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Planting espalier fruit trees on a fence which has large shrubs on the other side?

iamjowilsoniamjowilson Posts: 67
in Fruit & veg
I have a long south facing fence in my small garden which I would like to make use of to grow some fruit trees - ideally apricot, cherry, greengage and/or pear, however the neighbouring garden has large shrubs planted very close to the fence all along. They are philadelphus, sumach, elder, cotoneaster, forsythia and laurel (there may be some more I’m not aware of).

 I currently have raised veg beds along this fence, and two of them do well for stuff like squash, tomatoes, beans etc, but one (next to the elder/sumach/laurel clump) is always much drier and stuff generally struggles there.

Would it be a crazy idea to try to plant fruit trees that would have to compete with all the shrubs next door? Might it help if I dug in a 70cm root barrier along the length of the fence? I’d rather not dig that deep unless I really have to... but the garden is small and there is nowhere else for the fruit.

TIA 🙂

Posts

  • PyraPyra Posts: 152
    I have exactly the same problem, so it'll be interesting to find out what others think! 

    I think it should be ok as long as they're not right uo next to the fence. 
    But others will correct me. 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I had the same dilemma when I wanted to grow cordon pears on my fence with a huge elder just the other side (it's so close the trunk is now pressing on my new fence and bending it!!) and vast amounts of bindweed and brambles coming through from next door.
    I put in a root barrier just in front of the gravel boards which seems to have worked.
    The big problem was digging the trench for the root barrier. Some of the roots from the elder were 6" or more in diameter so I had a lot of root sawing to do.
    The brambles and bindweed still pop up between the gravel boards and the barrier, so I keep them under control with Roundup when they appear.
    This is what I used
    https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KYWOB0E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    Which I bought in Feb 2017

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    If there is Sumach next door, a root barrier along the boundary might be a sound investment of time and money even without the fruit trees, just make sure you remove any runners already coming through.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • iamjowilsoniamjowilson Posts: 67
    I actually have Sumach in both sides and regularly remove runners 😬
    Pete - how long is the run of root barrier you put in? Did you do the full length of your fence? Did you use a trenching shovel? 

    I would like to keep the current raised Veg beds, but move them forwards to leave a space between them and the trees. Does anyone know how much space I’d need to leave as a minimum? I’d obv grow lower growing veg so as not to shade the trees. 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    The barrier runs along 3 fence panels. You can see it up against the gravel boards.
    I left some above ground to prevent trailing surface roots getting over. The bindweed from next door has had a blast of Roundup.
    I just used a garden spade to dig a trench and cut off any roots as I came across them.

    The 2nd pic shows where I've used it towards the end of the fence to contain a patch of raspberries. No escapees so far.





    The whole area is a raised bed.




    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • iamjowilsoniamjowilson Posts: 67
    Thanks - it looks great! Was it a beast of a job digging the trench? 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Not really but there was a lot of cussing when I came across massive roots from next door, then I had to dig further down and around so I could saw them off then dig the rest of the root out.
    It probably took best part of 3-4 hours in all and I'm pleased that it seems to have worked

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • iamjowilsoniamjowilson Posts: 67
    Well done - and thanks for the advice!
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    You're welcome and good luck with your project

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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