How often have you admired a plant or structural element in someone else's garden and been inspired to recreate it in your own?
Robert Golinoski, an experienced local gardener who has counselled the owners of some of the most beautiful and prominent gardens in Winnipeg, says very often we want to grow the sort of plants that thrive in other locales, even those with much milder climates.
Golinoski recalls the vast diversity of plants that grew on his family's urban property in Burnaby, B.C. -- an abundance of riches that included rose bowers and 10 different kinds of fruit trees, as well as loganberries, blackberries, even Japanese quince.
Over the years, he has visited some of the finest gardens in England and France with an opportunity to see even more diverse plant material, but in particular, horticultural art forms such as living arbours and fences, clipped hedges and of course, the espalier.
Revered for its unique decorative form and largely considered unattainable by gardeners on this side of the pond if only because of the degree of difficulty associated in creating one, the espalier may be coming soon to a garden near you.
What exactly is an espalier? In simple terms, an espalier is a tree that has been trained to grow parallel to walls or in elongated fence-like patterns. The most common espalier design is the cordon. Picture tiers of horizontal branches arising from a single stem, the branches spread-eagled in opposite directions. Unlike the mature tree that commands most of the space and available light in your yard with its ever spreading leafy canopy, the espaliered tree is the ultimate space saver.
Imagine planting your tree's root ball a mere 10 centimetre from the outside wall of your house, fence or garage. Doesn't that close proximity to any structure break every rule of tree planting you were ever taught? Espalier is designed for this specific use in the garden.
The technique of espalier has been around since Roman times, but its early history is mainly associated with Father Legendre of Hanonsville, France, who in 1684 wrote the first book on how to train an espalier. A monk who was in charge of his monastery's garden, Father Legendre sought to protect his fruit trees from killing frosts by planting them as close to the monastery walls as possible.
Working with a limited amount of wall space, he drastically pruned the trees in order to accommodate all of them. The close proximity to the brick walls provided added warmth and served to increase yields.
Golinoski concedes espalier can be a complicated thing to start from scratch, but it's a concept that intrigues him. A fearless gardener who is at home with a pair of pruning shears, he has experimented successfully with growing an espaliered honey crisp apple tree against the otherwise barren outside wall of the garage in his daughter's backyard.
This early space saver, says Golinoski, could be an unsurpassed decorative element whose time has come for Winnipeg homeowners with miniscule gardens. Sara Williams agrees, saying it might be an ideal solution in a small condo garden or courtyard garden enclosed by a wall or high fence.
Sara Williams, a well-known Prairie horticulturist and author of several gardening books, conducts annual overseas garden tours that have taken her into some of the most exclusive backyards. She has seen many examples of espalier, including specimens well over 50 years old, trained into a variety of shapes, such as the classic fan or candelabra.
"I think that espalier is best used as originally intended -- where space is limited," says Williams, adding south or west-facing walls or fences provide the amount of sun exposure all espaliers need.
While few might have the inclination to train and prune a young tree into an espalier, we might be persuaded to plant a ready-made espalier. Easier to master the technique of judicious pruning on an annual basis to maintain the unique form than to produce tiers of branches.
Jan Pedersen, sales representative for Bylands Nurseries, says that in 2015, gardeners will see a limited number of hardy espalier at local garden centres. Bylands is producing espalier on American elm and snowbird hawthorne trees, growing them as cordons and triangle shapes that have been trained to a grid. Tom Dooley, greenhouse manager for Shelmerdine Garden Centre, plans to carry both varieties.
They will be available in 113 litre containers so will be good-sized trees, approximately three metres by 1.8 metres. Pedersen expects combination apple espalier forms will be available in 2016.
When a good friend of mine saw a lone espaliered pear tree at a local big-box store last spring, I confess to buying it when she hesitated. Fortunately, our friendship survived. Now, I hope the espalier does, too.
Classified as hardy to zone 2 (-46 C) and grown in Western Canada, the horizontal espalier has three tiers and is a self-pollinating fruit combo; that is, grafted with a minimum of two varieties of fruit. In this case, Ure, Flemish Beauty, or Gold Spice on Ussuriensis stock.
The form is that of a horizontal cordon with branches extending horizontally along three planes. The overall size of the espalier at time of purchase was approximately one metre tall and 1.5 metres wide. Since the form is already established, all that was needed was to provide support by tethering the branches to a section of wrought iron fence every 45 cm along their length using clear plastic hose with wire threaded through on the inside. Periodically, these will need to be expanded as the branches increase in width.
Planting it was the easy part. The challenge now will be to maintain the horizontal growth by recognizing where to prune. In order to ensure, for example, the branches of the espalier grow at an even rate, it will be important to prune them to similar lengths. Any new growth along the main trunk will need to be removed from time to time, as well.
Many of the same principles that apply to bonsai also apply to maintaining small fruit trees and shrubs that require annual pruning. Stuart Innes, past president of the Bonsai Society of Winnipeg, says pruning correctly will be necessary in order to maintain smaller foliage and overall size as well as to allow space for new foliage to receive enough air and light.
If the desired result with an espalier is to have horizontal branches, it is important to prune buds in the direction you want growth. If the cut, for example, is made so that the last bud is pointing upwards, then the branch will tend to grow upwards. Cut the branch, says Innes, where the bud is either pointed down or straight sideways. As well, in maintaining a fixed, smaller size of plant, Innes recommends thinning out the weakest twigs and perhaps most difficult of all but necessary nevertheless, is to occasionally remove some of the strongest growth.
Fruit trees often send up fast growing straight, thin shoots called water sprouts. These must be removed, flush to the branch.
Innes points out an obvious drawback to the espaliered form. While a typical tree tends to have enough branches to provide its trunk with some protection in the winter, an espaliered tree receives the full brunt of the sun on its trunk. The result can be sun scald, which can damage the plant's bark and interior cells.
Covering the trunk in winter with tree wrap or light-coloured material will afford some protection.
This spring, watch for limited availability of ready-made espalier. What's old is now new and sure to stimulate interest without taking up a lot of space.
If an espalier is not right for you, consider growing that other iconic symbol of the classic English garden, the clipped hedge. Golinoski says there is no finer choice for a hedge in our climate than the Dwarf Korean lilac (Syringa meyeri). Also known as the littleleaf lilac, this compact shrub grows to 1.5 metres and makes a good hedgerow plant similar to the popular privet hedge found in the English garden.
Notices:
Travel beyond the garden gate with Sara Williams as she explores the gardens, history, art and culture of Morocco, Turkey and Ireland in 2015. For more information, email sara.williams@usask.ca.
Plan to join Williams on Feb. 2 for An Introduction to the History of the Gardens of Great Britain. Learn about the origins of espalier, hahas, topiary, mazes and more. Presented by the Steinbach Area Garden Club, 7 p.m. at the Mennonite Heritage Village.
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