Espalier Fruit Trees in Colorado

18 years ago

Hi all -

Has anyone experimented with Espalier in Colorado. I am considering playing with the technique to grow a few fruit trees against the brick exterior on a sheltered north side of the brick wall against our home.

Anyone, care to way in with experience or suggestions for just the right type of tree for our climate here in Denver would be most welcome.

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Comments (8)

irisgirl
18 years ago
We are thinking about the same thing! We want to espalier a dwarf stock 5-in-1 or 3-in-1 apple tree on the east side of our garage.

Have you checked w/ the folks at The Tree Farm on Hwy 52 west of I-25. Their people are very knowledgeable. And it is nice drive out of the city.

Have you checked w/ the Denver Botanic Gardens?

Here is a link that might be useful: The Tree Farm
PRO
Chris McGinness
Original Author
18 years ago
Hi there Irisgirl! Fantastic! We can compare notes as we go for it. I havne't checked out the Tree Farm but definately will! Thanks for the recomendation. From everything I've read apple would be the easiest for an Espalier first attempt. And the locale I'm looking at should be well suited.

I'm thinking of working with some copper tubing for the frame. I'll have to experiment with the guage.

When are you looking to begin? I was thinking of starting in September.
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I planted a two dimensional apple tree fence and I espaliered two pears against a brick wall. My wife calls it my ten year experiment. It's been 5 years and I'm still too new at this to give proper advice, but I'll note my watchouts. First the squirrels will get every apple, so it's more aesthetics that you are going for. I'm sure someone in your area will point to good nursery in your area, but you should definitely purchase disease resistant apples. In Atlanta, it's fireblight and cedar apple rust. buy trees that have the same growth habit. some apples are more aggressive, some are more 'spur' type, some are 'tip' bearing. How tall do you want the fence? I used a semi dwarfing root stock, M111 because I wanted a screen as well as apples. But most people will recommend dwarfing root stock. Buy 1 year old trees, 'whips'. they are cheaper there is much more selection and you'll be surprised how fast they grow. Plus it gives you some time to learn 'pruning'. The pear trees respond to espalier better, followed by apples. I've learned 'pears are for heirs'. it take more time for them to fruit. The apples, you'll have apples in your 3rd season. The 2 dimensional fence and espalier make it harder to protect from varmits. and if you are in the city you'll be limited on controls. I have to mention that the folks on this forum are brilliant, and you can learn a lot by reading the various Q&A. but I've learned the most by jumping in. I hope this helps. It's fun. .
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Check with your state's Department of Agriculture / Extension Agency. Many of them have a web presence. Most states have a number of brochures and thorough articles discussing what will grow well in your area, how to plant, and how to cultivate fruit trees. Those will be better than any sort of generic advice given in a book that's designed to appeal to a nationwide audience. You should also consider buying a gardening book by a local author that specifically discusses your area. The advice and tips are usually dead on and less generic. For example, again, "Extreme Gardening in Arizona" or Brookbank's "Desert Gardening" is more useful to me, in Phoenix, than Sunset's "Guide to Western Gardening" which is very California-centric or Otto's "The Backyard Orchardist: A Complete Guide to Growing Fruit Trees"
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I have limited space in my yard and wanted to see if anyone had tried an espaliered fruit tree. I'm curious about fig but any experience would be appreciated.
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nancy_in_co
18 years ago
I haven't done it but I have a friend that has a fabulous 20 ft espalier apple tree here in Colorado Springs. It is on an east facing wall. And she gets fruit every year.

Good luck.
PRO
Chris McGinness
Original Author
18 years ago
Hey Nancy -

Thanks for the encouragement! Do you know what kind of fruit tree that they have down in the Springs? It sounds amazing!
timothynelson53
17 years ago
I have similar interests, and finally got my plan in gear this year. I ordered 1-year 'whips' from Henry Leuthardts Nursery in New York, by mail order. Tried a variety of fruit trees after adjusting order to deal with fact that some trees are self-pollinating, others need a 'buddy' to cross-pollinate. The Leuthardt folks are reasonably priced ($11/tree for whips, as I recall) and good at answering questions.
rossn
2 months ago
Been 17 years (!)... did anyone espalier a fruit tree here, and if so, how is the tree doing?
gardengrl66 z5
last month
We have a pear that's about 8 years old. It's against an East-facing wall. It came as a 3-in-1 but only the Bartlett has ever given fruit (the other two were D'Anjou and Flemish Beauty). So we've had the added challenge of trying to re-train the Bartlett branch over to the areas where we initially trained the others!

I'm hoping to install an apple, but we have limited space and I don't want two so need a self-fertile one...given our experience with the pear I'm not too hot on a multi-grafted plant.
rossn
last month
Depending on where you live, there are a lot of apples in Colorado. Many crab apples can also serve as an apple pollinator, so may be worth looking around your neighbor's yeards.

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Espalier Fruit Trees in Colorado

Comments (8)

irisgirl

Chris McGinness
Original Author

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nancy_in_co

Chris McGinness
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timothynelson53

rossn

gardengrl66 z5

rossn

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Espalier Fruit Trees in Colorado

Comments (8)

irisgirl

Chris McGinnessOriginal Author

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nancy_in_co

Chris McGinnessOriginal Author

timothynelson53

rossn

gardengrl66 z5

rossn

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Chris McGinness
Original Author

Chris McGinness
Original Author