Wow. I thank you all for the great advice! Yeah, I guess I'm a bit disappointed that it's on EMLA111. I was hoping the tree would be a bit smaller than that. I too don't understand why they'd go with 111... especially since they are very highly regarded at my nursery, and they obviously know what their doing when it comes to the grafting & training. O'well... we'll adjust. I believe in order to grow another tier, typically you'd allow a new leader to grow slightly above where you want the next level. At that point you'd head it leaving at least 2 buds where you want your new branches to come out (one on either side ideally). Right, that was going to be my plan. I wonder how much higher I should let it go? Maybe 4 inches beyond the desired new lateral height? Skip some of the historical chapters in Tukey's book for now. Read the chapter on Summer Pruning. that will give you the most immediately applicable info to your situation. Next, go backwards a little and read the chapter titled Principles Of Pruning And Training. I've got the book open right now. Thanks! It is a little unusual to place a trained, espalier tree in a freestanding situation as you have done. Normally, such a tree would be sited next to a wall or fence, where some support is already available, or could be built without appearing out of place. Yeah, I knew this location wasn't typical, but I was figuring it would still work out nicely because I've already got a bunch of trellises in the back yard, and really, it helps one from feeling like they're going to fall off my raised back yard. Since I've already got all the trellises back there, it will probably fit right in with all the others! :-) The long lateral branches of an espalier will require support to keep their shape I guess my question here is... will they need support for the entire life of the tree? Or just while the tree is growing? Or, does it just need support to bear the weight of the apples? Being that the tree is currently 6 feet tall, and about 1.5¨ at the trunk, anybody want to venture a guess as to how old it is? The good news is that you don't have to do anything at the moment, except study;) . Yep, I've got a lot to learn. Right now, I know enough to be dangerous! :-) Thanks again! -Glenn

When you make a cut on an espalier, make the cut expose the least surface area possible. Like surgery on human skin, the smaller the incision, the most easily repaired. You can find a book about how to form a candelabra espalier at espalier services. Instead of making a candelabra, just form a "U". Think about keeping the 2 upright branches at least 14-16" apart.

"good" depends on what type of apple(s) you like. are you near the bottom of a slope (cool summer evening downslope breezes)? bad for bananas. essential for (some) apples. A full size apple's hard to pick (35' x 35') anyway, for this and the 7' west wallspace question, think about what you like (mandarins vs pomelo vs etc) then hit the libraries (ccclib and ucb or even ucd if you want to go that far... dvc's not so great for edibles, IIRC.). also crfg.org. (and how tall is the wall? typical rancher eaves height? what's the eaves overhang (typical?)? depth of soil and air space from wall to nearest immovable object?)

Honey fungus, Armillaria mellea root rot, is present worldwide throughout temperate regions and the disease has been reported in all of the 50 states. It's there, whether you recognize it as a honey mushroom or not. There are many species of Armillaria and while A. mellea is generally the culprit, other closely related species have also been included in the generic application of 'armillaria root rot'.