Sally Scalera

Brevard County Horticulture Extension Agent
3695 Lake Drive -- Cocoa FL 32926 -- 321-633-1702

Growing an espalier

July 25, 2009

If you have an empty wall or fence (and I see perfect ones at various homes as I drive around the county,) or if your gardening space is small, you may want to consider growing an "espalier" (pronounced "es-PAL-yer"). An espalier is any plant trained to grow in a flat plane against a wall, fence or trellis. The practice originally was used in Europe to conserve space in small orchards and gardens. The English grow fruit trees as an espalier against a wall with a southern exposure to protect them from cold weather.

Espaliers take time to train and are grouped into either formal or informal patterns. The formal patterns are for those who like to clip and tie and have some extra time. There are a number of formal patterns with varying degrees of complexity. Some of the patterns are called Cordon, U-shapes, Palmette, and Fence patterns. For those who do not want to spend a lot of the time to develop and maintain a formal espalier they can just let the plant determine its own informal pattern. When it comes to developing an informal pattern there are no guidelines. A free-form design is limited only by your imagination and pruning skills.

Espaliers are grown against a wall though it would be best to construct a large trellis a couple of feet or so out from the wall to train the espalier on. This will allow for maintenance, such as painting, to be done on the wall. Another benefit of keeping the plant away from the house is there won’t be an increased chance of ants and other insects entering the house. Plus, the trellis will not only help make pruning and training easier, but it will also cut down on disease and insect problems. To maintain an espalier, prune all stray branches that grow outward at right angles to the flat surface.

Also, prune branches that grow beyond the boundaries of the desired pattern or design. Pruning and the occasional tying of new shoots to the trellis are the main maintenance requirements. Be careful to prune flowering shrubs and trees during the proper season. Although almost any plant can be espaliered, some plants have characteristics which make them better suited for this than others. Plants that produce many flexible lateral branches and have attractive flowers, fruit, foliage and/or bark are excellent choices.

Here is a list of some of the plants which would do well as an espalier. Formal patterns will be noted with the letter F and informal patterns with the letter I: Some of the trees that can be espaliered include; Redbud (Cercis canadensis I), Hollies (Ilex spp. F), Sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera F,I), Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica F,I), Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica I), Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora F,I).

Some shrubs that work well include: Podocarpus (Podocarpus spp. F,I), Natal plum (Carissa grandiflora I), Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides I), Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum F,I), Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata I), Pyracantha (Pyracantha coccinea F,I) and some of the vines are Allamanda (Allamanda cathartica. I), Flame vine (Pyrostegia venusta I), Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides I), and Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis F, I).

If you are thinking about training an espalier for your landscape we have a bulletin that will give you basic information on how to begin. For those of you who have internet access simply go to the UFL website and in the search window type in espalierand then click on “search edis”. Just click on the “pdf” form of the bulletin and then you can print it off.

For anyone who wants a copy by mail, just give us a call at 633-1702 (Mon. – Fri between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.) and we will send you a copy.