Training Apples in the Espalier Style

Vermont has an ideal climate for growing apples, especially in the Champlain Valley which runs along the western side of the state. The state has 79 commercial apple growers on 3,500 bearing acres and produces an average annual crop of 1.25 million bushels of apples. Along with the dominant McIntosh, leading commercial varieties of today include Cortland, Empire, Paulared, and Delicious. The introduction of semi-dwarf varieties has permitted more trees to be cultivated per acre, and yields have grown dramatically.

Noggin Orchard, located on Witherell Road (Town Highway 74), in Shoreham, Vermont , is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a Bicentennial Farm. It is owned and operated by 7th generational Sanford Witherell, Jr. and Margaret Camara. Witherell does not operate a retail business, he sells to wholesale buyers. Noggin Orchard was one of the first in New England to switch to dwarf apple trees and train them on fences in a style that is known as espalier.

Dwarf varieties (5′-8′ tall) and semi-dwarf varieties (12′-16′ tall) are better plants for espalier than are standard apples (20′-30′ tall). When a tree, shrub or vine is trained to grow on a single plane and not allowed to deviate from it, that is known as the “espalier” style. The plane is often defined by a wall or fence. The plants are trained from the time that they are young on wires running along the wall or fence. The subsequent “espalier” is continually pruned thereafter, so that all its growth remains parallel to the wall or fence. Espaliers are planted in areas where space is an issue, and along walls that receive the longest amount of heat and sunlight.

Growing on Trellises

Espalier stems from a 16th-century European practice, adopted to save space. The trellis formed by the wire is sometimes itself referred to as “espalier.” Theoretically you can form any fruit trees into topiaries – but there are some including peaches, apples, cherries, pears, oranges – that are more suited to the style. They can even be created out of grapevines. The system involves training young fruit plants when their branches are still pliable and so can be trained using strong galvanized wires or straight sticks.

Amateurs who want to experiment with this method of growing can find plenty of resources available to help get them started. Living Fences, A Gardener’s Guide to Hedges, Vines and Espaliers by Ogden Tanner was printed in 1995. It is out of print but still available at Amazon. The author gives advice on selecting, pruning, and training species, detailing their advantages and disadvantages, ranges, and growing needs.

Apple Art Espalier is located in Sonoma County, California. In addition to being the primary Northern California source for espaliered trees, the business has also become a local resource for information about espalier. The owners have given talks and pruning demonstrations at San Francisco’s Strybing Arboretum, local harvest festivals and garden clubs, and are also available locally for garden consultations.

Growing With The IPM Method

Growing apples for a living is an unusually risky agricultural business, and many of the commercial orchards have gone out of business over the past 20 years. Witherell has managed to continue through his creativity and conservative practices, which include Integrated Pest Management, or IPM.

Witherell said, “Vermont growers have shown a willingness to experiment with and use environmentally responsible pest-control techniques that may not always be the cheapest or easiest approach to assuring a marketable crop.”

The following is how the Environmental Protection Agency defines IPM:

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.

IPM takes advantage of all appropriate pest management options including, but not limited to, the judicious use of pesticides. In contrast, organic food production applies many of the same concepts as IPM but limits the use of pesticides to those that are produced from natural sources, as opposed to synthetic chemicals.

Age-old, common-sense practices are what many people associate with IPM. Today many growers no longer apply pesticides to food on a regular basis regardless of whether or not there are insects, weeds, or other pest problems.

Some practices for preventing pest damage may include:

• inspecting crops and monitoring crops for damage, and
• using mechanical trapping devices, natural predators (e.g., insects that eat other insects), insect growth regulators, mating disruption substances (pheromones), and if necessary, chemical pesticides. The use of biological pesticides is an important component of IPM.