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Fruit & Orchards

fruit trees close to house-espalier

12 years ago

I'm out of sunny yard space. Want to add pear trees, which grow well in this area. My sunniest available space is next to house, so am figuring espalier method. Are their varieties better suited for this (and assume need couple to cross-pollinate)? Also - how far out from building? I assume soil will be junk, and will upgrade soil. And finally, there is a maple tree on one side (leaning away) and a tall hickory on other side, but this spot gets 3/4 day of sun. And finally, for espalier, use dwarf or standard?

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Comments (7)

Konrad___far_north
12 years ago
Pear grow tap roots and you shouldn't need any soil improvement's...theyr'e happy in clay.
I have seen very old espaliers right next to the house, perhaps a foot away or so, ...I don't think these about 80 year old trees are on anything like dwarf, I would use standard, longer lived trees and more drought tolerant because they root deeper.
bob_z6
12 years ago
Would there be a risk of the roots damaging the house's foundation at that distance?

I take it that this would be on the south side to maximize the sun they would get?

Bob
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I agree with Gary's recommendation. I have a North Star cherry that I espaliered and it looked great that way until our neighbor's soft maple shed a limb and wiped out one whole side of my creation. Since then, I've let it grow to a more natural shape. Excellent pie cherry! I also have a dwarf Haralson apple espaliered. If you're getting a full-size variety (larger than the cherries) of some kind, I'd recommend the dwarfing rootstock. Keeping growth in check becomes a challenge once the tree becomes established. Give it a shot. If I had more room, I'd try plums and apricots.
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I am so excited I found this topic. So before I even read the rest of the terrific replies to the original post I'm leaving my story here. I bought my home two years ago which included a beautiful old apple tree in the back yard. Well, the property got divided (a very long and sad story) and I lost the apple tree to the neighbor who made a very big deal of harvesting the apples this year. She only harvested them when I was home and available to see her doing it. Argggghhhh.... so I then ran across articles on espaliering apple trees. I have seen people who use them along walkways and as dividers, etc. I am thrilled and plan on using this technique to divide my backyard from my pond area with a 4-5 foot high espaliered apples. I also plan to use them as a divider between my front yard and hers a span of about 20 feet or so. It should look gorgeous. I have to rub her nose in it somehow, LOL. Now... I have seen several different techniques. Some people use wire and some use a wood trellis effect. Is one more effective than the other? I'm thinking I probably want two trees to span the area of about 15 feet in the backyard. Would that be enough or should I use 3 trees? Do I plant the trees now, in fall, or wait until Spring? So many questions and so many answers to find. Next, of course is the type of apple I want. Now, I'm off to read the rest of this thread... thanks way in advance....Jim
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Konrad___far_north
12 years ago
Not sure about foundation...I have seen in Europe. Our flimsy
foundation it might be of concern...but only slightly I would think because we're not talking about a free standing tree next to the house, a espalier is a very labor intensive structure and allway's pruned back every year.
Yes, these I've seen on the south side.
jimfnc
Original Author
12 years ago
Since I only have room for two (pollination) can you recommend 2 disease resistant varieties? Would you go Asian or European if could not do both. This is for more fresh eating than canning. And even though zone 7, summer is very hot.
Noogy
12 years ago
Being in NC with a different dolar positioning, I'd consider planting it 2'5" away from the house so as to increase the sun exposure. Consider a white backdrop if you're not comfortable with that distance and implement summer pruning a la Lorrette's. Have a blacksmith construct a frame to train it. You have a lot of choices in the disease free realm. Do a search... Harrow sweet, there has been quite a bit of action in this topic. Get an asian and a euro. Olympic seems to be a winner. I love Chojuro. Ubileen is an early pear that will work with an asian. There are also a few others. You could even go with multiple grafted tree and just grow one. Or get a couple two in one trees. Why not?
rweissman
12 years ago
You might want to look into a multigrafted espalier. I have three on one espalier (Bartlett, Bosc and Red Bartlett on three separate tiers). It gives me multiple varieties with easy pollination. I have it on standard rootstock.

Rob
rweissman
12 years ago
Here is the multigraft espalier pear I mentioned. I got my first Red Bartlett this year and it was delicious.

Rob

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