Xtremehorticulture

Xtremehorticulture of the Desert

Small Area Will Fit Trellised Fruit Trees

1 Comment / espalier, fruit trees, small spaces, Trellis /

Q. I have a very small back yard and a 20′ x 18″ planter against the back wall of our property that is now empty. We were thinking of espalier fruit trees in the space. My wife wants a Myers lemon and I like a peach or nectarine, pear, or even an apple. A. You can fit about three fruit trees on a trellis 20 feet long. They don’t have to be dwarf except for the apple. The easiest trees to trellis are those which produce fruit on spurs; most apples, pear, apricot, plum and pluot. Citrus will work if the location is in a warm microclimate during the winter and protected from the wind. Apple trellis to close to a century fence but not on the fence Nectarine can be difficult because it frequently requires a lot of spraying for Western flower thrips to prevent the scarring this insect causes to the fruit. Peach can be more difficult because it does not produce fruit in spurs. Purchase these trees at any local nursery or garden center but reference my list for the best varieties. You will find it on my blog or email me and I will send you a copy. Buy a small tree if you are going to trellis. The wires for trellising should not be against the wall but away from it at least a few inches so you can prune behind it. Trellis wires start at a height of about 18 inches from the ground and vertically spaced 18 inches apart. Everything growing towards the wall is pruned off. In the first year cut the top of the tree about 2 inches above the bottom wire. The growth closest to the cut is directed to the next wire above it. Two side branches are tied tightly to the bottom wire. Next year repeat this process at the second wire, then the third wire and finally the last wire. Once the tree occupies the entire trellis any branches growing above the top wire are removed. Branches growing away from the wall are cut back to three or 4 inches.

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Pruning Fruit Trees to Control Their Size

3 Comments / backyard, fruit trees, orchard pruning, small spaces /

These full-sized peach trees are 17 years old and lowered each year to 6 1/2 feet tall Pruning at our orchard is a two step process: first for size control and secondly to enhance production. Pruning for size control is done the same way for all the fruit trees but pruning for production varies among the different types of fruit and how and where the fruit is produced on the tree. We keep the size of all fruit trees so that the orchard is ladderless, easy and safe to perform work and harvest. This also allows us to plant trees closer together and get more fruit production in a smaller area. It also reduces our work load so we can get it done faster. The tallest branches are identified visually. These branches are visually traced to where they join another branch somewhere around 6 to 6 1/2 feet off of the ground. Initial pruning for size control can begin before leaf drop, usually in November when leaves are beginning to turn color and we are sure all tree growth has stopped for the remainder of the year. If you have only a few trees to lower then you can wait until after all the leaves have dropped. If leaves are hanging on even into December you can turn off the water to the trees for two weeks and then turn the water back on again. This will stress the trees moderately and accelerate leaf drop. Trees heights are lowered to 6 to 6 ½ feet tall using vutually all thinning cuts. The tallest limbs are identified, followed visually down to a point of attachment around 6 feet off of the ground and lowered to the proper height with thinning cuts. The pruning cut is made at a “crotch” or where two branches come together. This leaves terminal buds intact to resume growth next spring. Since we have our trees in rows, we must create space around each tree so that we can spray and harvest. We create space between trees by identifying limbs that are encroaching on a neighboring trees “space” or need to be removed so we can get between them. We trace these limbs back to a point of attachment (crotch) with another limb and remove it with a thinnning cut, not a heading cut. Limbs that do not support fruit high enough to keep the fruit off of the ground or out of the reach of rabbits is removed with thinning cuts.

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