Easy Espalier for Fruit Trees

First things first: it is pronounced es-PAL-yay, or es-PAL-yer, not espa-LEER. Choose  –yay or –yer, and stick with it.

Espalier is not difficult, but it requires patience, and sticking to a training plan for the life of the tree. The training plan itself requires cutting off perfectly good branches and sacrificing some fruit for the common good. To successfully create an espaliered fruit tree, be ruthless. The trees don't mind. And they will produce bucket loads of fruit.

The purpose of espalier is to keep the lower branches fruitful and easy to reach. The most traditional form of espalier is the Cordon. Branches are trained horizontally for a defined length. The Single Cordon (one tier) is also known as Rope. A Multi-Cordon can have three or more tiers of branches. The Fan is suited to areas requiring vertical coverage, and will cover a square space nicely. The Candelabra is formed when several vertical branches stem off one horizontal base. Palmette Verrier has three or four horizontal branches that are trained into upright positions when they reach a specific length. The Palmette Verrier or Candelabra designs are great for planting several trees against a structure without having them grow into one another.

Fruit trees can be planted in October in zone 7, or in March and April. Fruit trees that are grafted onto dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstock make the best espaliers. Purchase one-year-old trees (called one-year whips), preferably with no branches. When choosing a site for an espalier, keep in mind that fruit trees need six hours of sunlight a day, and a southern or western exposure is best. Space multiple trees six to eight feet apart. In the first season, water weekly, and twice a week or more in hot weather.Train the tree on a structure of wire supports. To create an espalier against a wall, secure two 4'x4' posts into the ground six feet apart, eight inches from the wall, to allow air flow and to give the trunk room to grow. Screw eye screws into each post two or three feet from the ground. Thread galvanized 14-gauge wire horizontally through the eye screws to create the lowest tier. Now screw in eye screws 18" to two feet up from the first and thread in the wire to create the second tier. Continue up to create additional tiers. This structure also works well as a free-standing trellis.

Here is the hardest part: making the first cut. When the tree grows to two inches above the first tier wire, cut off the top of the tree right above a bud. The plant will start producing branches near the first tier wire. Once the branches reach six inches long, choose the two strongest and attach them loosely to the first tier support wire. Use a material that won't cut into the branches, such as strips of Velcro or cloth. Do not use wire to tie espalier branches to the support wires.

Remove any branches that grow below the tied branches. Continue to tie the branches to the support wire every foot or so as the tree grows.

As the growing season progresses, keep the center trunk six inches above the first tier. Prune it back as it grows to keep it at the six inch limit.

When the bottom tier branches are three-quarters of the way to the end of the wire support, allow the central trunk to grow to six inches above the second tier, and start the process again. The tier branches will grow shoots where the fruit will form, called spurs. Keep the spurs cut back to five or six inches long.

For the first two years, prune off all the fruit. The first and second years of growth need to be focused on root, branch, and leaf production to get the tree completely established. Removing all of the fruit may seem even more severe than cutting off the top of the tree. Just do it.

In the third season and thereafter, remove all but the one best fruit from the clusters of three or four that form. The joy of espalier is harvesting large perfect pieces of fruit. Espaliered fruit trees reach their prime in four or five years, and can to bear fruit for up to or beyond 25 years.

Keep the espalier instructions handy for a few years until the process becomes second nature. Remember patience is a virtue. It is worth it.

Best fruit trees for espalier:

Any apple variety can be pollinated by any other variety if they flower at or near the same time. These three can be self-pollinating, and they all pollinate one another:

McIntosh: Most adaptable to any espalier design; very hardy, fruits ripen late in the mid-season.

Spitzenberg: Old-fashioned variety; makes very nice Palmette Verviers, horizontal cordons, and fans.

Empire McIntosh type apple but keeps longer. Ripens two weeks after McIntosh.

Pears are not usually self-pollinating, so when possible plant two varieties. Pear branches are not as pliable as apple branches, but they do make lovely espaliers.

The plum tree 'Stanley' is self-fertile and very productive. It is a medium to large plum from Europe that is excellent for eating fresh, cooking, or canning.

Plant Tiny Bulbs in Autumn for Tiny Flowers in Spring

It's time again to plant those gorgeous spring-blooming bulbs.  This season, along with the huge tulips and daffodils, and carpets of crocuses, check out some of the smaller bulbs. The variety of spring blooms that top out at about six inches tall is nearly endless.  You'll love these little faerie-sized flowers.

'Tête à Tête' are delightful miniature daffodils that will brighten even the dullest spring days. Just six inches tall, 'Tête à Tête' bears an abundance of short-stemmed dangling flowers with golden-yellow outer petals that curl back to highlight deeper-yellow trumpets.  The radiant yellow flowers are produced freely and are perfect for patio pots, window boxes, rock gardens and borders, or for naturalizing in grassy areas. This beautiful little daffodil carries up to three flowers per stem. The neat clusters of yellow trumpets make dainty cut flowers. Also try Rip Van Winkle, a miniature daffodil with spiky double golden flowers. It's been around for over 120 years!

In Holland, the cobalt blue spikes of grape hyacinths are as well known as the daffodils and tulips they bloom with. The long lasting flowers and long bloom season make the brilliant blue grape hyacinth (Muscari) a champ in the garden. Mass plantings are spectacular, especially when combined with other bulbs like the 'Tête à Tête' daffodil. Count on these long-lasting cobalt blue flowers to lift cabin-fevered spirits.  Muscari also excels as “the lower tier” of color in double-decker plantings with taller yellow daffodils or tulips or any color. Muscari will naturalize easily in the lawn or garden, and at four to eight-inches tall, grape hyacinth flowers make a lovely addition to pots, rock gardens, and of course tiny bouquets.

Grecian windflowers (Anemone) are low-growing early bloomers with long-lasting daisy-like flowers above a carpet of ferny foliage. They come in white, pink or purplish-blue. Plant windflowers in single color blocks for waves of unbroken color, or select mixed color packages for a crazy quilt look. Try them en masse for a fabulous groundcover either on their own or under taller bulbs or emerging perennials. They will twinkle anywhere they are planted, brightening the dreary days of early spring.

The delicate yet jaunty Narcissus 'Hawera ' is so special, that the experts jumped categories to include it in the “Best of the Best Special Bulbs” collection, according to the U.S. Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center. As tough as it is dainty, this little daffodil is great in containers, beds and naturalized settings. At only eight inches tall, this tiny lemon-yellow daffodil makes up for its size by producing six to eight flowers on each stem.  'Hawera' will last for years in a sunny spot, gracing the early spring days with gorgeous color.

 

The adorably named Puschkinia (striped squill) is a six-inch tall beauty with white flowers striped with shadings of grayish-blue was first discovered in the West Asia and the Caucasus in 1808 and has been cultivated in Holland ever since. It blooms early and for long periods of time. One of the few bulbs completely at home in partial shade, it is a great choice for planting under trees and shrubs.  Puschkinia's bell shaped flowers will multiply freely, filling small flower beds in just a few short years.  The unique bluish-white color makes it a lovely addition to just about any garden setting.

The snowdrop is one of spring’s first sentinels, sometimes blooming right through the snow. The 10-inch stems of snowdrops are topped by dainty, nodding white flowers with a green spot at the tip of each petal. They flower so early that snowdrops-in-the-grass can easily be left to die back for six weeks (the time needed for most bulbs to recharge their stored energy to bloom again the following year). Plant these in rock gardens, gardens, under shrubs and in sweeps across the lawn. They look best in clusters, as does Lady Jane, a miniature tulip with the perfect combination of white and deep pink. Winter Aconite, with its bright yellow flowers, blooms right through the snow.

Plant lots of tiny flower bulbs this season, and treat yourself to oodles of finger-sized faerie-flower spring bouquets.

A New Book for Perennial Lovers

The Right-Size Flower Garden by Kerry Ann Mendez

By using the right plants in the right places, a flowering perennial garden can practically take care of itself. Kerry Ann Mendez shows how in her new book, The Right-Size Flower Garden. She documented the entire process of scaling down her overwhelming mature gardens by re-evaluating existing garden spaces and deciding whether to keep, scale back or eliminate particular plants. She gives expert recommendations for "higher-impact, lower-maintenance" varieties to fill in any resulting gaps. Kerry is funny and wise, and makes it all sound like such fun.

The photo of  Kerry's shade gardens on page four is so attractive, it inspired me to rearrange my own perennials. I have half a dozen different varieties of hosta scattered around my gardens. I will dig them up and arrange them together with my existing astilbe and creeping jenny. My neighbor friend has purple heuchera I can pilfer. I will copy Kerry's plant placement and color scheme. I know I will love the results.

Kerry's "Run for Your Life!" list of plants that are out to take over all available soil is spot on. Sundrops (Oenothera fruiticosa and speciosa) are on that list. Such a pretty name, sundrops, for such a thug. I put in a half dozen a few years ago and they have spread out in larger and larger clans each year. Now they are everywhere. They are hard to cut down after they flower, and they are harder to pull out. I've grown other plants from Kerry's "Run for Your Life!" list, other thugs like the (dis)obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) and the chameleon plant (Houttuynia), with its beautiful tricolored leaves that emit a nasty smell when pulled up; and mint, with its cute little wrinkly green leaves that emit a lovely scent when pulled up. Pull up every single piece of plant and root. Anything left in the soil will likely sprout. If a plant is on Kerry's "Run for Your Life!" list, I will forever more avoid that plant.

Kerry's perennial garden re-design solutions will indeed work for the time-pressed working gardener, the urban gardener and the older gardener, as she suggests. She promises 50% less time spent on chores, and a more beautiful landscape. I believe her. Win-win.

The Right-Size Flower Garden is available at Kerry Ann Mendez’s lectures and through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and book stores.175 pages. 350 color photos. Cover price $18.95. Purchase a signed book from Perennially Yours (http://pyours.com/kerrys-books/).

Also by Kerry Ann Mendez:

The Smart Plant Shopper’s Top Ten Lists for Exceptional Perennials, Shrubs, Annuals and More for Zones 3 – 7 published in January 2012.

The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Top Ten Lists published in March 2011

Top Ten Lists for Beautiful Shade Gardens: Seeing Your Way Out of the Dark released in March 2011

 

 

Love Your Garden - Feed it Compost

Compost is not disgusting – it looks, feels, and smells like rich, fertile earth.

Gardeners are cajoled into using chemical fertilizers made specifically to work over a short time, requiring us to buy and use more. Chemical fertilizers are addictive to plants, giving them a short "fix". They will play dead when they need another fix. Fertilize again and, miracle of miracles, they seem to thrive. It becomes a vicious cycle.

Stop the cycle. Release plants from chemical dependencies. How? Use compost. Compost will keep the soil healthy without chemical fertilizers. Beneficial insects will arrive to keep pests in check, and the strong healthy plants will crowd out weeds.

Rosie guards the compost bin from critters
so she can have the choicest morsels for herself.

It all starts with the soil. There are three basic soil types: clay, sand and loam.

Clay: Clay soil will have a reddish tinge, and will hold tightly together when squeezing a damp handful. Clay is nutrient rich, but the plants have a hard time taking up these nutrients.

Sand: Almost the opposite of clay. Sandy soil will be on the tan side, and will not hold together well when squeezing a damp handful. It will feel gritty. Sand does not hold water well, and any nutrients it may have tend to wash away easily.


Loam: Looks and feels like what Martha Stewart calls “rich, crumbly, chocolate cake”. It holds together just right when squeezing a damp handful, and breaks apart easily, but not too easily. Loam is what we strive to achieve when improving, or amending, garden soil.
 
The best way to improve the texture of any soil type while adding nutrients is to amend it with compost. Compost (organic matter) is the best way to get that coveted chocolate cake soil.
 
Compost is derived from the word composite, meaning “put together”. It is defined as “a mixture of decomposing vegetation for fertilizing soil”. Partially decomposed vegetation is coarse and lumpy. Fully decomposed compost that is ready to feed the garden feels very much like loamy soil. The more decomposed the vegetation is, the better an amendment it will be.
 
Organic matter comes in bags labeled “compost” or “humus” at local nurseries or home centers. Buying bagged organic matter (or having it delivered in bulk) is a good choice to give if there is no room for a compost bin.
 
To create a compost bin, find a four-foot square area in the yard, and use a large cylinder of chicken wire with a smaller cylinder in the middle as a chimney. Or recycle pallets to form walls for a compost bin. Use full pallets on three sides, half a pallet for the front for easy filling, and a small chicken wire chimney in the middle. Commercial compost barrels make compost quickly. They are user-friendly and great for small yards or people with limited mobility.
 

Fill the compost bin with grass clippings, fallen leaves, weeds, and kitchen scraps (no meat, please). Try to alternate between brown matter, which is carbon rich, and green matter, which is nitrogen rich. Here's a basic guide to what is brown and what is green in the compost pile.

Green: Any part of any fruit or vegetable, grass clippings, coffee or tea grounds, houseplant trimmings, expired flower arrangements.

Brown: Leaves, wood chips, sawdust, wood ashes, hay, straw, soil, peanut shells, eggshells.

Do not add: meat scraps, oily products such as salad dressings, peanut butter and mayonnaise, pet litter and food, branches and other large woody materials, or paper products.

More composting tips: Coarse materials should be chopped or shredded. Build the pile in layers, alternating brown and green. Turn the pile occasionally to aerate it by using a pitchfork to move the inside materials to the outside, and the outside materials to the inside. Give tumblers an occasional spin. The compost is ready when the pile shrinks to about half of its original size.

Do the squeeze-the-damp-soil test again next year. Feed planting beds with compost, and chances are the soil will become richer and healthier each year.

 

The Plant Kingdom's Internet

Plants are amazing. A seed grows into a towering oak, a perennial sliced in quarters regenerates as four new entities.


The gossips in my garden

Today I learned that plants communicate with one another. Fungus is the connectivity channel they use. Once again, plants amaze me.

Click here: BBC - Earth - Plants talk to each other using an internet of fungus

Thank you Larry Hodgson for sharing this gem.