Verdun, I must take some before, during and after photos... thank you so much for your confidence, not always shared by me!
Re the method of training an espalier - yes, absolutely- one tier each year, formed by careful pruning just above appropriate buds. That's how I was taught at college, and how I've done it myself in the past. Slow but satisfying... I don't think the trees I'm working on have had very much in the way of proper treatment, more "tie in and hope". But they are outgrowing their space so I need to curb them, or they will be vandalised by the local youth.
I wish I'd been involved with this project earlier, but I couldn't do it while I was working; if you're interested, it's called "Incredible Edible Todmorden", and there's a lot about it on line (and in the press - it's a movement which has now spread worldwide, with groups from Europe, Japan, and America visiting regularly for explanatory tours). Amazing to think it was started by a woman in my town growing veg in her front yard and putting up a "help yourself" notice. But being run entirely by volunteers has its disadvantages; there are loads of people with energy and enthusiasm but no horticultural knowledge, and others in the community who reckon that because it's a "community project" they should be able to hack down things which are a bit in their way - someone has attacked some blackcurrants next to the Medical Centre car park with a hedgetrimmer...
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
That's ok, Verdun - I didn't read your comments as harsh and discouraging. You know your stuff and I respect that - and you may be right, that the end result could be... well, not entirely satisfactory!
Thanks for your good wishes.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
The guy on the clip is a bit more heavy-handed than I can be, because of the community's desire for fruit in the short term, not just after a few years - he seems to have removed almost all the fruiting wood. Plus I'm not sure if some of the little branches he leaves for the espaliers will thicken out adequately. He doesn't show any summer pruning but maybe he did some...
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
I won't hold you to that, Verdun! It would be entirely unfair when you've helped me with this.
Yes, it is indeed a short cut system - I imagine the trees were supplied as "trained" but were in fact merely "flat", having had selected shoots removed rather than a proper pruning regime of the main stem. So I'm stuck with that. But I'm hoping at least to get the branches more horizontal, as you suggest. I'm also hoping that nobody will notice if I take the top out of the tree... there are only 4 wires, and no possibility of taking it higher, so I think I must. But the gen public may need an explanation as to why their trees are shrinking...
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Posts
Verdun, I must take some before, during and after photos... thank you so much for your confidence, not always shared by me!
Re the method of training an espalier - yes, absolutely- one tier each year, formed by careful pruning just above appropriate buds. That's how I was taught at college, and how I've done it myself in the past. Slow but satisfying...
I don't think the trees I'm working on have had very much in the way of proper treatment, more "tie in and hope". But they are outgrowing their space so I need to curb them, or they will be vandalised by the local youth.
I wish I'd been involved with this project earlier, but I couldn't do it while I was working; if you're interested, it's called "Incredible Edible Todmorden", and there's a lot about it on line (and in the press - it's a movement which has now spread worldwide, with groups from Europe, Japan, and America visiting regularly for explanatory tours). Amazing to think it was started by a woman in my town growing veg in her front yard and putting up a "help yourself" notice. But being run entirely by volunteers has its disadvantages; there are loads of people with energy and enthusiasm but no horticultural knowledge, and others in the community who reckon that because it's a "community project" they should be able to hack down things which are a bit in their way - someone has attacked some blackcurrants next to the Medical Centre car park with a hedgetrimmer...
That's ok, Verdun - I didn't read your comments as harsh and discouraging. You know your stuff and I respect that - and you may be right, that the end result could be... well, not entirely satisfactory!
Thanks for your good wishes.
I don't know if I can work out how to do a link, Verdun, but this is one of the youtube clips I found.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxsbEbaKk-Q
The guy on the clip is a bit more heavy-handed than I can be, because of the community's desire for fruit in the short term, not just after a few years - he seems to have removed almost all the fruiting wood. Plus I'm not sure if some of the little branches he leaves for the espaliers will thicken out adequately. He doesn't show any summer pruning but maybe he did some...
This is one of my "little horrors"...
I won't hold you to that, Verdun! It would be entirely unfair when you've helped me with this.
Yes, it is indeed a short cut system - I imagine the trees were supplied as "trained" but were in fact merely "flat", having had selected shoots removed rather than a proper pruning regime of the main stem. So I'm stuck with that. But I'm hoping at least to get the branches more horizontal, as you suggest. I'm also hoping that nobody will notice if I take the top out of the tree... there are only 4 wires, and no possibility of taking it higher, so I think I must. But the gen public may need an explanation as to why their trees are shrinking...