Espalier Trees

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Whether you've raised it from a young whip or not, your espaliered fruit tree will be at its prime at five years of age and will offer you the finest of fruits for the following 25 years. In 20 years, that's a ton of fresh apple pies.

Editor's Note: For more information, you can call Arbor and Espalier Company at 415/626-8880.

The Six Basic Espalier Styles

Cordon: Most traditional form of espalier. Grows horizontally for a distance, lending itself well as a garden-bed divider. Can be a single cordon, also known as "rope," or a multicordon, generally with three tiers of branches. The multicordon takes two to three years to reach definition. May take longer on the East Coast because of shorter growing seasons.

Palmetto Verrier: Vertical branching adds nice definition between trees planted against a wall or fence. Horizontally trained branches are gradually trained into upright positions. Design can take up to three years to reach definition. Fan: Suitable for areas requiring vertical coverage; will best cover a square space. Style defines quickly; can have clear definition within one year. Branches angled at 45° can be raised or lowered for greatest fruit yield.

Informal: Tree is allowed to take on a more natural shape; requires simple pruning to keep on a two-dimensional plane. Somewhat easier to train-simply balance the tree's aesthetic symmetry as the branches begin to grow.

Belgian fence: Lattice effect offers one of the most formal looking styles. Requires three trees or more to create overlapping Vs and two modified Vs to create finished ends. Within one year, the beginning design of overlapping Vs is well outlined.

Candelabra: Also known as "Brooklyn Botanical." Several vertical branches stem off one horizontal base. Fairly easy to train and maintain.

Popular Varieties & Their Requirements

McIntosh: Most adaptable to any espalier design; very hardy variety does well in cold climates yet prefers only 600 hours of winter chill; fruits ripen late in the midseason. Can be self-pollinating, but will be more fruitful if pollinated by different apple variety.

Dorsett Golden: Makes an especially nice oblique design such as a fan; prefers only 400 hours of winter chill; fruit ripens early: selfpollinating.

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