E I. THE old fashioned art of growing espaliered plants is very definitely coming ARNOLDIA [ 49 ] THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY

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1 ARNOLDIA - E I A publition of THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY Jmi Plin, Msshusetts 213 VOLUME 29 AUGUST 29, 196J NUMBER H ESPALIERED PLANTS THE old fshioned rt of growing espliered plnts is very definitely oming -- bk into fvor gin. Only reently it seems this type of pruning ws frowned upon, for it ws too time-onsuming. However, the grdener with more nd more time on his hnds often wnts to produe something out of the ordinry, espeilly in smller grdens-something tht shows off blnk spe on wll or fene to good dvntge. Beuse of this desire, more grdeners re beoming interested in lerning how espliered plnts n be grown. When the plot of ground is nrrow, ginst wll or fene, this method of growing shrubs nd trees is ertinly deortive nd onserves spe. Vines grow too fst for the low wll, nd often require muh re to keep them in good form. Tke the spe in front of grge with foot or so of ground, but wll ten to fifteen feet high-this is the idel ple where espliered plnts ome into their own. Certinly, they do not grow so vigorously tht they hide the wll, but the forms into whih the plnts n be trined ugment the interest of the plnting mterilly. We hve suh wll long the low building tht is our old storge house t the Arnold Arboretum. The wll is mde of pinted ement bloks, with bout eighteen inhes of soil in front of it nd bordered by pved rod. Obviously, it is impossible to plnt shrubs in this smll re. Espliered plnts hve proven most interesting here, not only beuse the folige breks the monotony of the wll but lso beuse of the different designs into whih these vrious plnts hve been trined. In seleting plnts for this purpose, ertin ones hve proved themselves more menble thn others. Jpnese yew, firethorn, forsythi, flowering dogwood, rokspry (Cotonester horisontlis), mok-ornge, flowering rbpples nd of ourse the fruits like pple, per nd peh-ll re worthy subjets for tril. Beside the fruits, best grown on dwrfing understok, Pyrnth speies hve proved most populr nd suitble to this type of pruning. [ 49 ]

One should study the wll spe vilble, the method by whih the plnts re to be held firmly to the wll, nd finlly the design or form into whih the plnts will be trined.

2 One should study the wll spe vilble, the method by whih the plnts re to be held firmly to the wll, nd finlly the design or form into whih the plnts will be trined. It is most importnt to hve ll this figured out in dvne. Young plnts three or four feet tll re usully the best ones to strt with, for the root system of these need not be redued to fit into the vilble spe, nd one n begin more esily with young nd plible twigs to rete the design whih hs been seleted. The designs re of severl mjor ptterns. A fn shpe is probbly the esiest with three or four stright brnhes emnting from the bse. The Jpnese yew is espeilly stisftory for this. Any yew, but preferbly n upright growing vriety, n be plnted nd redued to three or four min brnhes rrnged in fn shpe. It should be importnt to selet fruiting plnt (not mle or stminte plnt whih never bers fruit) for when the smll red fruits over these brnhes m the fll the plnt hs unique interest. Also this plnt n be espliered ginst edr or hestnut spling fene, with exellent results. Pruning of this prtiulr plnt is merely done in the form of snipping or shering to keep the four min brnhes no wider thn four to six inhes. If plenty of spe is vilble nd if one design is good, dditionl leders n be llowed to form fter the originl min brnhes hve grown four or five feet high. The hortiulturists of the pst enturies hve done interesting things with espliered fruit trees. Mount Vernon, Virgini is only one ple of mny in this ountry where espliered fruits n still be seen, but in Europe the rt is still widely prtied. Some plnts hve been trined in horizontl ordon- merely low trunk few inhes tll nd then horizontl brnh on either side. Strting with this simple design the rmifitions re mny. The single upright trunk of this n be llowed to grow vertilly with dditionl horizontl brnhes llowed. Or the simple horizontl brnhes n be trined to the vertil fter they hve been llowed to grow n the horizontl for ertin length. Also the populr gridiron form is nother often used. Another interesting method is to develop from the originl simple horizontl ordon series of evenly sped upright brnhes. Even more diffiult for the individul who wnts to try his hnd t this, is to strt with something like forsythi - beuse it is esily plible nd grows fst. Three or four min brnhes ould be llowed, but eh trined in plesingly lrger nd lrger r. Here too, the side shoots should be kept trimmed or pinhed so tht they will ll be short. In the se of forsythi, it is essentil tht s muh pruning or shering s possible be done while the plnt is tively growing before the end of June so tht the flower buds will hve plenty of time to form for next yer s bloom. The rokspry (Cotonester horizontlis) produes flt sprys even when these rest normlly on the ground. When dvntge is tken of this unique method of growth by trining them ginst the wll, very interesting design results. It is probbly best to try to grow espliered plnts on wlls fing the north o) ]

3 PLATE XIII A few of the designs whih re used in growing espliers.

4 or est. South or west fing wlls my be subjet to bsorbing too muh het on unusully wrm winter dys, so tht some burning might result. Holes n be bored into the onrete, stone or wood wlls nd lrge brss or opper hooks inserted to hold the twigs rigidly in ple. Preferbly these should be of led, for this mteril will bend slightly with the inrese of brnh girth, wheres stiff brss or opper hooks, if not lrge enough, n ompletely girdle nd eventully kill brnh. Bending or turning the young twigs is tehnique requiring minute re for the twigs must not be broken. Also they must be held rigidly in ple. This type of trining is best done in the spring while the twigs re young nd flexible. Pruning or "touhing up" with the shers is frequent opertion, the objet being to prevent unwnted twigs from growing nd to llow desired twigs to grow just fr enough so they n be fored into the hosen pttern. Pruning should be done only when the design or form is thoroughly kept in mind, for in every form there re only few ples where growth should be llowed-nd mny ples where inresed vegettive growth is not desired nd must be eliminted when it ours. At lest two nurseries feture espliered plnts, nmely, the U.S. Esplier Compny of Sherwood, Oregon, nd Henry Leuthrdt of Port Chester, N.Y. There my be others. Of ourse, it tkes time to trin suh plnts for sle. The plnts in the following list inlude ones tht hve been used long time s espliers s well s some new ones well worth trying. Corse leved plnts do not dpt themselves well to this type of disply, nor do overly fst growing speies whih require muh more pruning thn slower growing vrieties. Some of the best plnts for Espliers: Abeli sp. - n be tried in short, low designs, vlued for long flowering seson nd good folige. Anthopnx sieboldinus - this should lend itself well to the fn design, espeilly suited for shded ples. Crgn rboresens - I hve never seen this espliered but undoubtedly it hs been used. The tendeny is to hve mny flower lusters lose to the min brnh nd this mkes n exellent esplier in flower. Fruit nd utumn olor re not outstnding. Cenothus - mny speies nd vrieties re used for this purpose in southern Cliforni. Chenomeles - sine these bloom on the previous yer s wood, neessry pruning should be done s soon fter the flower blooms s possible. Phyllis Moore with double deep pink flowers is one of the better vrieties to use. [552]

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6 Cornus florid - this speies hs opposite brnhes nd is well dpted to severl ordon shped designs s fr s brnhing nd folige is onerned, but my be rther disppointing from the flower stndpoint, merely beuse the floers re borne on the upper surfe of the horizontl brnhes. Sine side brnhlets re pruned to minimum for espliers, flowering my not be profuse unless the pendulous brnhed vriety is used. Cornus kous - brnhing hbits s bove. Probbly not good from flowering stndp»nt. Cornus ms - beuse this blooms so erly in the spring on buds lose to the min brnhes, it might be onsidered one of the better of the dogwoods s n esplier. However, do s muh pruning s possible immeditely fter flowering before flower buds for next yer re formed. Cotonester horizontlis - one of the best plnts for esplier trining. This plnt nturlly grows with mny smll horizontl brnhes ll in one plne, nd on wll it fns out eqully well on both sides into one flt, beutifully rrnged spry. If entrl leder is trined, it n grow to some height. In Belgium I sw plnt growing to the top of three story building. Of ourse it flowers nd fruits well, but in the North it might be used on the north wll or in prtilly shded position where it will not be subjet to burning in the winter. Euonymus fortunei veget - lthough this is "semi-shrub" or linging vine, it is menble to shering nd should be esy to trin s n esplier. The fruits re so outstnding tht it is well worth tril. Forsythi - ll forsythis grow so fst tht pruning them s espliers n be diffiult unless done often. We hve hd good suess with F. intermedi spetbilis trined merely s 4 onentri rhing stems but pruning or shering should be done erly before summer, to give the flower buds plenty of time to develop for flowers the following yer. New shoots from the bse must be eliminted frequently. Beuse of its fst growth it is probble tht forsythi should be onfined to simple sweeping designs entiling 8 or 4 stems only, nd not those inorporting right ngles. Fushi - muh used in the wrmer prts of Cliforni. Jsminum - n be used in long urved designs without short right ngle turns. Lyium hlimifolium - I hve never seen this used s n esplier but see no reson why it would not respond to the sme tretment s forsythi. The dded interest of the smll red fruits intermittently throughout the summer should give it onsiderble ornmentl interest. Mgnoli grndiflor - frequently used s omplete wll over (when shered) this hs orse folige nd hene is not idel for esplier purposes. [ 54 ]

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8 . bers " Mlus - fruits in generl nd pples nd pers in prtiulr hve long been espliered, mny designs hve been used. Good old fshioned exhibits of espliered fruits re in the vegetble grdens t Mt. Vernon (V.) nd Willimsburg, V. To obtin sizble fruits, onsiderble pruning s well s sprying re neessry. Almost ny ommeril vriety of pple n be used but if it is or #9) the hnes re results grfted on dwrf understok (blllmg #3, #7, will be better. The Eley flowering rbpple, Whitney rbpple nd Dolgo rbpple ll hve been used. In ft there is no reson why smll fruiting (i.e., stritly ornmentl) forms n not be used nd these require fr less sprying nd pruning thn the lrger ommeril fruiting vrieties. It is these, nd pers tht re worked into vrious ordon designs nd the brnhes n be trined into right ngle turns. Morus lb - fst growing tree, this hs been espliered beuse of the smll berry-like fruits. The sexes re usully seprte nd if fruits re desired one should be ertin to hve fruiting lone. Beuse of its vigorous hbit it does require onsiderble nd onstnt pruning to keep it within bounds. The interesting leves give it dditionl vlue when properly espliered, nd designs n be the sme s those for pples nd pers. Phildelphus oronrius - trined the sme wy nd for the sme resons s forsythis. Photini villos - beuse of smll folige nd bright olored fruits this should mke workble esplier. Ponirus trifolit - the interesting smll but bitter ornges of this plnt mke it good seletion s n esplier. The smll, single white flowers re borne in lte April. - Prinsepi sinensis - unfortuntely rre plnt in Amerin nurseries, this is extremely hrdy, is one of the erliest shrubs to show leves in the spring, nd bright red fruits in the lte summer. It probbly is best grown in simple fn shped or rhing designs. Prunus trilob - beuse of its onspiuous double pink flowers, this mkes striking esplier in flower. The blooms re borne lose to the min stem mking it very good when trined in this wy. Prunus sp. - severl other herries hve been espliered, espeilly the fruiting types, but birds re so ttrted to the fruits tht they do not lst very long. Beuse of this, herries might be overlooked s modern esplier plnts beuse there re so mny other better things vilble. Apriots, netrines nd pehes re ll plnts whih hve been espliered for enturies. They need onsiderble re for the pruning must be done just right in order to obtin the fruit spurs tht ber the flowers nd eventully the fruits. Dwrfing understok hs yielded plnts tht re slower growing nd hene more de- s ]

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10 sirble s espliers. If time nd ptiene in pruning re too time onsuming, one would ertinly be better off to use some of the purely ornmentl plnts rther thn ommeril fruit vrieties. Pyrnth sp. - these re probbly the most populr of ll ornmentl plnts s espliers, for they flower nd fruit profusely, nd n be fored into growing in lmost ny design. The red fruits re onspiuous, but the yellow fruited forms re truly unique. They n be grown two nd three stories high. Pyrus sp. - these re widely esphered in Europe, espeilly in the ommeril orhrds of Frne. The leves do hve glossy, ornmentl hrter nd the folige turns brillint red in the fll. Dwrfing understok ids in slowing down the growth. They re used in designs hving right ngles, espeilly those with brnhes trined s uprights nd horizontls. Rhmnus frngul olumnris Tllhedge - new olumnr growing shrub whih should be well dpted to growing s n esplier. The glossy leves, smll flowers nd bright olored fruits re ertinly ornmentl enough. Prtiulr re should be tken in utting out unwnted shoots from the bse. Tmrix sp. - frequently used s wll plnt or esplier, its fethery folige nd flowers re probbly best dpted to fn or simple rhing designs, not the intrite designs used for fruits. Txus sp. - mking vlued espliers, espeilly the upright growing types. It is probble tht fn type designs re best. Femle or fruiting forms should be used for the fruits dd mterilly to the ornmentl interest. Viburnum sp. - few of these grow tll enough to mke lrge espliers but Viburnum denttum, lentgo, prunifolium, rufululum, sieboldii nd tinus re speies whih might be tried. Of ourse, the smller folige types (V. denttum, lentgo, tinus) re probbly best but ll those mentioned might be tried to see how dptble they would prove. These then re merely some suggestions, ll of whih hve not been tried but it would seem tht the individul who knows plnt growth nd how to prune might hve fsinting time trying them s espliered plnts. " DONALD WYMAN [ 58 ]

11 PLATE XVII Forsythi grows very fst when grown s n esplier but its profuse flowers in erly spring mke it outstnding. (9J]

VEG. Essentialstep-by-stepgardeninginstructionsandtips onhow togrow yourownvegetables

VEG. Essentialstep-by-stepgardeninginstructionsandtips onhow togrow yourownvegetables GROW YOUROWN VEG Essentilstep-by-stepgrdeninginstructionsndtips onhow togrow yourownvegetbles BROAD BEANS Dte of Plnting: MARCH through to JUNE 6X or WELL ROTTED MANURE 1 Dig over the soil dd 6X (following