{"id":47006,"date":"2022-08-12T08:29:54","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T16:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/?p=47006"},"modified":"2022-08-12T08:29:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-12T16:29:54","slug":"how-when-to-espalier-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/2022\/08\/12\/how-when-to-espalier-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"How & When to Espalier Plants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This local star jasmine has been trained in the formal
Belgian Fence style<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Over the years I\u2019ve visited many gardens and been asked for advice on how to deal with a narrow space. <\/strong>We all have \u2018em. Sometimes it\u2019s that area between the garage and the fence. Or maybe the neighbor\u2019s deck overlooks your patio but there\u2019s not room to plant a hedge. Or maybe you want to break up your garden with a graceful screen that doesn\u2019t take up too much space. Whether you have an edible in mind that would look great in that space or want an ornamental plant to bring some color, flowers, birds & butterflies, there are lots of choices for shrubs to train as an espalier no matter what your growing conditions are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve read that the practice of espalier originated in Medieval times when residents of warring cities planted trees inside their walled cities<\/strong>. The Roman and Egyptians are also said to have trained fruit bearing plants like fig, apple, pear and citrus in their gardens but it was the Europeans, specifically the French who perfected the designs we see today.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A nicely trained apple. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Dwarf pear and apple trees are pretty easy to train.<\/strong> Both these trees produce thickened spurs which is where the fruit develops so don\u2019t lop them off when you prune. They are easy to see. You\u2019ll need cat least 6 hours of sun a day for them to produce fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Camellia<\/strong> thrive in shade and because they have flexible branches they lend themselves to training. Pyracantha<\/strong> is also forgiving of mistakes for this reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Narrow spaces can be challenging. One of my favorite plants that naturally grows flat is grewia occidentals or Lavender Starflower. <\/strong>it grows fast in sun and attracts hummingbirds and other birds. Beautiful lavender flowers cover the plant from spring to fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another plant, azara microphylla,<\/strong> also grows flat without much coaxing on your part. This small dainty tree is fast growing and reaches 15-25 ft tall. The yellow flower clusters will fill your garden with the scent of white chocolate in late winter. They are ideal between structures. I\u2019ve used the variegated version to screen a shower and it\u2019s working great. The chocolate fragrance of this plant is really what makes it a show stopper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flowering quince<\/strong> is an old garden staple providing early color. They are easy to care for and nearly indestructible in almost any soil that is well drained and not overly fertile. Once established quince is a very drought tolerant plant and their spiny branches make them an excellent choice for hedges, screening or as a security barrier. There are red, pink, orange and white flowering varieties. The Toyo Nishiki cultivar even has pink, white and solid red flowers all on the same branch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another small tree, the Compact Carolina cherry laurel<\/strong> can be espaliered also in a narrow space if needed. It grows 10 ft tall but that may be all you need to screen the neighbor. They are drought tolerant once established, deer resistant and the perfect host for birds, bees and butterflies. The leaves smell like cherries when crushed which gives this plant it\u2019s common name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other ornamental shrubs that make great espaliered plants are<\/strong> abutilon, bougainvillea in frost free areas, callistemon, dodonaea, feijoa, gingko, sarcococca, viburnum, ribes, rhaphiolepis, pittosporum tobira and osmanthus fragrans. Trees that can be trained include cercis, agonis flexuosa, eriobotrya, and podocarps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California native plants that can be espaliered are<\/strong> garrya, fremontodendron. Carolina cherry, flowering currant and ceanothus while the branches are young and supple.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A young fruit tree in training<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be overwhelmed if an espalier gets out of hand during the season. Just nip the branches back to a leaf node. Use heavy jute to attach the branch to the support wire or stake. After a season the jute will rot away which keeps the branch from being girdled by the restraint.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the years I\u2019ve visited many gardens and been asked for advice on how to deal with a narrow space. We all have \u2018em. Sometimes it\u2019s that area between the garage and the fence. Or maybe the neighbor\u2019s deck overlooks your patio but there\u2019s not room to plant a hedge. Or maybe you want to … Continue reading How & When to Espalier Plants<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1053,502,1052],"class_list":["post-47006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-design-trends","tag-california-natives-for-espalier","tag-espalier","tag-good-plants-to-espalier"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47006\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jannelsonlandscapedesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}