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No, espalier isn't some kind of exotic fruit from Malaysia that has become popular with the Hollywood crowd and will soon be found in your local supermarket. Rather it is a method for growing trees in a hedge-like manner that enables people with even the smallest yards to be able to grow fruit trees.

The definition of espalier is "a trellis or framework on which the trunk and branches of fruit trees or shrubs are trained to grow in one plane." (http://dictionary.reference.c om/browse/espalier). Essentially what it means is progressively pruning your tree to grow in a flat plane along a fence, side of a building, or existing hedge. This approach will take several years of continuous pruning as the tree grows, as well as yearly maintenance when you perform your winter pruning and late summer thinning, but will leave you with a space-efficient tree that should produce an abundance of fresh fruit.

Imagine the possibilities! You can replace the traditional hedge in your front yard with a hedge that produces oranges, lemons, or even seasonal fruit such as peaches, pears or apples. Keep in mind that if you intend the espaliered fruit trees to be used as a screening or privacy hedge, use evergreen fruit trees such as citrus, not peaches, cherries, or apples which will drop their leaves in winter. You can utilize just a few feet of space along a fence to have a productive backyard that provides year round fresh fruit.

The best time for heavy and structural pruning is winter (January and February) prior to buds forming on the trees. You can also do light pruning and thinning of small branches after the fruit has been harvested. Other articles in this chain give great specific instructions on how to prune, but just keep in mind that you can trim it like any other plant that you are trying to train. Best of luck in your fruit tree growing endeavors.

For more ideas on how to create your own backyard orchard see this article - http://www.helium.com/tm/11505 4/probably-easily-imagine-appe al

Learn more about this author, John P Cummings.
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