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A maiden tree will
form one pair of arms each year, which can be
grown on to any length. Espaliers can also grow
to any height and will often be seen covering
the entire wall of an old house to a height of
9m (30ft) or more. Long ladders must then be used
for picking fruit and pruning at the top. In the
garden, the topmost arms should be about 210-240cm
(7-8ft) from soil level so that the cultivation
can be readily carried out.
After planting the maiden, make a nick in the
bark above two buds, one on either side of the
stem and pointing in opposite directions, to make
them ‘break’. These will from the
first arms or tier. The leaser shoot is allowed
to grow away. Next season, in early spring, another
two buds are selected on either side of the stem,
and so on, selecting a pair of buds each year
which are spaced about 40-45cm (16-18in) above
each other.
At first, the new wood growing from the main stem
will tend to grow upwards. It is advisable to
fix canes to wires, first at an angle of 45°,
to which the shoots are fastened. The canes are
gradually brought to the horizontal position,
and then fastened to the wires.
The first tier will grow to about 1m (3ft) on
either side of the main stem in a year. The following
year, early in August, to encourage the formation
of fruiting spurs, which will bear fruit the next
year, all shoots growing from the arms should
be pinched back to 10-12cm (4-5in) of the main
stems. The plant will then form fruiting buds
instead of making excess wood. As the arms continue
to grow, at the end of each summer, cut back the
new season’s wood to about half way, to
a bud which will form the extension shoot to grow
on next year. This may continue for several years,
until the arms are about 180cm (6ft) in length,
so that with espaliers it is desirable to plant
them 3.5m (12ft) apart.
As pears bloom about two weeks before apples,
many varieties should not be planted in frost-troubled
gardens unless they are planted against a warm
wall. There are, however, several which bloom
late and in most years, will miss late frosts:
they include Fertility, Dr Jules Guyot, and Winter
Nelis.
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