Has anyone had success with Espaliered Fruit Trees?

renovationmom

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Has anyone had success with Espaliered Fruit Trees? I welcome any pictures and advise you can give. Which Fruit Trees do best, structures used to train branches, ect. Thank you in advance for the help.:tools
 

renovationmom

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vfem

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I have been planning this adventure for awhile now. I have the property line mapped out for my neighbors' and we're doing this to create a living fence. Can't wait to rip out the old bushes that are there dying since our neighbors and us hate them. We're going to do it with apple trees and set up a temp fence with bamboo and wire to train the branches to look like they are braided together. :weight

If it all works out we'll get our first apple trees in and started this fall. No for sure on it yet, we gotta check out the budget, but I was told it is easiest to start from 'whips' and I was able to get those REALLY inexpensive and high quality from ArborDay.org. We bought our first 6 trees from them 3 years ago, and we already have a few fruits from those whips, and some REALLY healthy trees to boot! :watering

Definitely keep us hooked in with your progress if you decide to do it! :D

:rose
 

lesa

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I am aching to do this along the chain link in my backyard. It is just the coolest, space saving idea.
 

renovationmom

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vfem said:
I have been planning this adventure for awhile now. I have the property line mapped out for my neighbors' and we're doing this to create a living fence. Can't wait to rip out the old bushes that are there dying since our neighbors and us hate them. We're going to do it with apple trees and set up a temp fence with bamboo and wire to train the branches to look like they are braided together. :weight

If it all works out we'll get our first apple trees in and started this fall. No for sure on it yet, we gotta check out the budget, but I was told it is easiest to start from 'whips' and I was able to get those REALLY inexpensive and high quality from ArborDay.org. We bought our first 6 trees from them 3 years ago, and we already have a few fruits from those whips, and some REALLY healthy trees to boot! :watering

Definitely keep us hooked in with your progress if you decide to do it! :D

:rose
Your plans sound wonderful, and I love that your neighbor is going to be involved too. Thank you so much for the fruit tree source. You mentioned purchasing 6 trees from them, are you planning to use these in your living fence, and are you holding them over in pots right now? I was thinking of using cedar posts and wire, but your idea of bamboo, sounds much better, its renewable,will not rot and may even be less expensive?

I too will be working on a budget, and I want to do as you are planning, and build a living fence. I have only seen Espaliered Fruit trees on TV, and in both cases, they were various apple varieties. Something about the way they look in this form, just drew me in. I was going on appearence alone, not even considering all the fruit I could enjoy and share, the benifit of trees to our enviroment and wildlife, and gaining a fence. It seems the fruit would be much easier to tend in this form as well.

I plan on growing several different apple varieties, but I also want to try a few varieties of plum and peach. I would like to try pomagranite-this one I am not sure if it will lend itself to this method. I have a pomagranite on my property, and I can not enjoy the fruit, it is growing on a slope too steep to set a ladder to reach the fruit, and the tree is so full, I am afraid to reach in, I always end up with a stink bug on me(I am a gardener, who will not use chemicals, and terrified of bugs, lol.) Some type of wasp or hornet always seems to be on the fruit as well. I may expertment later with cherry, pear and apricot.

Please keep me posted on your progress as well, I will do the same-pictures too!
:tools
 

vfem

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I found this site and wanted to show our planned design:

LyraEDISServlet.jpg


Either the braided horizontial T or....

LyraEDISServlet_002.jpg


The Belgium Fence pattern.

Site: http://www.sarasotafruitandnutsociety.org/information/espalier.htm
 
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