Alan Tidmarsh

SailorSam

Has anyone just been watching Alan Tidnarsh on Bbc2,
He was planting Apple trees to grow sideways, i think he said you needed something with a dwarf rootstock, what's that exactly, can't i just go to Morrisons and buy an ordinary tree and train it.
I've already got two small apple trees, would this horizontal ting work for something else, maybe a pear or plum tree.
Thanks for any advice.

picklepick

lol tidnarsh?

Yorkie1

I think you mean Titchmarsh ;-)

As for rootstock, most cultivated fruit trees have their 'variety' grafted onto different roots. The rootstock will dictate the eventual size of the tree. Most supermarket trees are unlikely to state which rootstock they are using, so it's a bit of a gamble. Reputable suppliers will tell you the necessary info.

See the RHS link for more info:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardening/Grow-Your-Own/Grow-Your-Own-Fruit/Fruit-advice/Rootstocks

SailorSam

I knew i had the name wrong but couldn't think how to spell it.
Isn't it terrible when you make a fool of yourself in an open forum.
When will someone design a spell checker for names !!

Thanks for your help.

TravellingAbuela

I know this doesn't answer your question SS but one of our summer walks takes us past a garden where they grow these "sideways" growing apple trees. There are about 4 of them and come September they are absolutely laden with enormous apples. It really tempts me to have a go myself so I will watch Alan T on replay and see what tips I can pick up. Thanks for your post and thanks Yorkie for your reply.

Lotus-eater

They're called cordons, I have a couple of upright cordons.
This may be of help to you.
http://www.blackmoor.co.uk/index.php?cPath=422
Their fruit growing book (online) is also good reading.

tomterm8

SailorSam wrote: »

Has anyone just been watching Alan Tidnarsh on Bbc2,
He was planting Apple trees to grow sideways, i think he said you needed something with a dwarf rootstock, what's that exactly, can't i just go to Morrisons and buy an ordinary tree and train it.
I've already got two small apple trees, would this horizontal ting work for something else, maybe a pear or plum tree.
Thanks for any advice.

Basically, if you google 'step-over apple tree' you will find them for sale from specialist catalogues. You can train most fruit trees, they are very expensive though (e.g. http://www.ornamental-trees.co.uk/search/step-over-espalier-fruit-trees?page=2&show=96 ) , if possible I would go for an full espalier if you have a fence / wall, rather than step over, since they give you much more fruit for your money.

Lotus-eater wrote: »

They're called cordons.

The OP actually has it right, cordons grow streight up in a column, or slanting against a wall, step over espaliers are trained along the ground at a height you can actually 'step over' them, full espaliers are trained against a wall in various shapes - e.g. fans.

Lotus-eater

tomterm8 wrote: »

The OP actually has it right, cordons grow streight up in a column, or slanting against a wall, step over espaliers are trained along the ground at a height you can actually 'step over' them, full espaliers are trained against a wall in various shapes - e.g. fans.

Yep, you're right, I missed the horizontal bit.

Barnsdale gardens has some amazing step over apple and pear trees if you are anywhere near.
I've never considered doing them worth it, not for eating qualities anyway, for ornamental qualities they're great.

Farway

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Yep, you're right, I missed the horizontal bit.

Barnsdale gardens has some amazing step over apple and pear trees if you are anywhere near.
I've never considered doing them worth it, not for eating qualities anyway, for ornamental qualities they're great.

I guess by OP name going to RHS Wisley to view their fruit trees may not be an option, but anyone for whom it is an option go and take a look, step overs, espaliers, cordons, you name it they are growing it

rhiwfield

Due to limited space I've grown 11 fruit trees as espaliers, 9 apple and 2 pears over the past few years.

Usually I've used maiden whips and been ruthless at pruning to establish shape. Winter pruning is used to establish the shape of the tree e.g. cutting the main stem to encourage sideways shoots while summer pruning is used to check growth.

As the side branches grow I tie them in to the wires with string, the wires being about 18" apart.

This year I was late getting the beds ready for 2 apples/2 pears and I ended up buying bushy trees locally. That meant bending branches to fit the wires and one branch broke and tore the stem. Managed to recover but reconfirmed that you need to start with younger stock.

Early stakes/wires were too flimsy. Now I use 4" square or round posts and bull wire, and will no doubt have to replace earlier training wires and posts as they rot/give way. The other mistake I made was planting too close, now I plant about 14' apart

The HUGE advantage of this type of cultivation is that you can fit trees into easily maintainable spaces and maximise garden space use. Watching a neighbour try to pick his apples from a standard tree in September had my heart in my mouth as he balanced on a stepladder. In contrast picking apples from an espalier is a doddle. What you lose is the weight of crop that a standard can produce. You also have to prune in the summer to maintain shape but thats no big deal.