Espalier fruit has a special charm because it is reminiscent of the enchanted gardens of old castles and manor houses. Raising a trellis pear requires a lot of attention. The tiers build up over the years and require special pruning several times during the growing season.
How do I cut a pear trellis correctly?
When cutting the pear trellis, the planting cut, training cut and maintenance cut are made one after the other. During the growing season, you should repeat the maintenance pruning once or twice and shorten the shoots to the correct length to promote dense growth and productive branches.
Plant cutting
The first cut in spring is carried out before the leaves emerge so that the fruit tree grows optimally on the trellis. Immediately after planting, tie two opposite branches to the lowest trellis. These should be strong enough because they form the first floor. Then remove all side branches. Only the central shoot, which grows vertically upwards, remains standing.
Educational Cut
Repeat this cutting measure until you have created the desired number of floors. When the pear trellis has reached its final size, you no longer need to continue the central shoot. This is then cut out so that the tree only grows sideways.
How to proceed:
- Cut the middle shoot at the level of the next floor
- Place scissors just above three he althy buds
- Tie side shoots to the scaffold and guide the main shoot upwards
Conservation cut
From the end of May, you will prune, concentrating on leading branches and side branches. The new growth on the main branches is shortened to around 60 centimeters. How to prevent bald spots. The laterally growing fruit shoots are pruned as soon as they have grown at least ten centimeters long. Shorten this year's shoots immediately after fruit set so that four to six leaves remain. You should repeat this process once or twice over the course of the summer. Completely remove branches that grow towards the wall of the house.
Special feature: tenon cut
This intervention reduces the yield, which is why many gardeners forego the measure. However, pruning the cones from the third year onwards ensures that the fruit tree remains young and he althy. The quality of the harvest also increases. To do this, cut the old fruit wood the following spring. Shorten the branches to about four buds that branch heavily.
Preparations
Espalier trees like a warm place in the garden, which can be on an east or west wall. Planting directly on the south wall carries the risk that sunlight in spring will lead to premature leaf and flower shoots. Late frosts can damage plant tissue, reducing crop yields. Therefore, place the espalier bulb at a generous distance from the southern wall of the house.
Scaffolding
Weather-resistant wood such as larch, sweet chestnut or robinia as well as metal wires with a coating are ideal for the framework. You can either build this free-standing on the ground or mount it on a house wall at a distance of ten centimeters. It is important that the slats have a minimum thickness of 25 by 25 millimeters. There should be around 40 centimeters of space between the espalier levels.
