Old Espaliers
By drc726
15 comments
I saw lots of Espalier fruit trees at King John’s garden yesterday, they were very old and self supporting.
The term espalier refers to the way fruit trees are trained to grow against a wall. It makes the tree easier to prune and the fruit easier to pick. This decorative method was often used in traditional walled kitchen gardens and is perfectly suited to growing fruit in the smaller garden.
The technique was popular in the Middle Age in Europe to produce fruit inside the walls of a typical castle courtyard without interfering with the open space. There is evidence suggesting that the technique dates to ancient Egypt. The word Espalier initially referred to the actual trellis on which the plant was trained to grow, but over time has come to be used to describe the technique.
Espalier collects almost as much sunlight as a regular tree, but has far less mass, this makes them ideal for decorative use and where space is limited. They are often planted next to a wall, which can reflect more sunlight and retain heat overnight, or be planted so that they are facing the Equator to absorb maximum sunlight.
Popular trees for Espalier are Olives, Figs, Apples, and Pears.
16 May, 2010
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Comments
I did Mageth the Lady of the house - the gardener came across and spoke to me. She is very keen on wild flowers along side more formal arrangements.
16 May, 2010
Nice day out & interesting blog T U!
Just wondering how they got the trees to grow like that if they don't have a wall or trellis to train them on?
16 May, 2010
They are in straight lines so that they could be trained along wires Angie but the original wires have long since gone.
16 May, 2010
I love the look of old espaliers. I bought a fan-trained apple for my front garden this spring. It's flowering now and it also looks lovely!
16 May, 2010
Any hints on how to start off Karen?
16 May, 2010
No not really Drc! Sorry!
16 May, 2010
How fascinating Drc, the trees must be really old. I would have thought that once upon a time they would have had some sort of suppot. Lovely photos. :o)
16 May, 2010
These trees look great. I wonder if I could try to grow my own apple trees like this. I really like the idea :o)
16 May, 2010
Yes you can Hywel on wires against a sunny wall/fence or even on a wooden frame. You can buy them already trained too ready for planting.
16 May, 2010
I have 2 apple trees I bought recently. I'll have to move them in the winter so that I can grow them like this. I'd really like to try it.
16 May, 2010
Can you make a start on training till you move them Hywel?
17 May, 2010
I don't know. I'll have to have a look and see what I can do. Maybe I'll try to look up some information about it.
17 May, 2010
Go for it.
17 May, 2010
:D
17 May, 2010
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Beautiful photos and very informative. I bet you thouroughly enjoyed your day here
16 May, 2010