This my Arkansas Black espalier. Bearing habit is compatible with espalier.
It is on G11 rootstock which has similar precocity to M26 . See description below
G11 DESCRIPTION
Rootstock G.11
Resulted from a cross of M.26 and Robusta 5 crabapple and introduced in 1993 by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY. G.11 is one of the more vigorous dwarfing rootstocks and produces a tree similar in size to M.26. It is precocious (similar to M.26), moderately resistant to fire blight, moderately susceptible to woolly apple aphid and crown an root rots, and requires trunk support, especially in the early years. It produces few burr knots and root suckers. G.11 has not been widely tested and is being evaluated in an NC-140 trial that was established in 2010.
The tree is third year in the ground in my orchard. Planted bare root .
The wires start at 20 inches off the ground then at 18 inch spacing for a total of 4 lines. That is only 74 inches tall for the 4th line. Easy to add a 5th at only 92 inches (less than 8 feet) off the ground which makes it easy to handle.
Spacing is not that critical with espaliered trees. Remember, with espaliers, we control the spread of the tree branches. Technicaly you can plant 2 trees within a foot of each other and allow each tree to spread only to alternating wires. Or each tree allowed to spread in one direction only. The beauty of espalier is that if you find one variety that you like more than the one next to it you can let its scaffold continue to spread into the “territory” of the other. On a couple of mine I allowed the scaffold from each adjoining tree to keep spreading and I tied both scaffolds to the same wire.
See the drawing below for just one method I designed for a small 25 foot espalier with 4 trees. Your imagination is the only limitation.
Enjoy flexibility of thought… rigidity of thought is the enemy.
Aaak! I’d advise adding at least twice the number of T posts. Your rootstocks are not self-supporting, and you’re creating giant sails that tend to snap off at the graft union just as they are all maturing and are loaded with fruit. I’ll be able to hear the sobbing all the way from California.
October 2011, 18" of wet sticky snow. 350 12-year-old trees either uprooted or snapped at the graft union. It was a total loss. This was at Cold Spring Orchard in Belchertown, MA.
That storm knocked down lots of apple trees here, but on more vigorous root stocks all that was needed was to prop them back up. Most trees never skipped a beat. It was a long time before we had power, though.
I actually propped up some 100 year plus antique apple trees with a crew and secured them with duckbill anchors. One tree almost killed me, though, when we tried propping it up with a make-shift crane and the roots snapped as I was standing right under it. I was just plant lucky it missed me. The tree is still growing form the broken stub that remained.
That orchard just looks so very, very, utterly, horrifically wrong. I audibly gasped at the unexpected sight of those trees, fully leaved and laden with fruit, massacred by snow.
Though it’s not something that would affect me, thank you for the warning. You may have saved some growers from an unexpected, but preventable devastation.
As I recall that was nasty hurricane Sandy here in RI. I lost a four year old apricot at the graft union. Only one tree, and I was upset. I cannot imagine how you felt.
I grafted some Golden Russet and Bullock on B9/antonovka interstems, and was thinking these might go into an espalier planting, but knowing GRS reputation as a tip bearing variety I am hesitant, any thoughts?
Most of my apple trees have M111root/Bud9 interstems. Is there any big negatives to applying the 3 leaf method to these. My goal is to have self supporting trees with limbs pulled down. Thanks, Bill
That is a very sad photo. What kind of rootstock were you using there? it looks to be extremely dwarfing. I will give some thought to reinforcing the trellis. I have been struggling to chose a evergreen windbreak. I planted some holly but they do not seem to be taking off. We are in an open area and do get high winds. Luckily the wind blows North-South, the same direction as the rows.
Guys, I don’t think that’s applenut’s orchard. It’s just an example of what can happen. I understood him to say that it was the UMASS research facility’s Cold Spring Orchard. It’s still sad and shocking to see.
I know this is an old post, but I am new to this forum and have been reading old posts for a few hours now. OK I’ll admit it many hours now. I got lost in the forum:) only emerging to refill my coffee and gaze at the falling snow.
I just ran across your plan for espalier apple trees and had to thank you for sharing it. A light bulb went on in my head when I saw it as I have been wrestling with what to do with my young apple trees.
I planted them all too close together, about 2’ apart, simply because I was new at grafting and expected most to perish. Two years later and they are still growing, with minimal losses. So it is dig up and move 30 trees to thin out the rows, OR better yet, espalier them. I am reluctant to dig them up as they are my test trees for winter hardiness and I would like a few more years to see if they live or die. Thanks again.
