Have any of you seen an espalier done with citrus? I've never done one with anything, and I'm not sure where to start. Should I let it adjust to life in the ground first before pruning it back, or do you think it's tough enough to take it all at once?

I'll have to tell you, I'm just getting started with espalier and gardening in general. But I do have two going - a fig (as a fan) and a plum (as a 3 tiered).

I let mine sit in the ground a week before I started hacking at them, but that doesn't mean that they needed it.

what form are you trying for? What do they look like now...

Here's my before (april) and after (August) with the plum (I made a huge mistake and will be cutting off the top two tiers soon):

The wires support the branches until they're big enough. If I keep it that small (which I hope to), then I'll be able to remove the wires once it's all mature. I also tie down the growing tips to the wire to encourage them to stay down.

Here's my before/current with the fig:

baby fig in April:

just a few weeks ago:

This photo is of a magnificent pear tree in Ballenberg Park in Central Switzerland taken this past August. I don't know how old the tree was, but isn't it magnificent? I reduced the resolution quite a bit for the web, but it was absolutely loaded with fruit as well.

How is the transition from Texas to the UK going?

Transition from TX to UK ok. Unfortunately, (because we were planning on being here for 3-5 years) it's now become a transition from the UK back to Texas! We'll be coming back probably within 6 months to the Houston area due to my husband's job changes.

We'll probably have a smaller garden this time, and that's what drew me to read this post to begin with, because the kids loved our peach tree and vegetable garden at our old place in Cypress. We'll see where we end up!

How neat that your kids are getting to experience all of this at such young ages!

I ended up lopping off the top of that plum tree (the damaged part) and it's growing like mad again.

Bobbi, thanks for the pic.... I had never heard of espalier until I was reading a British gardening book. It got me hooked! I'm hoping to be able to cover a good portion of my fence this way, in addition to getting good food!

The States have them as well. I remember one on the River Plantation Route out of New Orleans at Houmas House. It was beautiful as well. They weren't quite done restoring the gardens when we were there (pre-Katrina at that), but that magnificent old espalier had survived. I can't remember for sure what kind it was. I'll have to check out my photos. It's digital, but on a different computer. I'll find it this afternoon for you.

Gotta go, I'm off for a "hack" this morning. (Not trimming shrubs, but horseback riding!)

I'm glad to hear of Timh's success with citrus espaliering. Like I said, when we move back, our yard may not be as large this time, so knowing that we'll have the option to try some fruit trees next to the house or a wall is nice to know. Timh, are you concerned at all about foundation problems growing the trees next to the house?

Sorry, couldn't resist posting a picture of the "hacking" from yesterday too! We officially have a Houston Real Estate Agent now, so I'm trying to take advantage of these very "English" opportunities while we're here. Can't wait to have some barbecue and Mexican food without curry in it though!

This is great information about the limes - I'll just move that sucker inside in a few weeks. What kind of oranges have worked for you? I'll try that instead. I also moved my teeny tiny loquat to another section of south-facing garden wall today to see if I'll get any fruit off it with the additional heat from the bricks. I'm so excited about this! Maybe I'll just rig something up so I can espalier the lime in the pot and move it to the patio wall in warm weather.

As for varieties..huhm...Meyer (of course), Blood Orange, Washington Navel(yuck), Browns select Satsuma, Owari Satsuma (the BEST) Seto Satsuma, Varigated Owari (pretty!), Calamondin, Buddas hand citron (I want that to die but it won't- ugly, coarse, never fruits). I also have a grapefruit from seed I just stuck there and it has survived for 2 years.
I will say this...the Satsumas are by far the best choice for this type of work. 1) they are very cold hardy and 2) they have very flexable branches- you can mold them to your whims. The oranges on the other hand, are very ridgid. Lemons, about in between. The fruit from the Oranges have been, well, marginal. Satsumas...terrific! I must admit that the reason I grow them is simply for the show-off factor. To hand someone a tangerine that I grew in my yard (with regular dips into the teens all winter) is kinda' cool. BTW...mostly the fruit ripens next month. The sweetness is comming up now but the fruit is still mostly green. Not enough cool nights yet but they are starting. I have picked the tangerines in January,after many freezes and they have still been good. I would not recomend that though- they were just ones that were hiding.

By the way, I moved my pathetic little loquat over to the south wall where I have the lemon. I've got one more spot over on that side of the house, and I think you've convinced me to look for a satsuma.

This is so much fun!

Thing is no one ships citrus trees to Texas (or other commercial citrus states.) For those of you that arnt in the know, the Texas Citrus growing region is like 800 miles from me. It's nuts.

So any idea where I can get Kumquats?

Thanks for the ideas,
KC

I live in East texas as well, thanks tim. I wonder how there still doing. How did your citrus fare work out?

I have seen people wrap palms in burlap and use pinestraw inside to help insulate. I have also seen people wrap them in heating cable designed for pipes that cuts on at 33.

After all the espalier was used extensivly in france to grow things facing south blocking the cold NW wind and maximizing sunlight.

Hope this helps somebody, about to try my shot at growing lemons, satsumas, blood oranges, and a grapefruit, though some of those will be in the greenhouse.