Espaliering Your Tree

January 6, 2025 · 1 min read

Choose a sunny, well-drained position with a fence, wall or strong wires attached to sturdy stakes to carry the weight of a mature espalier fruit tree. (see below re how many tiers).
Soak your tree in a bucket of water with Garden Time Liquid Seaweed while you prepare your planting site.
Dig a hole twice as wide and as deep as the container the tree came in.
Mix generous amounts of Daltons Garden Mix or Garden Commercial Garden Mix into the hole.
Create a mound at the centre of the hole to enhance drainage.
Carefully place the tree in the hole and refill it with soil around the rootball, patting it down to ensure firmness.
Position the tree so that the base of the stem is slightly higher than ground level to prevent water from pooling around the trunk and causing rot.
Apply a generous layer of Daltons Black Mulch around the top of the soil, being careful not to touch the trunk of the tree.

Attach wires to the support structure to match the number of tiers you want. An espalier usually has two or three tiers (layers/rows), but more are possible with trees like pears which are vigorous growers.
Leave room for the tree to grow up to three metres on either side of the trunk.
Tie the first branches down horizontally, about 500-600mm above ground level.
The next set of branches should be 350-400mm above the lower branches for air movement, full sun penetration and room for fruiting spurs to develop.
As the tree grows, train horizontal branches to create the espaliered effect along the support wire.
From here, encourage spurs to develop, ideally spaced 80 to 120 mm apart.
As your tree grows you can attach branches to the higher rows.