The Thin Man
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Espalier Assistance, Please

Hello Helpful Gardeners,

This is my first post and I'm hoping to tap into your collective wisdom to help me either solve my espalier conundrum or to confirm I am going the right direction.

I have two apple and one fig tree planted about 12" away from a south facing wooden fence that spans roughly 22'. The trees are very young and were planted last year and now time to build a simple structure to espalier them in a fence style.

Originally, I thought 1, pressure treated 4x4 (set in concrete) at both ends, with 12-15 gauge wire secured with wire vises would be enough for all three trees. However, I'm having second thoughts. I'm reading that the posts must be placed at ten foot intervals. This means, I would need another post at 10', which is exactly where the fig tree is planted. I can't go in front or behind it so I'm not exactly sure what to do. Is it possible to still run two posts and have the wire span for about 20'? I'm guessing it will be difficult to keep taught at such a long run.

Perhaps I should be looking at another design, such as a cordon? I'm not married to this design and would love to not have to dig holes, pour concrete and buy 10', 4x4's to sink 2' into the ground.

Either way, I'm a little lost and need to be righted.

Images are attached with some sketch up markings on it from me. Hopefully it helps and doesn't confuse. Pay no mind to the weeds, etc. This is an ongoing project. ;)
espalier_01.jpg
espalier_02.jpg
espalier_left.jpg
espalier_right.jpg

JONA
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Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:11 am
Location: Sussex. England

My first query TTM is are the fig tree roots contained in any way?
If not....then you are not going to get much room without very hard pruning down the line.
The apple tree on the right looks perfect for training as either an espalier or a fan.
I wouldn’t consider it as a cordon.you would have to lift it to plant at a sharp angle as well as cut those great feather side shoots off.
You don’t say what varieties or what rootstocks you have. Much can depend on those two things too.
As to distance of supports. The stronger the posts and wires.....the greater the distance can be.

The Thin Man
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Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 2:56 am

Hi John,

Thanks for the reply.
Apologies for not posting variety types of trees. I wasn't sure that was relevant.
Regarding the apples, the left tree is a Gravenstein and the right side (fanned out tree) is a Honey Crisp. The fig tree is uncontained in any way and is a Negronne. Do you mention hard pruning the fig because of how stout the base can get? From what I know, figs only grow on new growth so keeping it at bay (low height) will likely yield a substantial base in the end.

I suppose my root question is, with the amount of space I have (and knowing the long run of wire that needs to happen), does a traditional English Fence style espalier make sense here or does something like a fan, triangle or candelabra?

JONA
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Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:11 am
Location: Sussex. England

Just a couple of points...
I asked about the fig because of the tremendous vigour that they can have if their roots are not contained. This would limit the area your apples have.
The Honeycrisp would be lovely as a fan or espalier....the fan taking up less room. But again it may depend on the rootstock. I’m guessing it’s on a dwarfing stock.
The Gravenstein is a Triploid variety.....so it cannot act as a pollinator for your other tree, are there any other apple trees around you?
As with most Triploids it’s a tip bearer and a fairly strong grower, so in the end it’s the one that will need most room. Espalier training would help to control it....but you would need to be strict on it to induce plenty of spur systems to develop. Calling for summer pruning as well as winter .

The Thin Man
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Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 2:56 am

You make excellent points, John.

We figured we may have to root-prune the fig but that would likely need to be the case with both the apple trees as well (assuming they are espaliered) maybe every 3-4 years.

The Gravenstein will benefit from a neighbors apple tree (variety unknown) for pollination in extremely close proximity. In fact, you can see it peeking over the fence in image #2. And for the Honeycrisp, it is on a dwarf stock. So, great questions to get the lay of the land.

Although you now make me wonder if the fig can/should be part of the espalier assuming I run an English Fence style on the Gravenstein and fan on the Honeycrisp. Or if should just be kept small and at bay be heavy pruning. Hmmmm.

JONA
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Posts: 812
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:11 am
Location: Sussex. England

My personal experience with figs is that if you try to contain it by a strict control system like espaliering ...you find that you forever trimming the darn thing.
Looks good though!

You shouldn’t have to root prune if you are can keep the cropping structure young .....and weak....on the apples.
All too often the temptation at pruning time is to leave the strongest growth and remove the weak.
Do the opposite and the tree is forced into slowing down and cropping rather than growing.
In fact on modern commercial intensive orchards apart from the main structures all other cropping wood on the tree will never be more than three years old.

The Thin Man
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Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 2:56 am

I felt compelled to close the loop on this thread and show progress from the advice given above. I used 4x4 cedar posts (8’; 2’ in the ground) and wire vises with 12 gauge steel galvanized wire to create the espalier. Both apple trees are attached in a fan shape using bamboo stakes as guides. The fig was left as-is although, as mentioned by John above, I will need to keep on it with hard pruning to keep it manageable.

Overall, I’m pleased with the look and can already see this being a suitable setup for the area. The wire vises give a clean look and were a treat to use. I like how they can be pulled fairly tight (using channel locks) even in an extra long run, 20’, run.
Esp_Final_01.jpg
Esp_Final_03.jpg
Esp_Final_02.jpg
Esp_Build_01.jpg
Esp_Build_02.jpg
Esp_Build_03.jpg
Esp_Build_04.jpg



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