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Conference pear trees - espalier?

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  • 09-08-2019 12:15am
    #1
    mr chips
    Registered Users Posts: 610 ✭✭✭


    I have a few conference pear trees which are maybe five or six years old. I initially planted them as bare-root saplings in a location I later found wasn't very suitable - sloped ground which turned out to be particularly vulnerable to strong gusts of wind. So I transplanted them a few years ago to where they currently are, which is flat ground and somewhat more sheltered. However, I then came to realise that I'd planted them too close together, only about 2.5-3m apart, so I think they'd benefit from having a bit more space. And due to an excessive burden of outdoor work they are among the items I've ended up neglecting over the past couple of years - I never tried pruning them and since being relocated they've barely grown any taller (now between 1.5-1.8m) and have ended up with quite long and straggly branches which are incapable of properly supporting any fruit, meaning it doesn't grow to a proper size. They actually did reasonably well the first autumn after being transplanted but haven't progressed since.

    I know they've ended up like this mainly due to my neglect and I'd really like to give them a better chance. I recently started putting in a long 2.2m fence and was wondering whether come October they'd be suitable for transplanting a second time and growing against that as an espalier. They would be on the south-west facing side and so get direct sunlight from mid/late-morning to sunset all year round. Their branches are generally quite long (1.5-2m) but mostly barely thicker than twigs and are still very flexible. Is there a reasonable chance of success, or is it just too late in their development to do this?


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    #2
    Lumen
    Registered Users Posts: 31,072 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    Do you know which rootstock they're on?

    https://www.orangepippintrees.co.uk/articles/rootstocks-for-pear-trees


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    #3
    mr chips
    Registered Users Posts: 610 ✭✭✭mr chips


    I don't, unfortunately - tbh those trees could have been Lidl's finest! I got five or six saplings out of there one time, including a couple of apples. Would a photo make any difference?


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    #4
    recedite
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,992 ✭✭✭✭recedite


    Espalier is worth a try, but I would not bother transplanting any of them. If they are dwarf after 6 years then they are on a dwarf rootstock, so your spacing is OK for the purposes. Pears are a bit hit and miss in our climate. I've seen apples grown as espalier and it worked well.


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