Espalier & Fan-trained fruit trees

[Steve Bullman]

Anyone had any experience with this?  I have a wall I am looking to plant along.  A mix of different fruits would be good.  I guess any tree can be trained in this manner?

[Stubby]

Would that be pleached Steve ? My granddad had pleached pear trees along one wall that he did himself . I was only 5 or 6 years old and always wondered how they grew like that !

Edited August 28, 2018 by Stubby

[nepia]

Your best bet is probably to find a stately home or similar near you that has a walled garden and speak to the gardeners there.  There are still a lot about thankfully.  I was at one local to me only last Saturday that had espalier'd pears, plums and others on walls.

Books/internet will help but there's nothing like speaking to practitioners is there!

Edited August 28, 2018 by nepia

[Steve Bullman]

3 hours ago, Stubby said:

Would that be pleached Steve ? My granddad had pleached pear trees along one wall that he did himself . I was only 5 or 6 years old and always wondered how they grew like that !

Yeah basically the same thing I think

[daltontrees]

Orientation is everything! Everything...

That's not true. Use dwarf stock or it will go horribly wrong.

[Gary Prentice]

20 hours ago, Stubby said:

Would that be pleached Steve ? My granddad had pleached pear trees along one wall that he did himself . I was only 5 or 6 years old and always wondered how they grew like that !

I'm not sure on the exact definitions, but Isn't pleaching basically a hedge on a bare stem? As opposed to espalier and fans that are usually fruits, often grown on a wall although they can be trained on a framework but with very little 'breastwork - growth out of line with the plane of the fan itself. 

 

The RHS used to do a little paperback guide on fruit trees, informing on how to prune right from planting to initially train the direction of growth to create the framework and then to bear fruit - dependent on species. This was aone of a number of guides which, I think was almagamated into this edition - https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/The-Royal-Horticultural-Society-Pruning-and-Training-by-Christopher-Brickell-David-Joyce-Hardback/87512085?iid=301936761055&chn=ps

[htb]

Start with  a maiden of your chose variety on a dwarf rootstock, then you can prune/train to whatever style you choose. Or buy one that is already trained in a fan etc ,but more expensive.

Its more fun to train and develop your own trees in your chosen style, than buying pre done, just takes longer.

[Steve Bullman]

So I guess if I just go to any garden centre it will be hit and miss if I actually get dwarf rootstock or not(not familiar with this)

[htb]

Steve you could try parkers nurseries, cheap as chips and on dwarf rootstock M26, if they have the varieties you wish thats where we get our maidens from. www.dutchbulbs.co.uk

Edited August 29, 2018 by htb
more info

[Gary Prentice]

4 minutes ago, Steve Bullman said:

So I guess if I just go to any garden centre it will be hit and miss if I actually get dwarf rootstock or not(not familiar with this)

Just for giggles, catch the average garden centre staff member and ask what rootstock a particular tree is on? Odds are a similar reaction as asking for an explanation of the theory of relativity.