By Laura Lukes, UC Butte County Master Gardener, May 5, 2017.

There is a bit of ancient Rome and a taste of old Egypt at the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden at the Patrick Ranch. Butte County MGs are practicing espaliering, the early horticultural art of pruning and training a tree or shrub to grow flat against a support. Espaliering is believed to have been practiced by the early Romans, and hieroglyphs of espaliered fig trees have been found in Egyptian tombs from as long ago as 1400 B.C. In the Middle Ages, Europeans refined espaliering into an art, and designs became increasingly decorative and elaborate.

The technique was probably developed to extend production time for fruit, and to increase yield, particularly in temperate climates. Planting against an interior castle courtyard wall that reflected more sunlight and retained heat overnight also helped prevent late frost bud-kill.

The word “espalier” is French, but it comes from the Italian spalliera, meaning “something to rest the shoulder (spalla) against.” Eventually, it came to mean both the practice of training and shaping plants to a frame, and the plants themselves.

An Espalier Garden Grows in Chico

In late spring 2015, a small group of Butte County Master Gardeners proposed an Espalier Garden for the educational gardens being developed by the Master Gardeners at Patrick Ranch. They created plans to showcase fruit trees and to display different patterns of espaliering. From there, they embarked on the basic steps of espaliering: site selection, espalier structure design, tree variety selection, planting technique, espalier pattern choices, and methods of pruning and training.  The trees were planted in Spring 2016.

Site Selection: Ideally, in our Mediterranean climate the espalier structure should run north-south. This protects the plants from the harsh angle of the summer sun, from prevailing dry north winds, and (during rain storms) the strong south winds. However, due to the existing Demonstration Garden layout, the Master Gardener Espalier Garden is situated in an east-west direction. When considering a location in your garden, pick a site that has good drainage but will hold sufficient water between irrigations.

Espalier Structure Design: Because the Espalier Garden is a teaching tool, the Master Gardeners built sturdy, long lasting espalier supports. The structure consists of pressure-treated 4 x 4 posts with eyehooks supporting wire cable that can periodically be tightened. The cable is strung horizontally at one-foot intervals, although intervals of up to two feet are also common. The home gardener could use a length of hog/cattle wire instead of cable.

Tree / Vine Variety Selection: Certain types of trees adapt better to this practice than others, but almost any woody plant can be trained to grow along a flat plane. Grapevines are particularly adaptable to espaliering. Fig and apple trees are also good choices.

Fruit tree varieties should be self-pollinating, unless several trees of the same variety are planted in proximity. Select bare root trees that are not fully branched or budded out, as once planted, they are cut back to a single cane (if they are already branching, prune to leave branch stubs with two buds to make sure you get re-growth at each node). The Master Gardeners have planted Tiger Fig, Lapins Cherry, Santa Rosa Plum, Pluot, Fuji Apple, Arkansas Black Spur Apple, Plumcot/Aprium, Brown Turkey Fig, Warren Plum, and North Star Cherry in their Espalier Garden.

Planting Technique: Each tree was spaced six to eight feet apart, and placed in holes with sufficient room for the root ball. The hole should not be too deep: plant at the same depth the tree grew in the nursery; once planted, the graft union is usually four to six inches above the soil line. An important lesson the Master Gardeners learned is to allow for soil settling that occurs after the initial watering! Once it's in the ground, a bare root tree should be pruned to a single leader, about level with the first horizontal structural support, which is usually 15-18 inches above the soil.

Espalier Pattern Choices: There are many designs to choose from, ranging from traditional formal patterns developed over hundreds of years, to modern informal designs. Among the most common are V-Shaped; Candelabra; Belgian Fence; Cordon (horizontal or double vertical); and Palmette or Fan. The MGs chose for their Espalier Garden two types of candelabras, a fan, a horizontal cordon, a Belgian Fence, and the elegant Crossover pattern.

Pruning and Training to Espalier: Expect to engage in heavy pruning and training for the first one to three years. After five to seven years, the tree will retain its shape even if the support structure deteriorates or is removed. Any major pruning is generally accomplished either while the plant is dormant, or during the proper season for pruning that species. Bending and tying limbs that remain in the design is done during the summer season as growth progresses, when shoots are most flexible. The Master Gardeners use rubber anchor bands to tie the limbs and shoots to their supports. Whatever you use, ties should be loose enough that water and nutrients can move through the phloem.

Because there will be more fruiting spurs produced along the horizontal branches than along the vertical trunk, eventually you will have many fruits setting on your espaliered tree. This is the point of espaliering!

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words. The ten fruit trees selected and planted by the Master Gardeners are in their second year of espalier training. You can view the developing espaliers at the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden at Patrick Ranch, Fridays through Sundays from 11 am to 3 pm. 

For more detail on espalier training, a good reference work is Pruning and Training published by the American Horticultural Society.