fruit trees close to house-espalier

14 years ago

I'm out of sunny yard space. Want to add pear trees, which grow well in this area. My sunniest available space is next to house, so am figuring espalier method. Are their varieties better suited for this (and assume need couple to cross-pollinate)? Also - how far out from building? I assume soil will be junk, and will upgrade soil. And finally, there is a maple tree on one side (leaning away) and a tall hickory on other side, but this spot gets 3/4 day of sun. And finally, for espalier, use dwarf or standard?

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Comments (7)

Konrad___far_north
14 years ago
Pear grow tap roots and you shouldn't need any soil improvement's...theyr'e happy in clay.
I have seen very old espaliers right next to the house, perhaps a foot away or so, ...I don't think these about 80 year old trees are on anything like dwarf, I would use standard, longer lived trees and more drought tolerant because they root deeper.
bob_z6
14 years ago
Would there be a risk of the roots damaging the house's foundation at that distance?

I take it that this would be on the south side to maximize the sun they would get?

Bob
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Konrad___far_north
14 years ago
Not sure about foundation...I have seen in Europe. Our flimsy
foundation it might be of concern...but only slightly I would think because we're not talking about a free standing tree next to the house, a espalier is a very labor intensive structure and allway's pruned back every year.
Yes, these I've seen on the south side.
jimfnc
Original Author
14 years ago
Since I only have room for two (pollination) can you recommend 2 disease resistant varieties? Would you go Asian or European if could not do both. This is for more fresh eating than canning. And even though zone 7, summer is very hot.
Noogy
14 years ago
Being in NC with a different dolar positioning, I'd consider planting it 2'5" away from the house so as to increase the sun exposure. Consider a white backdrop if you're not comfortable with that distance and implement summer pruning a la Lorrette's. Have a blacksmith construct a frame to train it. You have a lot of choices in the disease free realm. Do a search... Harrow sweet, there has been quite a bit of action in this topic. Get an asian and a euro. Olympic seems to be a winner. I love Chojuro. Ubileen is an early pear that will work with an asian. There are also a few others. You could even go with multiple grafted tree and just grow one. Or get a couple two in one trees. Why not?
rweissman
14 years ago
You might want to look into a multigrafted espalier. I have three on one espalier (Bartlett, Bosc and Red Bartlett on three separate tiers). It gives me multiple varieties with easy pollination. I have it on standard rootstock.

Rob
rweissman
14 years ago
Here is the multigraft espalier pear I mentioned. I got my first Red Bartlett this year and it was delicious.

Rob

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