Espalier
/eh-SPAL-yay/🧑🌾 Cultivation●● Intermediate
Also known as: espalier training
Espalier is the art of training fruit trees or ornamental plants to grow in a two-dimensional plane, typically against a wall, fence, or wire framework. Common patterns include cordon (single stem), fan, palmette, Belgian fence, and candelabra. Benefits include space efficiency, improved fruit quality through better sun exposure, earlier fruiting, and decorative effect. Apple and pear trees are the most commonly espaliered species.
Etymology
From Italian spalliera (shoulder support), from spalla (shoulder)
Example
“The espaliered apple trees along the south wall produced excellent fruit in a fraction of the space of standard trees.”