Forum:

plants

To espeliar or not to espeliar

Posts: 717

Location: NC-Zone 7

posted 15 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I was wondering if anyone has any advice on espeliar fruit trees. My dilemma is this. I don't have a lot of land and the only areas where I can plant fruit trees is along our property line. I can't plant trees within 10 feet of that line because of zoning regulations. I was planning on training my fruit trees as a belgian fence, to get privacy, boundary and obviously it would not take up a lot of space. Running it parallel with the property line would mean I wouldn't overhang the line either so I can plant it closer to get more yard. The more and more I read though, it says that it is alot of work and of course requires heavy posts and wire to support everything which will not go over to well with the township or homeowners association. Is there a way I can train them flat without using the posts and wire?

permaculture wiki: www.permies.com/permaculture

Jordan Lowery

pollinator

Posts: 1528

Location: zone 7

posted 15 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

all i can say is be prepared to to work on it for a few years before its even close to a living fence and producing a ton. if you are a patient person, it shouldn't be a hard project for you.

posts are only required for the first few years. if you get the training right and the right variety/rootstock it will stand on its own once mature.

The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings. - Masanobu Fukuoka

Rob Seagrist

Posts: 717

Location: NC-Zone 7

posted 15 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

In your opinion is it more work to do espalier than to just keep pruning a dwarf tree? Im considering the really small ones instead of espalier but if they require the same amount of work then Ill go with the espalier if I can get it past the township.

permaculture wiki: www.permies.com/permaculture

Leah Sattler

Posts: 2603

posted 15 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

blitz1976 wrote:
In your opinion is it more work to do espalier than to just keep pruning a dwarf tree?

I don't have any experience with espalier but I just can't imagine it being less work then a dwarf tree. my dwarf peach was never pruned. made a nice full bushy screen, wasn't over 10 feet at 8+ years old. I'm too lazy to train trees though!

[img]http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n52/havlik1/permie%20pics2/permiepotrait3pdd.jpg[/img]

"One cannot help an involuntary process. The point is not to disturb it. - Dr. Michel Odent

Rob Seagrist

Posts: 717

Location: NC-Zone 7

posted 15 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Leah when did you first get significant fruit? I am buying 3-4 foot tall trees and just wondering how soon to expect any fruit. My understanding is that espalier will take much longer to get the same as a dwarf because of all the training. BTW do you have any pics of your dwarf? I want to show my wife what to expect and you just never know what you are going to get with google  Thanks!

permaculture wiki: www.permies.com/permaculture

Jordan Lowery

pollinator

Posts: 1528

Location: zone 7

posted 15 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

its not really harder, it just takes a longer period of time to achieve the end goal. that's why i said if you are a patient person that helps.

what type of espalier are you planning on doing?

The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings. - Masanobu Fukuoka

Rob Seagrist

Posts: 717

Location: NC-Zone 7

posted 15 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

It makes sense because of the training. I would have loved to do a Belgian style so we can make a fence out of it. We like our privacy and to be perfectly blunt I am a little territorial  I love to share what I have but I don’t really like it when people use my land as a throughway  The reason for doing it this way was to keep it closer to the property line to allow for more space since it wouldn’t overhang the property line. With dwarfs I wont get as much space but I can at least keep them manageable. I want to start off with 2 apple and 2 pear variety.

permaculture wiki: www.permies.com/permaculture

Joel Hollingsworth

pollinator

Posts: 2103

Location: Oakland, CA

posted 15 years ago

Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I think a permaculturist's espalier has the option of being less rectilinear than the traditional Belgian variety.

Allowing the branches to follow more natural angles, and to occasionally arc slightly out of the ideal plane, might both reduce the effort needed and allow more of each year's growth to be acceptable.

"the qualities of these bacteria, like the heat of the sun, electricity, or the qualities of metals, are part of the storehouse of knowledge of all men. They are manifestations of the laws of nature, free to all men and reserved exclusively to none." SCOTUS, Funk Bros. Seed Co. v. Kale Inoculant Co.

Do NOT activate your jet pack until AFTER you get out of the car! Even this tiny ad knows that:

Learn Permaculture through a little hard work

https://wheaton-labs.com/bootcamp