Yet Another Cycling Forum
Random Musings => Miscellany => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Basil on 25 November, 2018, 10:15:17 pm
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I have an unused bed in a lower tier of my garden. Taken me a while to reclaim it, but it is now bramble free and has had a few bags of farmyard manure dug in back in July.
He site is walled on three sides and the potential espalier wall faces due east. So warms up (for west Wales values of 'warms up') early, and then remains warmish due to reflection from opposite wall only 5 metres away.
I've always thought I'd like to plant a couple of espaliers there, but I'm not sure what I want.
Apples is obvious, but I'm not actually that keen. I have thought about maybe one pear and a plum. Probably something unadventurous like Victoria plum, which I rather like.
I realise that now is the time I need to be getting on with it, so,. Any thoughts?
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I'm not sure you could train a plum as an espalier, not easily, anyway.
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Bugger. I haven't really done any research. But that's disappointing.
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Don't panic, you've got until about February or March before you need to plant anything. Ian is right, plums don't grow very well as espaliers, but you can grow them as fans. You might be able to espalier pears, I'll have to check. You will possibly need a couple of plums to cross pollinate unless they are self fertile varieties.
I'll dig out some links when I'm back home
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Pears are very easy to train into an espalier. I have worked on ancient ones that are almost 2 floors high. You may have to be patient for the fruit though. Sometimes minimum 5 years. Feed and water the first year at least. Like your life depends on it.
Also consider cordons. Then you could have 3 trees in the same space.
Where are you in the country? I ask so I can hint that you may wish to support some haritage varieties.
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What's the difference between cordons and espaliers? (Yes. I know I should just google it)
Where are you in the country? I ask so I can hint that you may wish to support some haritage varieties.
The Teifi valley. West Wales.
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Cordons: //// or \\\\
Espaliers: =|=
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Cordons: //// or \\\\
Espaliers: =|=
Brilliant. ;D Apart from the added variety, cordons died out of fashion a bit. In my opinion they are perfect for UK gardens as they (the plots) tend to be long and thin. With two lots of cordons fanning outwards like this: (\\\\\\/////) you create an optical illusion that the garden is wider than it is.
Growing cordons are more forgiving if you make a mistake with your pruning. Unless you snip off the leader. In some cases, if you make a mistake with an espalier, you are scre\/\/ed for good.
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having removed a couple of undesirable trees I now have \\=// in my back garden down a long narrow bit.
They go apple-pear-apple from centre to either side, all old east anglia heritage varieties from the East Anglia Apples and Orchards project, you may be able to find soemthing similar.
I've also got another 2 plum/gages, apple and cherry out front, so techically an orchard (>6 trees). The ones out front have been there about 5 years and are just this year setting copious blossom, just a few fruit before now.