1785), Hunt Russet (1750) and Lady Api (1600). Yeah, I pretty much tell Trees Of Antiquity, send me one of everything at this point. They charge more, but their trees are pretty healthy and reliable. I also have a couple of apricots, peaches, nectarines, pears and plums coming in the spring, as those did not survive the Plague Of Deer.

 

[digitS']

Wow, look at that!! An Heirloom Apple Grower of the 1st order!! (And, it looks like more orders are going out !

I'm not in Massachusetts but I bought a Northern Spy (actually 2) over 30 years ago and then moved it out of my place to Dad's yard a few years later. It does a real fine job of producing BUSHELS of apples from one small tree!

Steve

 

[Rosalind]

What can I say--my happiest childhood memories are of eating fresh fruit from my great-uncle's orchard, sitting on his porch swing. Really fresh apricots off the tree, there's nothing like them.

I forgot the Spitzenburg--it also is rather delicate and twiggy, thin branches, did not set fruit or flower at 3y.o. It did make a lot of leaves and withstood the Deer Plague heroically, and was only slightly affected by aphids: one good drench with dormant oil did the trick. Another nice apple for fresh eating.

Also bear in mind, I keep all these trees using only "permitted" organic pest control: dormant oil, neem, and a light spritz of Bordeaux mix (copper and sulfur salts) on the nastiest infestations. I don't need to spray them that much though, twice round with the dormant oil in the fall and once with the neem in the spring does the trick. We have enough earwigs, centipedes, bats, etc. to deal with the remaining bugs.

Steve, for trees that bear far more fruit than you can reasonably use, you can always thin out the fruit when they are still little and green. Compost the green ones or make a couple jars of chutney. The remaining apples will get HUGE.

 

[patandchickens]

or use green apples from thinning to make jars of pectin, that you can later use instead of commercial pectin to make jams etcetera.


Pat

 

[Mothergoat]

Thanks for all the info, Rosalind. I'll have to think about where I might put one or two of those trees you named. We do pretty well with apples here, but I don't seem to be able to get an apricot to last more than a couple of years; too wet or something. Leaves shrivel off in the spring and the whole thing dies back to the root in a matter of a couple of weeks, even days, it seems like. I miss apricots. We had a commercial orchard in California when I was a kid, small family farm with an old and mature orchard. MMMM, I used to climb up in those big old apricot trees and eat the ripe fruit until I was one sticky little child. Heaven. :bee You did have to watch out for the bees, though; they liked the soft orange fruit, too.

 

[Buff Shallots]

Mothergoat, I've collected a bunch of articles on espaliering. When I get home tonight, I'll see if any of them mention recommended apples.
More tomorrow.