Comments on: An ancient technique, pruning the espalier trees on my farm

By: John Meadows

John Meadows — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:29:23 +0000

Years ago I saw Martha Stewart plant a dutch apple fence. The trees were Y-shaped plantings and were spaced side by side and tied together and grew into a fence. Why can I find absolutely nothing about this anywhere? I would like to try one, what variety of tree do you use? Thankyou, John Meadows Oil City, Pa.

By: Teresa Giovanzana

Teresa Giovanzana — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 21:40:01 +0000

Dear Martha,
Could Sean and you please demonstrate/explain how to prune established expalier fruit trees that are not over grown. I have pear, apple, and cherry trees. I am having difficulty finding good examples and clearly outlined pruning procedures on line or in books.
Thank you so much,
Teresa Giovanzana
San Jose, CA

By: Pennie Haase

Pennie Haase — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:21:45 +0000

Hi Martha - How far apart are your trees planted. I have 18' that I want to plant and have ordered two trees, but think that three might be more appropriate.
Thank you.

By: Kedpeade

Kedpeade — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 04:23:30 +0000

Cool!

By: MAYBELLINE

MAYBELLINE — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:58:50 +0000

This is our 1st year growing espalier (6 fruit trees). So far, so good. Espalier orchards tend to live and produce longer. Healthy espalier orchards are attributed to the regular pruning and attention each tree needs.

Lovely hobby.

By: martha Iszard

martha Iszard — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:33:33 +0000

I live on a farm in the Fingerlakes region of NY which is owned by a friend. He has acres and acres of espalied apples. When he first planted them I commented on how beautiful they were. He called it growing on wire.I then gave him the history as Martha did in her blog. He was facinated. I love the way Martha always gives us the history of the subject she is talking about. You will have a huge harvest this year now that they are pruned . Now pray for the bees to do their thing. Love your gardening blogs Martha, Many thanks

By: HBE

HBE — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:15:35 +0000

One day when my child was in elementary school the teacher was asked me to assist and design a bulletin board/display. It was to be a tree and apples with the names of the children would hang from said tree. Well, I twisted paper to fashion thin espaliered trunks and branches and created a set of trees with entwined branches. I know I was dealing with an educated person but she or he --i can't remember --had Never heard of this term espalier. Oh Well, it was my Martha moment --shedding light on this topic and I was definitely thinking out of the box when I made that apple tree!!! I tried to talk them into using pear shapes but they would not have any of it.

By: Ivory Pearl Interiors

Ivory Pearl Interiors — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:12:34 +0000

Spring is definitely arrived! Your photos prove it!

By: Pru

Pru — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:21:48 +0000

Martha, thank you so much for your response. We have now staked the peonies, so hopefully they will weather the windy weather in London.

Looking forward to your next blog.
Thank you again.

Pru

By: Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:31:56 +0000

Hi Pru,
So sorry for the delay in answering your questions. The sucker growth that was pruned away is just that - it sucks energy from the more productive branches. Those apple trees were not too productive last year. This extreme pruning will, hopefully, revive the budding branching, making them more fruit bearing. The reason the trees went untended was because the gerdeners working here didn't have Shaun's pruning skills.

As far as your peony, it has only just started to get really warm in my neck of the woods and I'm sure that my plants will match yours soon enough. Happy gardening!